Hip Hop Research Paper

Becca Pitts
Mrs. Allen
Contemporary Literature
22 January 2014
Consequences for Bullying There should be higher consequences for someone who bullies. Bullying kills kids and teens. Youths today do not realize that words do hurt. It is not just words that hurt, actions hurt to. Bullying is not just face to face. Cyberbullying has a big impact on bullying too, not just face to face. It happens on any online site. Most online sites that bullying occurs on is MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Bullying is a serious problem. It can and has led to suicide. Being bullied leads to suicide, this is like murder. One factor that has been linked to suicidal ideation is experience with bullying. Youths that have bullied and bullied others are at an elevated risk for suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides. Research shows that experience with peer harassment (most often as a target) leads to depression, decreased self-worth, hopelessness, and loneliness; all are precursors to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. There have been several high-profile cases involving teenagers taking their own lives in part because of being harassed and mistreated over the internet, cyberbullicide- suicide indirectly or directly influenced by experiences with online aggression. “We search to determine if suicidal ideation was also linked to experiences with cyberbullying among offenders and targets” (Hinduja, pg.1). research says that approximately 2,000 randomly-selected middle schooler’s from one of the most populous school districts in the United States, 20% of respondents reported seriously thinking about attempting suicide for females is 19.7% and for males is 20.9%, while 19% reported attempting suicide for females is 17.9% and for males is 20.2%. Cyberbullying can also lead to suicide just as much as regular bullying. “Although cyberbullying is not only driving ordinary youths to suicide, it is less physical than traditional forms of bullying, which it can have more devastating and longer-lasting effects on youths” (Doucet, pg.1). Cyberbullying rates for individual behaviors ranged from 9.1% to 23.1% for offenders and for victims rates are ranged from 5.7% to 18.3%. Most common reported form of cyberbullying is 23.1% for online bullying and 18.3% for emails. Cyberbullying victims were 1.9% more likely to have attempted suicide. In the year of 2000 a University of New Hampshire study found that one of every 16 or 17 percent of kids in the United States had been threatened or harassed online. March of 2006, statistics showed that 75 to 80 percent of 12 to 14 year olds had been cyberbullied. Cyberbullying is clearly on the rise, and it does affect both genders, not just females, but males as well. Cyberbullying is a very difficult form of bullying to prevent and police. The difference between cyberbullying and traditional bullying is the ability to bully without a face-to-face confrontation. Kids become emboldened by the false feeling of being anonymous and they say things they might not have the guts to say in person. Identifying a cyberbully is not as easy as identifying the traditional big bad bully, because kids make fake names and profiles so they do not get caught. Cyberbullying is not worse than physical bullying. Boys and girls say that youths are more likely to be harassed offline rather than online. A reporter had asked a great number of teens that had said more kids get bullied and harassed offline, then online”(Lenhart, pg. 2). About one third (32%) of all teenagers who use the internet say they have been targets of a range of annoying and potentially menacing online activities such as receiving threatening messages, having private e-mails or text messages forwarded without consent, having an embarrassing picture posted without permission, or having rumors spread about them online. Girls are a bit more likely than boys to say that bullying happens more online (33% of girls and 25% of boys), though overall, both boys and girls say that kids their age are more than likely to be harassed offline. White teens are a bit more likely than African-American teens to think that bullying is more of a problem online- 32% of white teens said bullying happens more often online, and 18% of African-American teens said bullying happens more often online. Teens that have online profiles are just as likely as those who do not to say that bullying happens more often offline. Young teens that have been cyberbullied are more likely than their peers who have not been bullied to say that they believe bullying happens online more than offline. The majority of bullied teens say that bullying is more likely to happen offline than online. Seven to ten (71%) of teens who have not experienced bullying believe it happens more often offline, while 57% of teens who have been cyberbullied themselves say bullying happens more offline. Cyberbullying and bullying is a serious problem for youths today, because kids slam each other nastily through text messages, e-mails, and online sites. “This is not the simple schoolyard bullying. This is peer pressure beyond belief,” said Linda M. Pacheco, the director of public safety education for the Bristol County (Massachusetts) Sheriff’s Department. Cyberbullying results in many youths feeling alienated and helpless. Some have even committed suicide because of the way they have been treated by others. Reporter Brain Fraga writes that Cyberbullying is a growing and serious problem among young people. Officials say that young people are more verbally aggressive and abusive online than they would be face to face. “A Vermont Boy, in 2003, Ryan Halligan, hanged himself after being the target of brutal instant messages that he had received from other kids that were sending him cruel messages. Bullying has moved beyond the playground and the school hallways, following young people to the realm where they spend a greater portion of their time online. In Cyberbullying, the name-calling, rumor-spreading and intimidation tactics take on new dimensions and consequences- thanks to a generation of teens and pre-teens who have grown up with computers, the internet and cell phones. A few years ago in Florida, six teenage girls videotaped themselves assaulting another girl. The assailants threatened to put the video online. The fight began from text messages and comments the victim reportedly had posted on MySpace. “It is a certainly a serious problem with the explosion of social networking sites and just the devices kids are carrying around. They have the ability to communicate so readily” (Fraga, pg.3). Schools need to take more actions and enact cyberbullying policies. “Supervision and monitoring is important for deterrence, detection, investigation, and responding to incidents of cyberbullying” (Willard, pg.3). Students are engaging in this activity outside of school, but because the participants are also together in school, this off-campus activity may be impacting the school climate or interfering with the ability of students to be successful in school. Students are also engaging in this activity while using the district internet system, while in school or when off-campus if access to the district internet system is allowed, or when using personal digital devices, including cell phones or personal laptops while on campus. Cyberbullying and cyberthreats may be related to in-school bullying. Sometimes, the student who is victimized at school is also being bullied online. But other times, the person who is victimized at school becomes a cyberbully and retaliates online. Still other times, the student who is victimized will share his or her anger or depression online as distressing material. When school officials respond to a report of cyberbullying or a cyberthreats, it is exceptionally important to take the time to fully investigate the situation, through an analysis of online as well as real-world interactions. Students should be held accountable for harmful material posted online, but punishing the who is being victimized at school for responding the victimization online will only increase the potential for additional harmful acts. Cyberbullying may be based on hate or bias, bullying others because of race, religion, physical appearance (including obesity), or sexual orientation. It is widely known that face-to-face bullying can result in long-term psychological harm to targets. This harm includes low self-esteem, depression, anger, school failure and avoidance, and in some cases, school violence or suicide. Addressing the concerns of cyberbullying and cyberthreats will require a systemic change. Monitoring should be sufficient to establish the expectation among students that there is a high probability that instances of misuse will be detected and result in disciplinary actions. Cyberbullying among students is a dangerous epidemic. Online bullying is not only driving ordinary youths to suicide, but anonymous trolls are celebrating those deaths in what could only be equated to the chat-room equivalent of snuff videos. “Tom Mullaney was a lively 15 year old boy with no history of being bullied, but all it took to shred his world apart was one night with 12 threating Facebook messages from 6 of his classmates. His father found him in the shed at the back of the garden, hanged. He was cyber-lynched to suicide. After the devastated Mullaney family set up an online tribute page in Tom’s loving memory, the site went viral in the RIP troll community and they swiftly desecrated it with a barrage of nasty comments- “cold and stiff”- and photo shopped images of Tom with a lasso around his neck, or his decapitated head in a sliced sausage with caption “RIP Tom Baloney” (Doucet, pg., 1). Cyberbullying is a lot more common than it might be expected, according to Carney Bonner who runs a mentoring and support group. The statistics are that “one in three people aged between 11 to 17 are cyberbullied, with girls three times more likely. It goes to school with you, it comes home with you, and it goes in the shower with you it goes everywhere you go.” Even though bullying and cyberbullying is not illegal, it should be because bullying kills youths. They get depressed and think that they are hopeless and not loved, when they are. When youths get depressed they get ideas in their heads that they want to try and kill themselves, whether it is over dosing on drugs, cutting your wrists, thighs, arms, or stomach, attempting suicide, or actually committing suicide. Bullying is a serious topic and most people do not take it as serious as they should. Even though suicide is when you kill yourself, bullies make them do it, because of the names they call other youths, so in that matter, bullies are the ones killing other youths, which that is murder. So my question is, if murder is a crime, then how come bullying is not a crime. Bullying is murder, and murder is a crime. Like the saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well that is a major lie. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me.”
Works Cited
Doucet, Isabeau. “Cyberbullying Among Students Is a Dangerous Epidemic.” Netiquette and Online Ethics. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Anti-Social Network: The Rise of a Cyber-Bullying Epidemic.” http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

