In serious cases some causes can be insecurity and revenge. This can lead to the effects: depression, anxiety, low-self esteem, anger/frustration. The worst and ultimate effect is suicide. Typically, the victim does not seek help and has no other solution to the problem. It is extremely sad when this is the result.
Cyberbullying has become an epidemic around the world. This can be attributed to the influx of technology and the greater access to the internet. As a result of the increase of technology, numerous social media communities have been created. They are now a part of everything we do and can be linked to every television show, restaurant, store and food product we consume. Although these networks were designed to connect people from all over the world and began with benign intents, they have grown into a playground for online bullies. As the newest generation comes of age will become the first generation to have had access to the internet their entire lives. The problem is that many of them have become addicted to these networks and base their social relationships off of them. These new technological addictions bring a number of issues to the table. The first is that users are uploading all of their lives into the internet. People are now able to see everything you have done, every place you have been, every friend or relationship you have had, and even all of your moods on certain days. This flood of personal information leads to vulnerability. If one can see every aspect of your life, it allows them to ridicule and critique it as well. And since users are connected to these networks at all hours of the day, they are able to be harassed at all hours of the day.
Before the internet, victims of bullies usually suffered only during school hours. With the spread of technology, bullies can assault on holidays, weekends and at any hour of the night. As users upload their information on the web, they become emotionally attached and can be deeply affected by what others express about them via comments, blogs, or pictures. The social networks allow everyone to participate or spectate in this online bullying. This becomes entertainment to others who are not participating (such as a fight is entertainment for the viewers) and can carry over to school relationships. This problem needs to be handled now before it becomes too out of control.
In an experiment published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, researchers analyzed data from experiments all over the world in order to find the relationship between bullying and suicide. The authors claim that cyberbullying is different from other types of bullying because the perpetrator can harass their victim 24 hours a day and remain anonymous. During their cross-sectional research they found that both bullies and their victims have higher levels of suicidal ideation and attempts of suicide. These tendencies have been found in elementary, middle and high school. They also found that suicide was more prevalent when the bullying was indirect rather than direct. This means that cyberbullying had a far greater influence than did personal bullying while at school. In accordance with these findings, it was also noted that girls have a far higher inclination to suicide when bullied. In conclusion, the article described that it consisted of 31 separate studies that have shown correlation between victimization and suicidal ideation. They emphasize that there needs to be more longitudal studies in order to validate that bullying is an independent factor relating to suicide. The problem with all these studies though is that they are not consistent. Many studies use children of different ages and define bullying in different ways making it hard to tie them all together. Also the studies sometimes use different definitions of suicidal tendencies or attempts. Regardless of these differences, the authors still recommend that any child suffering from a bully should seek psychiatric check up every so often.
Klomek, A., Sourander, A., & Gould, M. (2010). The Association of Suicide and Bullying in Childhood to Young Adulthood: A Review of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Research Findings. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 55(5), 282-288.
Summary of an experiment published by the Maternal and Child Health Journal:
This study was conducted to identify the relationship between victims of cyberbullying and the mental health of those victims. The experiment consisted of 677 high school students from Hawaii that came from a multiethnic sample. They found that 56% of the students had been victims of cyberbullying in the last year and that Filipino and Samoan students were more likely to feel negative about themselves as a result. Other studies have shown that cyberbullying can increase emotional distress, anxiety, depression and even suicide. During the experiment, a survey was completed by each of the students. The results indicated that girls have a higher percentage of being bullied online where as boys were more likely to be cybercontrolled. Cybercontrol is the regulation and constant assessment of someone else’s cyber actions usually pertaining to a dating partner. In addition, the outcome also indicated that the victims were more likely to use substances such as alcohol and marijuana. Depression increased by almost two times and suicide attempts by 3.2 times with these same victims. The article concludes by saying that parents do not know enough about cyberbullying to be able to stop it. According to the data, only one in three teens told their parents about their victimization. In order to combat this ongoing problem parents need to become more informed about what their children are doing on the internet. The authors claim that the public interest is mainly focused on predators and stalkers and should shift its focus to address cyberbullying.
Goebert, D., Else, I., Matsu, C., Chung-Do, J., & Chang, J. (2011).The Impact of Cyberbullying on Substance Use and Mental Health in a Multiethnic Sample. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 15(8), 1282-1286. doi:10.1007/s10995-010-0672-x
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