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Nicole Hucks
Eng. 112-78
Professor Connie Douglas
Persuasive Essay
26 November 2016

Dont Be Mean Behind the Scenes.

Cyber-bullying in itself doesnt seem like anything major at all, but the effect it has on
young people is a big deal. Real people with real emotions are on the other side of those
monitors. Some are depressed, going through physical bullying, and for so many it leads to
suicide. This doesnt have to be the answer: parents, teachers, and school counselors can
make a change. In this modern world, cyberbullying has become the new form of bullying.
Unlike the more traditional form, a person that has chosen to be a cyberbully is able to remain
anonymous and potentially go viral.
There are many different effects of cyberbullying, but mostly psychological. The victims
that are cyberbullied have a hard time dealing with the bully because the bully is always there: if
the Internet is available, so is the bully. Being able to bully the victim behind the screen is so
much easier because there is no face to face contact, and the bullys identity is unknown.
Because cyberbullying is done anonymously, different measures must be taken to control it than
would be used with regular bullying. Many people avoid getting involved in controlling
cyberbullying, and people who are concerned need to persuade the adults most involved with
the young people to be willing to take the risk to fight Cyberbullying.

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The best place to start with any problem is at the source, and the source of cyberbullying
is the young people involved. According to the research by Hawkins, Pepler, and Craig, when
intervention is taken the bullying incident can be stopped within ten seconds 57% of the time.
The other 43% of the time the bystander is not willing to take a stand to stop the bullying for fear
of retaliation, and instead might even encourage the cyberbullying. The use of intervention as a
first response means that everyone aware of what is going on has a responsibility to stop
cyberbullying. If only one had the courage to take a stand and say No, or even show
disapproval, or in any way just say this is wrong it could make a difference in some other young
persons life, maybe even a life or death situation. Everyone can be part of the problem,
everyone can be a part of the solution.
The people closest to the students are the parents, often they know very little about what
is going on. Schools can carry out programs to help convince parents of how to get involved.
According to the article The not so brave world of cyberbullying, the kids must be told that
cyberbullying might not be as anonymous as they think. By becoming computer friendly parents
can learn how to protect their children. They can teach the children that even when threats,
pictures or victimizing words are deleted, they are still on the hard drive and can still be
discovered somehow. Once discovered, these cyberbullying activities could make it harder for
them to get into college or get a job.
The school is another place where young people spend most of their time. They need to
know that there is someone to turn to help with issues towards cyberbullying. Since teachers
and principals are always busy school counsellors are important because they can be available
at any time in the day. The schools should be encouraged to have the counselors take the first
step by speaking in classrooms or assemblies, and encouraging students to come to them with
any kind of problem, including cyberbullying. Then the student will know someone is there they

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can talk to in a private room behind a closed door, and they never need to feel alone in their fear
or anger.
According to Psychological Impact of Cyberbullying Implications of School
Counsellors, there are six indicators of an effective school community, for instance the
students, the staff, and finally the family engaged in learning about bullying. All of these
suggestions require a joint effort of all the people involved in the problem of cyberbullying. The
people who know about the problem of cyberbullying, and want to help protect young people
from its damaging, or even tragic effects should write letters, make phone calls, circulate
petitions or any other means they can find to persuade legislators, and school administrators to
be sure there preventative measures are put in place in all schools everywhere.
Furthermore the school counsellors need to become more aware, and concerned about
the young peoples well-being. The school counsellors must do everything possible to help each
young person involved in cyberbullying, they need to have up- to-date knowledge of the many
forms of cyberbullying and how they affect the victims. They also need to understand that the
bullies causing the problem have psychological and real-life problems that need attention and
help working through to prevent more serious problems in the future, such as getting into a life
of crime. For this reason, school boards need to be persuaded to offer continuing education to
the counselors they keep on staff, to make them as effective as possible in helping the young
people.
In conclusion, the problem of cyberbullying comes in many forms and needs everyone
involved to be active in preventing or helping resolve the harmful effects of this growing threat.
The school counselor is in a unique position to bring all the other members of the team together,
starting with the young people. From the young people that are immediately involved with the
cyberbully to those who try to help the victims, by educating parents in ways they can intervene
in their childs life by setting limits on their childs computer activity, teaching the children to use

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passwords, to not share anything online that they do not want everyone to see, and to come to
them if any problems begin. As the article points out, dealing with cyberbullying needs a multidisciplinary approach in which all members must work together for the best possible outcome.

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Bibliography
Gibson, Jim. "The (Not-so) Brave New World of Bullies; Online Harassment is on the Rise and
it's just as Serious as Threats made at School." CanWest NewsMar 19
2010. ProQuest. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.
Kraft, Ellen M., and Jinchang Wang. "Effectiveness of Cyber Bullying Prevention Strategies: A
Study on Students' Perspectives." International Journal of Cyber Criminology 3.2 (2009):
513-35. ProQuest. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

Nordahl, Jennifer, Tanya Beran, and Crystal J. Dittrick. "Psychological Impact of CyberBullying: Implications for School Counsellors/L'Effet Psychologique De CyberIntimidation: Implications Pour Les Conseillers Scolaires." Canadian Journal of
Counselling and Psychotherapy (Online) 47.3 (2013): 383-402.ProQuest. Web.