"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
I'm sure many of us have heard that saying before, but how true is it? Over the internet words are the main way to express how we are feeling about any certain situation. We comment on everything. Our entire society is glued to the connection that is offered to us by the internet and social media. There are many times when this advancing technology is a very good and exciting thing, but what happens when people can hide behind a screen and say hurtful things to others? Well, that is considered cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that is not necessarily verbal, but instead is over the internet, email, text message, or social media. The reason that this is such a huge issue is because a victim cannot just walk away when being bullied. A cyberbully can spread a mean comment or picture faster than anyone can stop. Once something is put on the internet there is no way to ever fully get rid of it; this means that the bullies cannot run from their actions and that consequences should be easy to legislate. Since cyberbullying usually takes place mostly with teenagers who are of school age, schools are unsure if they need to be a part of the solution to this problem. In my opinion I believe that schools have every right to get involved. Children and teenagers need a lot of guidance to help them learn what is right and wrong. With the involvement of schools in this problem we are more likely to spread awareness and create an environment in which a victim feels they can speak up if they are being bullied. We are a new generation and sadly this is something that I believe needs to be added to the curriculum. I also believe that parents should be monitoring the posts of their children and teaching them the difference between free speech and cyberbullying. To me the difference is that people won't filter their posts on the internet as much as they would if they were talking face to face with a person. Again, this brings up what I said before that hiding behind a screen making people feel invincible. All in all, words do hurt. Many victims of cyberbullying are suffering with depression, health issues, poor grades, and even thoughts of suicide. This is a very real problem that I believe in every way possible should be managed. Parents, family members, fellow peers, teachers...we all have to work together to spread awareness on this issue, and let the victims know that they can be heard too.
-Cindy
