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Cyberbullying In America

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Over half of American students, 53%, admit to saying something hurtful online to one of their peers, and a third of them have done it more than once (Hitchcock). Cyberbullying is becoming more prevalent and is even affecting academic performance. The majority of parents aren’t aware of their children’s online activities, and are even less informed about the growing rates of online abuse. Anxiety and depression rates are higher than has ever been recorded in America alone. Cyberbullying is a growing problem that is rapidly emerging and becoming an everyday issue due to little or no legislative laws, resulting in victims being left vulnerable and defenseless against online bullies. Over half of the teenage population is aware of online bullying due to first hand experience. An overwhelming 42% of students have been bullied online more than once, and 58% have had something harmful said to them once (Hitchcock). The majority of victims do not tell their parents, in hopes that it will stop on its own or they can control it. Bullying used to stop when the victim went home, but now the victim can’t escape due to easy internet accessibility. …show more content…
Online bullying gives opportunity for provocative remarks to be made, which can lead to extreme emotional responses from the victim. Kids as young as eleven have been targeted by bullies (Wilson). Often bullies will provoke their friends and peers to attack the victim. Big social media companies such as facebook, twitter, and instagram have taken actions to help aid in the fight against cyberbullying. Features such as report buttons and being able to flag comments are just a start to stopping the growing

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