Project Web Final Essay

Christopher Dominguez
Professor Lawson
English 113
02/28/2013
Final draft

Enough is Enough!

We all know bullying is when an individual confronts to tease, hurt, or disturb someone.  Bullying started off in schools where bullies would pick on kids that they didn’t like for some odd reason that never seem to make sense. Bullies will pick on the unpopular kids to stay on top while not losing their affection of the in-group that they belong too. For example, the pretty girls would pick on the not so pretty girls and call them names, tease them about their weight or just make their life a living hell. Facebook, instead of being a social network to connect with friends has become one of the most popular sites where kids get bullied every day. Bullies can just go on their wall and write; you suck, go hang yourself, you are a disgrace, and much more. If it’s not through social media site it’s through consent text messages. Bullies now have crossed the line of safety in school and are now entering through computers at home. Bullies are naïve to think that they don’t cause any harm through cyber bullying another people but indeed they do. Some children are getting both physical and cyber bullied. Cyber predators also have a great impact on cyber bullying. They pass as young males or females but in reality they are grown men and women. Cyber-bullying may not seem as anything massive but it can lead to deep depression, physical encounters, and in some cases to attempts if death and suicide. It’s time to get awareness out there to protect teens from become fatal victims of cyber bullying.

Cyber bullying has become a great phenomenon that exists on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Researchers are linking this type of bullying with depression among the victims that experience cyber bullying. In an article from the Science Daily they say that “regular bullying is when someone would go into the bathroom and write nasty insults on the wall, but with cyber bullying the victims are at risk that maybe worldwide then can be bullied even more” (Center for Advancing Health). Since they are getting bullied by messages, on chat rooms, or a text message they decide to isolate themselves and that’s when depression begins to kick in. The mechanisms of cyber bullying is that “I can post up a made of picture you on Facebook because there is a bigger audience… that can be devastating  not knowing how many people have see or commented on that photo” . Another factor is that adult predators pass as young boys; friend a girl, make the girls love them, insult them, and then dump the girls. In the article “Cyber-bullying linked to spike in depression” by The Washington Post says that boys are more likely to cyber-bully and girls are the cyber-victims. For those targeted by this behavior the tendency for depression was equal among both sexes. Victims of cyber-bullying have high factors of depression rather than their attackers or people who are bullies and have been victims. These might be because the bully that was once a victim is now taking revenge on what they did to him or her in a sense.

Your name, address, phone number, and other personal information is what social networks ask you to write down in order to create your profile. It doesn’t matter if you have your setting set to private, cyber predators will do anything to find out your information. There are two types of cyber predators; one that seeks face to face meetings and the other one who anonymously seek and trade child pornography images.  “It is believed that more than half a million pedophiles are online every day” .  There are websites that cyber predators use to obtain your information like “ICanStalkU.com and MyLife.com” (Hatch). A teenage girl named Alyson from Bloomington Illinois posted a picture of her dogs love for cheetos, but she didn’t know that her whereabouts where being broadcasted worldwide on ICanStalkU.com. Also her family’s information was found just by linking her picture from Twitter. Even without you being some friend you are able to look at; what city they live, there favorite TV shows and movies, and what high school they attended. The cyber predators that seek face to face meetings tend to pass as 14 year old boys or girls and tend to find teenagers with low self esteem. Cyber predators or pedophilias will first create a bond with their victim. As the days and weeks go by they will ask for nude images or ask if they can have a physical encounter and there they will abuse of their victim. The relationship that these predators form is called “grooming”.  Special Agent Wesley Tietmeyer, a veteran cyber investigator in Chicago said that “about 70 percent of youngsters will accept “friend” requests regardless of whether they know the requester”
Sexting is a practice of sending nude pictures through cell phones or any other electronic media. It has become an issue among young couples. A curious hormone-driven boyfriend will constantly ask his girlfriend to send him nude or seminude pictures of her. Sexting is considered normal for teens and it’s accepted in today’s culture, but they don’t know that it’s also a crime. According to the article “Teen Sexting can have Serious Consequences” it says “Sexting can have serious social and emotional consequences for teens and adults alike—especially where a picture is taken without knowledge, forwarded without consent, or used to bully and harass” (Herman). What teenagers don’t realize is what happens after they click send. What happens if you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend and to get back at you they forward your picture to the whole school or put it on Facebook Anonymously? You could end up being teased, bullied, or even committing suicide. A 17 year old teen who snaps his or her own exposed picture has technically committed child pornography. In the state of Illinois “a person commits the offense of child pornography by videotaping or photographing anyone he or she should know is under the age of 18 and who is engaged in any sexual act or in any pose involving lewd exhibition of unclothed or transparently clothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast” (Herman). Even if you forward an image that was sent to you, you still have violated that provision.

In conclusion, we need to be more educating and aware of what is going on through the internet. Children are not safe anymore. Cyber bullying has taken over the comfort of a child’s home. They don’t feel safe at school because they are being bullied or at because the bullying is continuing. Depression has been linked to cyber bullying in many cases it ends up fatal. Bullies don’t realize that they are hurting someone until it’s too late. They think that cyber bullying can’t be that bad but in reality it sometimes can be even worse than physical bullying. Cyber predators are all over the internet. They seek face to face meetings or just to get child pornography. Cyber predator’s victims are those teens that have low self-esteem due to the fact of being bullied.   Parents need to get educated to be able to protect their kids. Parents and also schools have to be well equipped with discipline matters when it comes down on cyber bullying and sexting. Parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of cyber bullying and explain to them that sexting is considered a crime and not just a great phenomenon that teens are doing now a day. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

further research:
 Brain Pop has crated a video explaining what cyber bullying is to kids. so that they can get a better understanding on this topic

Works Cited
"Child Predators." FBI. FBI, 17 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Center for Advancing Heath.“ In cyber bullying, depression hits victims hardest.” ScienceDaliy, 26 Sep. 2010. Web. 27 Feb.2013

George, Donna St. “Cyber-bullying linked to spike in depression.” The Washington Post.
The Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
Hatch, David. "Tracking Your Every Move." National Journal (2010). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Herman, Joshua D. "Teen Sexting Can Have Serious Consequences." Teens and Privacy. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Sexting: It's No Joke, It's a Crime." Illinois Bar Journal98.4 (Apr. 2010): 192. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Kasurak, Chris. “Cyber-bullying”.drawing. Google Images. n.d. Web. 10 Feb 2013