Bullying in the 21st Century

Social media is a fast and easy way to communicate with friends and family, and in my post "Social Media and Self-Esteem" I discussed how social media can affect someone's self-esteem. I recently watched the movie "Cyberbully," the TV movie released in 2011. The story follows a teenage girl who wants to be popular, but all went wrong when she joins social media networks. Her friends began to make fun of her through social media and she attempted to kill herself. 

Although not all cyberbullying results in an attempted suicide, social media allows people to hide behind a screen and harm others. The film holds major significance in our current society because most interactions occur online and these conversations are usually not monitored by an outside source. I personally can't say I have ever been bullied online, but I have seen fights break out on Facebook over status updates. These fights are prominent around election season, where everyone wants to express their opinions and push down those that oppose their views. 

I have not heard of many cases of cyberbullying recently, maybe that trend has been outgrown, but the idea that social media allows us to be what we want to be rather than what we actually might be is scary. 

There are now social media sites that are completely anonymous. Yik Yak is the most prominent on college campuses, and I have mentioned in a previous post how this app is dangerous for people to use. The anonymity allows users to actually state what they think without thinking about any repercussions because there aren't any. Cyberbullying is still happening and now it can be completely anonymous. 

The movie "Cyberbully" might have aired three years ago for the first time on TV, but the idea of cyberbullying still exists. Instead of using social media to harm others, it should be used to build relationships and to communicate (nicely) with friends, family and businesses.