Fraga, Brian. “Cyberbullying Is a Serious Problem for Youth.” Media Violence. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Cyberbullying Is a Growing Problem Among Youngsters.” SouthCoastToday.com. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014

Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. “Cyberbullying May Exacerbate Problems That Can Lead to Suicide.” Cyberbullying. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issues. Rpt. from “Cyberbullying and Suicide.” Cyberbulling Research Summary. Cyberbullying Research Center, 2010. 206-221. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

Lenhart, Amanda. “Cyberbullying Is Not Worse than Physical Bullying.” Media Violence. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Cyberbullying and Online Teens.” Pew Internet & American Life Project. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

Meech, Scott. “Cyberbullying Is Worse than Physical Bullying.” Media Violence. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Cyber Bullying: Worse Than Traditional Bullying.” Educators’ eZine. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014

Willard, Nancy. “Schools Should Enact Cyberbullying Policies.” School Policies. Ed. Jamuna Carroll. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “An Educator’s Guide to Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress.” Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

Cited: Doucet, Isabeau. “Cyberbullying Among Students Is a Dangerous Epidemic.” Netiquette and Online Ethics. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Anti-Social Network: The Rise of a Cyber-Bullying Epidemic.” http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Fraga, Brian. “Cyberbullying Is a Serious Problem for Youth.” Media Violence. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Cyberbullying Is a Growing Problem Among Youngsters.” SouthCoastToday.com. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014 Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. “Cyberbullying May Exacerbate Problems That Can Lead to Suicide.” Cyberbullying. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issues. Rpt. from “Cyberbullying and Suicide.” Cyberbulling Research Summary. Cyberbullying Research Center, 2010. 206-221. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Lenhart, Amanda. “Cyberbullying Is Not Worse than Physical Bullying.” Media Violence. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Cyberbullying and Online Teens.” Pew Internet & American Life Project. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Meech, Scott. “Cyberbullying Is Worse than Physical Bullying.” Media Violence. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Cyber Bullying: Worse Than Traditional Bullying.” Educators’ eZine. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014 Willard, Nancy. “Schools Should Enact Cyberbullying Policies.” School Policies. Ed. Jamuna Carroll. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “An Educator’s Guide to Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress.” Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.