Cyberbullying: Prevalence and Impact

This assignment delves into the issue of cyberbullying among students. It presents several research articles analyzing its prevalence, impact on social and emotional well-being, and different reactions from victims based on gender. The document also includes a sample media release highlighting key statistics and intended for the Ministry of Education and students. Additionally, there's a section with frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers related to cyberbullying experiences.

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Public Relations
Name
Institution

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Issue Analysis
MacDonald, C. D., & Roberts-Pittman, B. (2010). Cyberbullying among college students:
Prevalence and demographic differences. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 2003-
2009. Elsievier
This article looks at cyberbullying amongst college students who are more mature regarding their
ages and experiences, but the results remained similar. Elsevier as the company concerned with
this research aims at giving the numbers related to cyberbullying and the platforms that
encourage the action more (MacDonald, 2010). According to a study conducted among 439
students in college, 39% are witnesses who have met or interacted with a cyberbullying victim
and felt their experience. 21%, on the other hand, have personally experienced the act and know
how it feels to be on the end of the victim. 9% confessed to having been involved in bullying
others at one point in their lives and therefore gives a different perspective from their side of the
experience. All participants who responded to the discussion claimed that the act is of adverse
consequences to the social and emotional lives of both the victim and the bully.
Some social media platforms recorded a higher rate of cyberbullying events than others
depending on their access, ease of use and the ability to hide one’s identity(MacDonald, 2010).
Facebook was amongst the most used as one can create a false account and conceal their status
so that they can humiliate others without getting recognized. There was no gender, cultural or
religious differences when it comes to the activities of bullying. Anyone regardless of their social
identity was a possible victim of cyberbullying.

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MacDermid, L. (2017) Cyberbullying Among Teens: Prevalence, Impact, And The Path
Forward Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/03/14/cyberbullying-
among-teens-prevalence-impact-and-the-path-forward/#405341397189- Quora
Cyberbullying is an increasingly troubling issue for young people which is all over the social
media platforms. Quora as the organization behind this online article focuses more on showing
the way online exploitation can socially affect teenagers more than any other type of humiliation.
Unlike different types of bullying, cyberbullying is the kind of activity that can continue the
whole day and night regardless of the place (MacDermid, 2017). It is not only limited to the
school environment, playground or any other social interactions. A student has no option but to
log in to connect with friends and that is where they get to face these social challenges. Research
shows that teenagers spend over 70% online which mostly traces to social media platforms like
Facebook and Twitter since only a few use emails. In a case of negativity, an individual will face
such either privately or publicly on the platforms(MacDermid, 2017).
The statistics from the Cyberbullying Research Centre suggests that 38% of children aged
between 12-17 years of age have experienced cyberbullying in their lives. They describe it as an
intimidating experience whereby someone takes control of your life and facilitates emotional
imbalance. 15% of the same age group claim to have been involved in cyberbullying whereby
they were the ones causing pain to their friends and classmates. The most common reasons they
give is that they do this for revenge or entertainment. The most appropriate way to handle these
situations is to hold the bullies accountable for their actions by tracing them online and punishing
them according to the children law(MacDermid, 2017). It is also good to talk about it with the
victims and the bullies to focus on the effects the actions might have on an individual. Holding

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conversations enables people to open up and share their experiences which can be the first step
of healing.
Li, Q., 2006. Cyber bullying in schools: A research of gender differences. School
psychology international, 27(2), pp.157-170. Sage Journals
The print article focuses on cyberbullying among children in respect to their gender to give the
statistics of how they all react to this act. Sage is the organization behind this article, and the
main aim is to research the numbers of cyberbullying amongst teenagers. Almost half of the
participants claim to be victims of cyberbullying at one point of their lives which implies to one
in every four students (Li, 2006). More than half, however, say that they have witnessed or
interacted with a victim of this social activity. Male students turn out to be more of the bullies
than their female counterparts. Both genders also react differently to bullying with most female
victims informing an older person while the males prefer to deal with their issues.
This article’s primary objective is to inform the audience that the changing social interactions
amongst teenagers are headed to the most negative situation. It is true that most communication
has moved online and students have no choice but to stay connected to talk to their friends and
classmates (Li, 2006). However, some use these platforms to intimidate and humiliate others
which are intimately connected to the reduced self-confidence amongst the youths. When males
are bullied, they tend to suffer more because they barely involve adults like parents or relatives
in their problems, unlike females. Students, therefore, end up depressed from all the online
intimidation and some time might end up hurting themselves in the form of suicide. The
existence of bullies in a group of students is a common trend. One does not need to be a stalker,
if they give negative comments that hurt others, spread a rumor or post embarrassing pictures of
other people already makes them bullies.

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Media Release
Intro/Lead
Cyber Bullying amongst students has negative impacts to their social and emotional
identity
Target Public
The ministry of education, Students
Relevant Messages
58% have interacted with people who
have experienced cyber bullying, 33%
have been victims and 9% have been
bullies.
Source
MacDermid, L. (2017)
Cyberbullying Among Teens:
Prevalence, Impact, And The Path
Forward Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora
/2017/03/14/cyberbullying-among-
teens-prevalence-impact-and-the-
path-forward/#405341397189-

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Frequently asked questions
Q$A
Q1: Has someone ever taken a private message or email you send them then post it publicly for
others to see?
Ans: Yes I just logged in my Facebook account only to see screenshots of the messages I sent a
friend trending
Q2: Can you recall any episode of Someone spreading a lie or rumor about you on a public
platform like Face book
Ans: No, although I have witnessed people spreading lies about others especially leaders and
public figures online.
Q3: Have you ever received a threatening message from a stranger either on email or any social
media platform.
Ans: Yes, someone was threatening to expose my secrets publicly if I did not comply with
his/her demands.
Q4: Has anyone ever posted an embarrassing or inappropriate message of you online without
your consent

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Ans: Not really, though one of my closest friends bumped into a picture about her online, that
she would rather keep private because of the impact it created.