Effects of Cyber Bullying

Cyberbullying is also known as internet bullying or electronic bullying. It is characterized by various practices of emotional victimization through threats, rumor mongering, the spread of private photos, impersonation, ...

Cyberbullying is also known as internet bullying or electronic bullying. It is characterized by various practices of emotional victimization through threats, rumor mongering, the spread of private photos, impersonation, sexual comments and many other methods. On the other hand, traditional bullying mainly occurs in a face-to-face confrontation between the bully and the victim. Arguments have been raised debating about the most severe form of victimization about between the two. Internet bullying causes a negative psychological and physical impact, while traditional bullying causes an adverse bodily effect to the victim (Carter et al., 2010). The essay makes a convincing argument about the severity of electronic harassment over traditional bullying, based on the mental and emotional effects associated with cyberbullying. The psychological impacts occur as a result of anxiety, depression, solitude and suicidal thoughts. A psychologist can diagnose a cyberbullying victim through assessment of signs such as emotional withdrawal, humiliation, and social withdrawal. Cyberbullying is more intense since the bully can remain anonymous, it involves a wide range of the population of people on social media. In addition to that, internet bullying has a long-term impact since the internet content has a strong mainframe backup which can easily haunt the victim in future. Psychologists state that mental effects also cause physical harm to the body after disorientation of bodily activities. On the other hand, traditional; bullying causes physical damage. However, the instances of this form of victimization have significantly reduced since strict measures have been passed to curb the practice (Klein, 2012). Traditional bullying can be easily monitored by parents, teachers and healthcare providers who can identify body marks which appear after physical harm. Counselors, guiding teams, and parents can be involved in the intervention process by monitoring any unusual behavior in adolescents and school going students.