Research Proposal on Cyber Bullying and Its Psychological Effects
This research proposal will investigate the psychological effects of cyber bullying on children of all ages. Students considered will also be from all genders involving heterosexual and same-sex. A sample of 100 students from all educational levels including primary schools and high schools will be taken into consideration while conducting this research. Data collection will be done using structured interviews, while an array of data analysis tools, like charts, tables, and graphs, will be used to analyze the collected data. Online surveys will also be conducted, while an in-depth literature review will offer explanations of cyber bullying and its psychological effects.
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Background Information
With new technological advancements and affordable prices for phones as well as for personal and desktop computers, the use of the Internet among children and adolescents has increased. This means that most young people spend their time using these devices. This is different from some time ago when peers spent most of their time communicating face-to-face. Despite the benefits of this technological advancement, various problems have arisen due to their increased use. Particularly, a new form of violence known as cyber bullying has emerged. This implies a situation where bullies use phones and the Internet in order to exert violence against their victims. As a result, researchers have become concerned about the psychological effects that cyber bullying has on its victims.
Statement of the Problem
With the advanced technology, researchers have noted the emergence of new behaviors among young people that have replaced traditional behaviors. For example, researchers have noted the emergence of cyber bullying, which takes the form of texts. While some people may deny the seriousness of this problem, research suggests that cyber bullying can have serious, especially psychological, effects on young people. For example, victims may develop fear and may be consumed with thoughts of avoiding bullies at schools or at home. Such problems may be detrimental to their health, school achievements, or may lead to other severe problems. Because of this, it is necessary to clarify whether cyber bullying psychologically affects young adults so as to add to the existing literature and develop ways of eliminating this problem.
Research Objectives
The aim of this research is:
- To determine whether cyber bullying affects young people psychologically;
- To determine whether it affects different genders in a different way;
- To determine age groups that are prone to cyber bullying.
Research Questions
- Does cyber bullying psychologically affect victims?
- Is cyber bullying more prevalent in one age group than the other?
- Does cyber bullying affect male and female students in the same ratio?
Hypothesis
- Cyber bullying affects victims psychologically;
- Cyber bullying is more common among one gender than the other;
- Cyber bullying is more common in one age group than in the other.
Significance of the Study
With the advent and increased use of technology, most interactions now happen through gadgets. Because of this, a new form of bullying has emerged to replace traditional bullying. Since cyber bullying causes emotional and psychological problems among the young people, it is important to pay more attention to this area than before. In addition, since many parents and schools are concerned with cyber bullying and its effects on young people, it is important to carry out a research and a literature review about this problem. By doing this, the research will create and maintain high level of awareness among parents and school administrators for preventive purposes. Although other studies have been conducted in the area of cyber bullying and on its psychological influence on young people, the latter, especially students, do not believe that it is a problem.
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Because of this, more research in this area is needed to prove that cyber bullying affects youth psychologically. In addition, some teachers, administrators, and parents do not believe that this is a problem or it can cause suicides among youngsters. In some cases, others are aware, but do not take preventive measures. Substantial knowledge about this problem can lead to higher concern on this issue than before. Preventive strategies can also be adopted after determining the causes and effects of cyber bullying.
Another significant reason to carry out this research is to prevent psychological problems experienced by young people when they are still young. This is important because what young people go through at this age remains embedded in their hearts for a long time. In addition, psychical and emotional wellbeing of young people are paramount to societal well being.
The difference between cyber bullying and traditional bullying, which makes cyber bullying take place in schools and at home also means that more attention has to be paid in this area. In traditional bullying, simple preventive measures, like physical separation, could be used. However, it is hard to separate young people from the virtual world. Therefore, researchers need to create awareness, which will prevent cyber bullying from occurring or which will call for more parental control over the relationships that are created through technology.
Limitations of the Study
Cyber bullying is not like traditional bullying or face-to-face bullying that take place in the physical world. This means that an effective cyber bullying study requires a scrutiny of physical and technological world. The research will involve distributing some of the questionnaires physically, while others will be distributed through emails. This distribution will be tedious and will require follow up to make sure that most of the questionnaires are answered and returned.
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Because of the nature of technological use among students, the study ought to be broad enough. For example, a sample of more than 500 students is needed to come up with conclusive arguments. However, since this research is for academic use where funding is limited, the sample size will be reduced to 100 students. Lack of cooperation from some participants is also perceived to be a limitation in this research.
