Bullying

Has technology enabled more forms of bullying? I believe it has because it gives kids a wall to hide behind without ever getting caught (or so they think). With the hype around Facebook, MySpace (when it was popular), Twitter, and FormSpring just to name a few, kids of any age can register and post negative comments to strangers or their so called “friends.” On FormSpring, you can post anonymous comments for anyone to read. A girl on Long Island recently committed suicide because of hurtful, negative comments left on her FormSpring. Her parents said their daughter had dealt with depression before, but many believe the hateful comments affected her depression more and ultimately led her to her death. Look at any kid today: 99% of them have cell phones and are texting 24/7. If one hateful comment is sent to one person through a text message, you can guarantee it will be sent to hundreds of other kids, spreading rumors. This can happen at any time, and if it is done during school hours, the hateful message will be spread around the school extremely quickly, leading to kids bullying others. If kids have the chance of saying something behind one’s back without ever thinking of getting caught, they will do it. Many are scared to say something hurtful to another person’s face because they know it is wrong, so they hide behind any form of technology they get their hands on. Many kids will become obsessed with finding out who said the negative comments by posting responses, which also leads the bullies on – they know they are angering someone, so they will do it even more. Bullies can make fun of how one dresses, how one looks, what their favorite music is, etc. and the victims will become seriously hurt, mentally and potentially physically. The victims might believe you should change or conform to fit in a specific group. Kids need to realize you shouldn’t care what others think of you. At young ages, such as in middle school and high school, you are figuring out who you are, what you like, what you dislike, etc. You shouldn’t believe being any one way is “right.” You should just dress how you want to, like what you want, and just be yourself. Just because bullies have a problem with you, doesn’t mean you have to change.