By Selina Cerda |Staff Writer|
Cyber bullying is now more common than face-to-face bullying due to the ability to remain anonymous, according to BullyingStatistics.org.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
“I believe people are now more likely to cyber bully because they don’t have to confront them in person,” said student Naoje Williams. “It makes you a weak person if you do it, there are other routes than being mean to people.”
DoSomething.org states “bully victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider committing suicide.”
“I have witnessed cyber bullying and I believe people do it because they think it doesn’t hurt anyone and its fun,” said student Miguel Garibay.
People have come up with every word we use today and just gave it a definition.
For example, the latest trending word is “Fleek”, meaning your eyebrows are on point.
People have the power to make a word and give it a new-found meaning.
The word “ugly” can mean “beautiful” to you only if you make yourself believe it is, because you know you are.
“Girls are about twice as likely to be victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying,” stated DoSomething.org.
This may be due to women having higher standards set by most men, trying to prove she is the right woman for their future.
On YouTube, a trending video titled “Fighting Racism: White dad exposes racists who are bullying his adopted African-American daughter”, a father talks about his adopted daughter who was bullied through
Snapchat by children who do not accept her parentage.
The father wants parents to be more aware of their kids using social media sites especially if it has caused a change of behavior and to search for signs of depression that may ultimately lead to thoughts of suicide.
A few students I talked to who have witnessed cyber bulling gave some advice to anyone who is currently a victim.
“I suggest the current victims try to seek help, nowadays you can block and report users on social media sites like Facebook,” said Garibay. “Don’t pay attention to them and give in, just delete it.”
“Talk to your parents or guardian and let them know whats going on so they can be more aware to try and help,” said student Karina Jaime.
I had the opportunity to talk to a well-known Viner, director, and producer Wuz Good through the Snapchat FaceTime feature on how he prevents the haters getting in to his head.
“If they talk trash, I just talk trash right back because they don’t know my life and then I block them,” said Good. “Get off the internet for a bit and do a different activity, like a sport.”
Cyber bulling is an epidemic, but with proper awareness, knowledge, and compassion, we may have the potential to bring down suicide rates.
Words are words. Don’t let yourself give in and let it affect the way you want to live your life instead of ignoring it.
You have the power to give a word any meaning.
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