Traditional Bullying
Traditional bullying existed before the emergence of cyber bullying. Bullying refers to a set of repetitive and persistent behaviors aimed at causing harm to the victim. These behaviors are carried out by an individual or a group against other person or group. In most cases, victims of bullying are powerless. This means that there is a power imbalance between the bully and the victim. Traditional bullying involves actions like mocking, name calling, making offensive comments, hitting, kicking, taking belongings, and pushing among other actions (O’Brien & Moules, 2010). Traditional bullying may cause psychological harm to bullies and those who are being bullied. Some of these mental health issues caused by bullying are depression and anxiety, which result from an increased levels of loneliness and sadness. Other psychological problems include loss of appetite and disruption of sleep patterns. Consequently, psychological bullying of individuals may cause serious harm like suicide attempts or persistence of mental health problems into adulthood (O’Brien & Moules, 2010).
Cyber Bullying
Technological advancements were thought to be a source of comfort and convenience. However, the same devices that make people comfortable are used to harm others in various ways. With an increased use of home and personal computers, a new phenomenon of bullying has emerged and was given the name “cyber bullying”. Researchers found that a considerable number of young people spend time in front of their computers and other communication devices. Most of these teens either spend time on the Internet in chat rooms, at school, or at home. In addition, most of them have their own mobile phones, which increases the amount of communication among them and their peers. The inclination of youth and adolescents to use their electronic devices seems natural. However, it is not always used in positive ways. In most cases, cyber bullies use cellular phones and personal computers to inflict harm through malicious sentiments to their victims.
Several scholars have attempted to define cyber bullying, and each of them has a different perspective. According to Hinduja & Patchin (2011), cyber bullying implies causing persistent harm to a victim through electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, and others. Hinduja & Patchin (2011) also claim that cyber bullying involves actions like publicly posting malicious, embarrassing, or humiliating information about someone on online forums, web pages, or news boards.
While some scholars take a perspective of cyber bullying actions when defining cyber bullying, other researchers define it according the tools used for bullying. For example, according to Campbell (2005), cyber bullying is the practice of using electronic devices like chat rooms, emails, texts, mobile phones, and their cameras to harass victims. Blumenfeld (2005) includes pager texting services and instant messaging to the instruments used for cyber bullying. He also considers actions like hate mails and flame mails to be hurtful actions that cyber bullies use against their victims (Blumenfeld, 2005).
According to Vandebosch & Van Cleemput (2008), for an action to be termed ‘cyber bullying’, it must meet certain criteria. First of all, these actions must have the sole purpose of hurting the other person. In addition, the victim must perceive these actions to be hurtful. Apart from this, actions must be repetitive and include both online and offline actions. Since bullying involves power imbalance, these authors als claim that for actions to be deemed cyber bullying, there must be some power imbalance between the bully and the person being bullied (Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2008).
According to Blumenfeld, cyber bullying does not occur face-to-face, but instead, there exists physical distance between the bully and the victim. He also states that cyber bullying may incorporate actions based on hatred of a bully to a different race, religion, social identity, and sex among other forms. It can also cause serious psychological harm to an individual. Blumenfeld gives a good example of cyber bullying, where young people may gang up to label a victim as “hot”, “ugly”, or “boring”. Sometimes, bullies take photos of victims and post them in different areas. This is followed by intimidating comments about the persons on those pictures (Blumenfeld, 2005). While there are many definitions of cyber bullying, opinions of all these researchers contribute to cyber bullying literature, which is widely used by professionals in many other fields.
Differences Between Cyber Bullying and Traditional Bullying
When researching cyber bullying and its psychological consequences, it is necessary to distinguish between cyber bullying and face-to-face bullying. This step is important because these two are similar, however, the mentality of the user is associated with cyberspace, which may help pinpoint some unique psychological effects of cyber bullying. In addition, technology, especially the Internet, can expose young people to messages that manipulate their actions and beliefs (Brown, Jackson, & Cassidy, 2006).
