How cyber bullying psychologically affects kids/teens

Cyberbullying exists as a form of harassment that occurs in the electronic medium. Such a practice has become rampant nowadays, while its main targets children and teens. Today, they have access to technology more than ever, which has significantly exposed them to cyberbullying (Besag, 2010). Various stakeholders have raised their voices, protesting against the practice of cyberbullying since it affects the development of children greatly. Some of the behaviors, which can be associated with this harmful practice, include rumors and their spreading online as well as the posting of threating remarks. The disclosure of personal information, related to another individual, via electronic media is also a form of cyberbullying. Repeated behavior has highlighted harm towards targeted individuals. Nevertheless, cyberbullying may have negative effects on its victims as well as perpetrators (Warren, 2011). Thus, cyberbullying affects the psychological state of children and teens through the development of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideations, low self-esteem, and use of drugs.

Development of Depression

Cyberbullying is primarily associated with depression among children and teens. This practice can be encountered on such online platforms as Facebook, one of the widely used social media sites by young people. An Internet survey, conducted by Schenk and Fremouw (2012), revealed that 8.6% of 799 interviewed students had experienced cyberbullying. The resultant effect of this practice is depression since children and teens are not comfortable talking openly about what they experience. They develop the fear of telling their parents that they are cyberbullied since that they do not want to lose the online connection they have established. Depression reduces the concentration of children on their studies since their minds are confused by what they experience. Children, who suffer from cyberbullying, may have deterred growth and development, so they might have issues progressing from one stage to another (Wang, Nansel, & Iannotti, 2011). Children will not receive love and attention that they need for their successful growth and development. Their inability to engage with their parents and peers to talk about cyberbullying will make it hard for them to engage with others further in life. Depression leads to trust-related issues since children tend to avoid communicating with others since these problems are based on the bullying experiences they have encountered during adolescence.

Anxiety as the Result of Cyberbullying

Children and teens tend to develop anxieties when faced with cyberbullying. A state of fear and worry is registered among such children, and in most cases, they feel frightened, exhibiting a high level of intensified reactions. Unsolved anxieties often accelerate and lead towards disorders such as phobia and social anxieties (Navarro, Yubero, Larra?aga, & Mart?nez, 2011). Children tend to avoid any situation that exposes them to the world. Eventually, they tend to develop fear that is evident in the way they interact with others (Wang et al., 2011). For example, if someone mentions about social media platforms and the manner, in which people communicate with each other, they become frightened. Their past experiences may keep them away from the use of media platforms due to the fear of experiencing a similar event. Therefore, they tend to limit their movement, deciding to be stay in the areas where they are not in contact with other people. Extreme cases of anxiety can affect the mental state of teens, thus making it hard for them to engage in constructive thinking processes in schools (H?bert, C?nat, Blais, Lavoie & Guerrier, 2016). They may spend most of their time pondering about what has happened to them, which is dangerous for their mental state.

Low Self-esteem

Teens, who have experienced cyberbullying, have low self-esteem, which is an example of a psychological issue that teenagers face globally. Thus, they experience difficulties with evaluating their esteem levels, which is quite dangerous since at the teenage stage, this factor can deter their progressive development (Brewer & Kerslake, 2015). Such negative behaviors as cyberbullying affect them adversely since they start viewing themselves as inferior and unworthy. For example, if a teenager experiences a case where someone creates a Facebook page and uses their photographs inappropriately, their self-esteem is profoundly damaged. Similarly, someone might start spreading rumors about others, presenting and interpreting them as truthful. Consequently, teenagers might develop self-esteem issues and they would not want to be associated with other people, thus limiting limit their communication with others.

Teenagers have more issues, related to low self-esteem, as compared to children. The latter may not be cautious about how others view them, except for those who mature early. Adolescence is such a stage when people build their character and image; hence, anything that deters the achievement of this goal may affect them adversely. Girls experience more cases of low self-esteem as compared to boys. As they reach adulthood, it becomes hard for them to sustain relations and friendships due to this issue (Brewer & Kerslake, 2015). If they engage in a relationship, it does not last long because they cannot trust their partners and they are anxious most of the time. Thus, their adulthood is affected, and unless they work on their past problems, they will not be able to maintain normal relations with others.

Suicidal Ideations

Cyberbullying cultivates suicidal ideations among children and teens. Aggravated depression can highlight suicide cases among teens (Alavi, Reshetukha, & Prost, 2015). In the college environment, some teenagers decide to end their lives. An assessment of some of these issues reveals that such students have been cyberbullied and they have not managed to deal with these experiences. At times, they are used as points of reference by others, thus making their situation ridiculous. In addition to the real cases of suicide, failed attempts by teenagers are also registered. If a teenager experiences cyberbullying repeatedly, they might tend to view themselves as less important in society and decide to kill themselves. Therefore, they might consider suicide as the only solution to their problems, but such a decision is not an ideal one (Alavi et al., 2015). Teenagers do not share their cyberbullying experiences with other people, even their parents, which only aggravates the problem, turning it into a burden for them. If they took the initiative of talking openly about their problems, suicide cases would reduce significantly. Suicidal thoughts are a psychological problem because it is evident that bullied teenagers do not think straight in their condition.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Teenagers, suffering from cyberbullying, are likely to resort to using alcohol and drugs. The experiences they have encountered bring significant psychological harm to them. These events are still fresh on their minds, so alcohol and drugs are the only way to forget them. The new feeling, resulting from using drugs, takes their minds from cyberbullying (Peleg-Oren, Cardenas, Comerford, & Galea, 2012). Drugs are detrimental to their welfare and they can cause even more serious problems. Mental diseases among adolescents have been linked to the consumption of alcohol and drugs. Notably, some young people decide to have alcohol and drugs in large quantities, which exposes them to mental conditions in the future. Reduced attention to their studies among other areas of focus has been associated with the consumption of illegal substances. Within the school, environment, teenagers have deterred memory as well as lowered concentration, which subsequently lowers their performance (H?bert et al., 2016). Such a psychological state of their minds decreases their attentiveness and concentration in their studies as well as at home.

Dealing with Cyberbullying

The psychological state of children and teens can be protected with the elimination of the practice under discussion. Thus, it is the responsibility of each person to be compassionate and openly if they have been experienced cyberbullying. It is easy to manage issues once someone speaks about them as compared to silence since others may not even know what problems one has faced. Parents should learn to respond appropriately to the cases of bullying of their children (Lim, 2013). For example, they should not prohibit the Internet access to their children, but they should teach them about the safe use of social media. The Internet is a main part in the development of children and it requires an integration of parental support. Parents should also check their childrens gadgets since if there are possible threats to them, parents should contact the law enforcement authorities for an appropriate action (Lim, 2013). Software that can monitor and filter contents should be initiated to protect children and teens from cyberbullying. Finally, codes of conduct should be updated to include cyberbullying as a serious offense, punishable by law.

Conclusion

Overall, cyberbullying has adverse psychological effects on children and teens. Technology change has facilitated the existence of devices and tools that young people can use to interact with each other. However, these devices also help in such illegal activities as cyberbullying. Exposure to this practice has raised concerns about depression, anxiety, esteem issues as well as alcohol and drug use. The elimination of such psychological conditions requires everyones great efforts in dealing with cyberbullying. At times, it is hard to monitor and filter contents, and individual responsibility should exist as the appropriate solution to the issue in question. The world will be a better and safer place if people adopt the initiative of eradicating cyberbullying.

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