Cyber-bullying is a very sad reality of adolescent online life. “According to a study conducted by Rochester Institute of Technology, cyber-bullying ‘can start as early as the 2nd grade for some children,’” (Youth Safety). The Online Safety and Technology Working Group recently came out with an article that discussed the issue of cyber-bullying in the lives of today’s adolescents where they state:
"Cyber-bullying is basically the same as real-world bullying, though it has elements that don’t exist in the physical world such as anonymity, the ability to impersonate the victim, follow the victim home, embarass the victim, in front of an unseen (and potentially vast) online audience and persist online over a long period of time” (Youth Safety).
Cyber-bullying intensifies bullying by providing more resources and anonymity for the bullies. In addtion, people feel freer to say things online than they do in person, so a bully is more likely to be crueler online than they ever would be in real life. Bullies do not have to see the faces of the people they are hurting so any chance for compassion is lost. Creating this safe environment for bullies to pick on their peers will most likely intensify the amount of victims. Cyber-bullying can cause a lasting impact on the identity development of the victims.
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