One of the major differences between the two types of bullying is the ability of cyber bullies to remain anonymous while still victimizing their targets. Because of this anonymity, cyber bullies may resort to aggressive bullying. In addition, they may resort to using fake identities, which may give them room to communicate using abusive language and undertake a level of bullying that is higher than when a bully is doing this physically. Researchers refer to this pseudo-anonymity as ‘protection by the screen’ since the bully cannot be seen by anybody while bullying others (Brown, Jackson, & Cassidy, 2006). Taking various fake identities may increase the pressure directed at the victim, which may lead to higher levels of psychological abuse compared to face-to-face bullying. Unlike face-to-face bullying that takes place when the bully and the victim are close, cyber bullying takes place any time provided that the bully and the victim can access cyber bullying tools. This means that cyber harassment can take place at home and school. It can also happen in class or during leisure time, when the teacher is unaware (Brown, Jackson, & Cassidy, 2006).
Prevalence of Cyber Victimization Among Young People and Adolescents
One of the questions asked in various studies concerning cyber bullying is its prevalence among young people and adolescents. Before the advent of technology, most researchers concentrated on traditional bullying and its prevalence among young people, adolescents, and even adults. Empirical research on the issue of cyber bullying started right before the new millennium and continued through it. This happened after researchers began to respond to the issue of growing use of electronic devices among young people and adolescents leading to little time for physical activities. Although a significant number of empirical studies have been carried on cyber bullying, research on traditional bullying still remains an important baseline for studying prevalence and the effects of cyber bullying among young people and adolescents. The reason behind this foundation is because traditional and cyber bullying are similar and have similar causes and effects (Rivituso, 2012). A study carried out by Smith et al. (2008) also proved that cyber bullying is similar to traditional bullying. In addition, the research proved that the effects of traditional bullying were similar to those of cyber bullying. However, the researchers found out that the differences between the two forms were minimal (Smith et al., 2008).
Apart from this, there is a high correlation between cyber bullying and the use of electronic devices. Researchers have proved that increased use of electronic communication devices has led to an increased number of cyber bullying cases. In a survey conducted in 2002, researchers found out that the Internet use had increased by 100% (Rivituso, 2012). In other studies, researchers found out that many young people were using communication devices for various purposes. For example, 87% were using the devices for receiving or sending emails, while 68% were using the devices for receiving instant messages. Others also used communication gadgets for social networking, video sharing, and chatting. This high number of use was found to be directly related to the fact that most of these young people owned personal cell phones. Apart from this, the Internet use among young people is also high considering the high number of young people who own personal computers (Rivituso, 2012).
To support the claim that electronic communication has led to increased number of cases of bullying, a research conducted in 2004 by Ybarra and Mitchell found out that 24% of adolescents sent hurtful comments to other people by e-mail (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).
In a 2006 research, conducted by Li among Canadian students, the researcher found out that 1 out of 4 students in study’s sample had once been a victim of cyber bullying (Li, 2006). In addition, more than a half of participants reported that they knew people who were cyber bullied. Most of these participants pointed that the bullying they witnessed was done more than three times, meaning that it was persistent. According to Patchin & Hinduja (2006), 30% of study’s participants reported that they were once victims of online bullying, while 47% of these participants claimed to have witnessed online bullying.
While looking at the rate of cyber bullying among young people, many researchers often seek to know whether cyber bullying is specific to a certain age group or gender. According to the NCPC report, cyber bullying is common among teens between 15 and 16 years old. NCPC also reports that cyber bullying has a higher occurrence rate among females than males. This is because the research proved that more than a half of this population reported that they had suffered from cyber bullying (NCPC, 2007). On the other hand, Blumenfield claims that teenagers between 12 and 15 years old and adolescents between 16 and18 years old are more susceptible to cyber bullying than other age groups (Blumenfeld, 2005). Another recent research by Schneider, O’Donnell & Coulter (2012) showed that 18.3% of the total sample were female students, while 13.2% of the total sample were males. This means that there were gender differences in cyber bullying whereby female students were the most affected. The researchers also noted that as students moved from 9th grade to the 12th grade, there was a decrease in cyber bullying. However, the researchers did not note any correlation between cyber bullying and race and ethnicity. This means that ethnicity is not a factor that leads to cyber bullying (Schneider, O’Donnell & Coulter, 2012). Another important aspect noted by the researcher was the correlation between cyber bullying and students, whose performance was below average. Researchers noted that students who received Fs and Ds in their exams were more likely to be cyber victims than A and B performers.
