Cyberbullying

 

                                           
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Cyber bullying has been a developing problem that has been present through my entire childhood. In the modern day social media plays a massive role in everyone's lives making the possibility for cyber bullying to be more harmful. For me while I was growing up in school we would have to attend assemblies where the school would discuss the harmful effects that cyberbullying can have on students. Showing sad stories of how it drove some young students to depression and even suicide. For me I was lucky enough to not experience any forms of bullying as a child, but for some students they had to go through the pain of others making fun of them. 

I have noticed forms of cyber bullying while scrolling on the internet before, mostly on gym related videos. I constantly see people speaking down on others, and their journey in the gym. People unfortunately believe that they can say anything on the internet leading to many adolescents forming unhealthy thoughts, such as body dysmorphia. In my life I started going to the gym around one and a half years ago, but I have made steady progress and look completely different physically. Everyone I know says kind words about my body transformation, but I know if only one person were to say something rude it would feel awful. The reason why I bring this example up is because, I personally know I look good and muscular, but it would still hurt my feelings if someone said a rude remark; now imagine what someone would feel if they were just starting there physical fitness journey and they saw rude comments all over there social media accounts due to there body not reaching the standards that society has deemed acceptable. 

The Telus documentary titled “Dark Cloud: The High Cost of Cyberbullying” is a very powerful documentary about cyber bullying and focuses on the story of Amanda Todd, a young girl who committed suicide after years of relentless bullying. Amanda’s story is one I am quite familiar with. I remember when I was in elementary school I came across her video on YouTube where she explained her story. While I was quite young when I found out about what Amanda went through it has stuck with me till this day. I remember it was a huge deal on YouTube with tons of influencers shining light on the situation. While this situation was very tragic it has become a valuable teaching lesson about how terrible bullying can be. Her mother shines light on this point. This really stood out to me, hearing about how Amanda’s mother wants to use this as a teaching moment so other parents don't have to go through the same pain she went through when Amanda committed suicide. 

When reading “Teachers' Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention” by Erin Wilkey a lot of valuable points are brought up on how to properly address cyber bullying as an educator. As students studying to become the next generation of teachers we need to take note of how cyberbullying can have a major impact on a students life. Students should not have to deal with repetitive abuse from their peers, they should focus on enjoying their youth and having an enjoyable childhood. Wilkey brings up ways to identify if a student is being cyberbullied “Be aware of your students' emotional state. Do they seem depressed? Fearful? Distracted?” (Wilkey 2019) While I do believe these are important things to pay attention to I would like to bring up an additional thing that all teachers should take note of, that being rapid changes in their physical appearance such as weight changes, and self harm. The reason why I bring up “weight changes” is based on what I previously stated on the topic of body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia can lead to harmful behaviors such as practicing bulimia. Bulimia is the action of purposely throwing up to prevent the body from gaining weight from the food they eat, bulimia has led to many adolescents suffering from anorexia due to them not getting the nutrition they need. When reading an article published by Johns Hopkins medicine on the topic of body dysmorphia they consider bullying to be a key contributor to why body dysmorphia develops in a child's mind The cause of body dysmorphic disorder is thought to be a combination of environmental, psychological, and biological factors. Bullying or teasing may create or foster the feelings of inadequacy, shame, and fear of ridicule.” (Johns Hopkins Medicine)

In the article “Tips for Teachers: Warning Signs a Child is Being Cyberbullied or is Cyberbullying” posted on stopbullying.gov they bring up very valuable points on how to best address the situation with the child. “If you think a child is being cyberbullied, speak to them privately to ask about it. They may also have proof on their digital devices.” (Stop Bullying) The main reason why I believe this point is so crucial is because communication is key in so many aspects of life. The topic of communication with the child is also referenced heavily in the documentary “Dark Cloud: The High Cost of Cyberbullying” Amanda Todd’s mother brings up how she wished she spoke with her daughter more on the topic of self harm, and how she thinks that if she did her daughter would still be alive today.

All in all the topic of cyberbullying and bullying in general is something us as future educators need to take very seriously in order to make sure our students have enjoyable and knowledge filled childhoods. The topic of body dysmorphia, and how it can be started by bullying has always been something that hit home for me as I have seen so many stories on the internet on people struggling with the way in which they look and how it affects their mental health.


References 

Dupej, H. & Embry, M. (2020). Dark cloud: The high cost of cyberbullying. TELUS Wise.  \


Tips for Teachers: Warning Signs a Child is Being Cyberbullied or is Cyberbullying. (2021, May 21). stopbullying.gov. https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/tips-for-teachers


Wilkey Oh, E. (2019, March 25). Teachers' Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-cyberbullying-prevention


Hopkins, John. “Body Dysmorphic Disorder.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2020,

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/body-dysmorphic-disorder.

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