One of the reasons why cyber bullying is likely to affect young people and adults is because adults rarely watch or are rarely interested in what interests young people. Another reason why cyber bullying affects young people and not adults is because of the differences in views and approaches to technology. Parents and adults view technology, especially computers, as practical tools (Mesch, 2009). On the other hand, young people approach technology, especially computers, as a lifeline or instruments used for peer group interactions. In fact, researchers argue that one factor that makes cyber bullying unfathomable by parents, teachers, and guardians is the fact that it exists in young people’s world. The willingness of young people to provide their personal information to others, whether online or offline, also increases chances of being bullied. Unlike adults, adolescents are different in the way they trust strangers and other peers with their personal information. Since trust is an important element of interpersonal relationships, young people and adolescents are likely to gradually develop trust and maintain a mature concept about any relationship. Because of this, young people, especially at the high school level, are likely to be bullied since disclosing their personal information only works to increase contempt from others (Mesch, 2009).
Cyber Bullying and Psychological Symptoms
Research studies that have been done in the past concentrated on the prevalence of cyber bullying among youths and adolescents. However, current research is putting a lot of emphasis on the effects of cyber bullying on victims. In most cases, these effects are studied by analyzing negative emotional, psychological, and social consequences of cyber bullying. As it was claimed earlier, traditional bullying offers an important framework for studying the process. Therefore, since traditional bullying leads to psychological problems, such as self-pity, depression, and anger, it is likely that cyber bullying can cause similar psychological problems. In fact, researchers have proved that cyber bullying causes psychological harm to young people. For example, a research conducted by Sahin, Aydin, & Volkan revealed that cyber bullying caused some psychological effects on adolescents. Sahin, Aydin & Volkan claim that psychological harm among adolescents is caused by the fact that it is a delicate period concerning relationships and psychological development. Positive relationships during this period leads to successful psychological development, while negative relationships lead to psychological and emotional problems (Sahin, Aydin & Volkan, 2010).
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TOP 10 WritersA study conducted by the National Crime on cyber bullying among teens revealed that it exerted various emotions, such as embarrassment, indifference, and anger, among victims. The feeling reported by many teens was anger followed by the feeling of hurt and embarrassed. Another feeling was fear because of being cyber bullied (Sahin, Aydin & Volkan, 2010). According to Hinduja & Patchin, other effects of cyber bullying include helplessness and vengeful feelings (2011). In a research conducted by O’Donnell & Coulter (2012), researchers identified five areas of psychological symptoms that cyber victimization may affect. These areas include depressive symptoms, self- injury, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts by using various medicines. The research revealed that 33.9% of the total sample of 2000 students experienced depressive symptoms as a result of cyber bullying. On the other hand, 18.1% of the total sample had suicidal thoughts, while 24.0% of the total sample injured themselves. Lastly, research results showed that 9.4 % of the total population tried to commit suicide, while 3.3% attempted to commit suicide using medicines. This means that the most common psychological effect of cyber bullying is depression (O’Donnell & Coulter, 2012). Researchers also proved that victims could experience both cyber and traditional bullying within the same period. Psychological effects of cyber victimization in this group were found to be very high.
In their attempt to explain cyber bullying and its psychological effects on young people, Hinduja & Patchin (2011) use the general strain theory formulated by Robert Agnew. The researchers identify three strain types. The first type is that of anticipating failure, while the second one is related to removal of positive stimuli. The last is related to negative stimuli anticipation. According to the researchers, all these strains elicit feelings of depression, frustration, and anger, which are related to psychological symptoms. Eventually, these feelings are elicited through negative behavior. For example, fear of threats and harassments may preoccupy a student to the point of engaging in more detrimental behaviors than before.
Researchers also claim that psychological symptoms can result from strain emanating from rejection and lack of approval. This is because one of the positively valued goals among young adults is acceptance. Because of this, a perception of rejection has psychological, behavioral, and emotional effects. The authors state that as this follows, these symptoms lead to other problems, like falling out with teachers, parents, law enforcement authorities, and guardians. This causes additional stress on top of the strain caused by cyber bullying (Hinduja & Patchin, 2011). In the argument regarding negatively valued stimuli, researchers claim that these stimuli can result from textual attacks. Because of this, negative emotions may intensify. Eventually, other behaviors. like delinquency and suicidal thoughts, appear due to negative emotions.
In most cases, most people might think that psychological effects are short-lived. However, Campbell states that emphasizing long-term effects of cyber bullying is important (Brown & Cassidy, 2006). This is because of the power associated with the written word. Most researchers concentrate on severe effects of cyber bullying at the time of its occurrence, but they forget that it may have future psychological effects. In most cases, victims do not lose their written taunts, but keep them to relive the experience in the future. This means that victimization becomes prolonged leading to prolonged depression and mental and physical disorders. The author claims that the fact that the victim may be forced to vacate online environment as a result of continual harassment is unbearable (Brown & Cassidy, 2006).
Cyber Bullying and LGBT
A recent research by Iowa State University revealed that cyber bullying is very common among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people (Frelazzo, 2010). Schneider, O’Donnell & Coulter (2012) also prove that LGBT students are more likely to become victims of cyber bullying than heterosexual students (O’Donnell & Coulter, 2012). The research by Iowa University reveals that this group suffers from serious emotional distress and psychological symptoms (Frelazzo, 2010). In most cases, emotional and psychological symptoms produce suicidal thoughts if victims are cyber bullied repeatedly. Most of LGBT respondents in this survey revealed that humiliating photos and spreading of private information are some of the cruel cyber bullying acts that produce emotional disturbances. Because of this, most of LGBT respondents claim that some psychological effects include depression, embarrassment, and anxiety. In this study, 26% of these respondents claimed that they had suicidal thoughts as a result of being bullied. Others claimed that fear and anxiety led to failure to attend school. As a result, LGBT experienced prolonged depression and low grades at school. Some ended up quitting school to avoid meeting with their peers.
These psychological symptoms are enhanced by the gap that exists between the bully and the victim since a bully has a more dominant position than a victim. This dominant position is explained by Hawker & Bolton, who used social learning theory (Blumenfeld, 2005). Aggressive individuals are known to hold more power, higher status or rank within a social group than other individuals. By engaging in cyber bullying, they obtain a sense of belonging. Because of this, bullying sets up and upholds a social group among the young people. In addition, the sense of belonging maintains a distinction among members of the group and members outside of the group. Therefore, this sense of belonging strengthens bullies’ dominant position against the victim because of their higher rank in the social group. In addition, teens value this as a socialization. where social norms must be established and be maintained by a social group. Victims are viewed as deserving to be victimized because of deviating from established group or social norms that are referred to as “ruthless socialization” by scholars.
Psychological symptoms are also enhanced by the nature of cyber bullying. This is because systematic abuse of weak and vulnerable individuals makes it hard for victims to defend themselves against the bully. For example, when using social learning theory, researchers claim that most young people learn by observing what others do. This is because the young tend to share attitudes, behaviors, and values that may be held by them or their peers. Even when values involve bullying, young people will follow this behavior thinking that it is the trend or that it is cool. This means that peers who are liable to social influences are affected by this trend and behavior in either a negative or positive way (Blumenfeld, 2005).
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These are the reasons why victims of cyber bullying avoid school or refrain from performing some important activities. LGBT victims also identified other reasons of psychological damage. Some of them reported that their parents rarely believe that they are being cyber bullied. Others reported that their parents knew but did not know about ways of stopping it. Apart from the parents, some thought that school officials would not offer much help since it may cause more retribution than before. The study conducted by researchers from Iowa State University revealed that psychological effects of cyber bullying affected victims to a point where most of them would like to know how to deal with it without any help. Apart from psychological damage resulting from being bullied, LGBT victims also feared that their parents would restrict them from using technology if they reported cyber bullying cases (Frelazzo, 2010).
Apart from LGBT, Kowalski & Agatston (2008) argue that cyber bullying is more likely to affect obese children than others. Their argument is based on the fact that obesity places children at risks of being bullied. The authors quote Canadian research that found out that obese girls and boys between 11-16 years were more likely to be made fun of or teased than others. These children were also likely to be socially excluded, the phenomenon known as relational bullying (Kowalski & Agatston, 2008).
Proposed Solutions on the Problem of Cyber Bullying
As it can be seen from the literature review, cyber bullying affects young people psychologically. Because of this, actions need to be taken in order to deal with the problem of cyber bullying at all ages. Stopping cyber bullying cannot be done without determining the characteristics of cyber bullies and their victims. A research by Ybarra & Mitchell (2004) revealed that poor parent-child relationship is one of the major characteristics of cyber bullies. In addition, the research revealed that most cyber bullies tend to misuse illegal and legal drugs. In most cases, bullies were also found to engage in behaviors like smoking tobacco, fighting, and drinking alcohol. Most of the studied populations also showed high correlation between the likelihood to become a bully and one’s academic performance. Lastly, the bullies were found to be frequent users of the Internet whereby they could use it on a daily basis or at least four times a week (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004). A high number of participants of this research revealed that they did not have any emotional attachment to their parents or their caregivers (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).
Cyber bullying behavior was also seen to stem from previous harassment. This means that victims of cyber bullying were likely to become bullies in the near future. In addition, cyber bullying according to researchers, is highly related to juvenile delinquency. According to researchers, studies about the characteristics of the process can help determine policies that educators can use to stop it.
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The method proposed by the authors was to introduce and use online workshops in the school curriculum. According to the researchers, such programs can assist them to reduce the number of cases of cyber bullying or overcome the urge to bully others (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004). However, researchers claimed that this policy could work best together with the policy of examining local sites whereby interactions among all policy makers and implementers is seen as a way of policy development. In addition, close cooperation among all relevant authorities, such as parents, teachers, and the government, is needed (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004). Other researchers, like Blumenfeld (2005), state that cooperation between students and other concerned parties, like cyber space owners, is needed to effectively fight against cyber bullying (Blumenfeld, 2005). According to National Crime Prevention Council(NCPC), most teenagers engage in cyber bullying because they consider it to be fun. Others engage in this behavior because they do not see any damage in doing this. Because of this, more efforts should be made to change this perception and show them that cyber bullying is harmful. Other young people get involved in cyber bullying because of the hatred they have towards other individuals and because they perceive cyber bullying victims as losers. This fact proves that cyber bullying is a problem that is deeply rooted in social behaviors of young people. Because of this, parents and teachers should combine efforts to make sure that harmony among peers is achieved. Parents and teachers should also teach young people to love one another and avoid framing others as losers (NCPC, 2007).
Methodology
The study will be conducted among young people of different educational levels ranging from first graders to high schools pupils, and will include 100 students. Students will be selected randomly to avoid bias. Young people from different socioeconomic groups who have access to modern technology will be involved. A structured questionnaire will be used to conduct the research. Half of the respondents will respond to online questionnaires and some will be sent through email. Participants will then be asked to fill out the questionnaire, which includes questions about their age and gender.
Data Collection
Data will be collected by using structured questionnaires. In this case, the researcher will disclose the purpose of the research to young people. The questionnaire will also be structured, where respondents will be required to follow the order set by the researcher. This will help in data analysis as per the arranged questionnaire. Questions will be diverse, meaning that some will be close-ended where participants will be asked to select from a list of given answers. Choices like “likely”, “very likely”, “unlikely”, and “very unlikely” will be used in the questionnaire. This will facilitate coding and data analysis, and will also help in quantifying responses received from the participants. Other questions will be open-ended, whereby the student will be required to answer questions in their own words. This will help them express their thoughts in a free manner. The purpose of using closed- and open-ended questions together is to invite suggestions from young people in order to add to researcher’s knowledge. For example, respondents will be asked to list ways in which they think cyber bullying can be stopped. This will help come up with new ideas about eliminating cyber bullying. It will also create cooperation among all stakeholders for maximum outcomes.
Data Analysis
The data will be collected through questionnaires filled out psychically and online. The open-ended question will be read in order to come up with unique and emerging themes. These questions will be reviewed in order to determine their relevance to the study in question.
The close-ended questions will be analyzed through tables and charts. Since respondents will be asked to state their age, different age groups will be used to categorize questions. Based on the respondents, an example of age group classification will include age groups between 8-12, 13-15, and 16-18. Questions from the closed questionnaires will then be matched with different age groups to determine the prevalence of cyber bullying based on age and gender.
Conclusion
Just like traditional bullying, cyber bullying causes both minor and severe psychological damages to young people. Serious psychological consequences include depression, which in its turn may lead to severe problems such as suicide. Cyber bullying seems to affect LGBT more than other representatives of a youth group because of their sexual orientation. Because of the harmful nature of cyber bullying, all stakeholders should work together to prevent this problem from occurring. Moreover, young people should also be engaged in the efforts aimed at eliminating cyber bullying. For example, young people must be educated about the negative effects of cyber bullying to get rid of the perceptions like “cyber bullying is fun” or “it is not a big deal”. Most importantly, young people should be taught to love one another and live together in harmony.
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