Should Technology Be Used As An Addiction?

Technology―it’s the focal point of our lives, from sending a quick text to checking the latest news. But the real debate comes when the conversation switches to cyberbullying, which is customarily described as an act that is “repeated, hostile, and severe with the intent to embarrass, threaten, or harass” (“The Dangers of Cyberbullying” by Warnke, lines 26-27). Bullies in the real world can and do get prosecuted, so what makes this any difference. In some cases, the bullying is so deleterious that the victim commits suicide. If all of this can be prevented, then lives will be saved and children will be able to live without the fear of being bullied. The three sources “The Dangers of Cyberbullying” by Brett Warnke, “Sacrificing the First Amendment

One reason why technology is bad is because many people are addicted to technological devices.In the article,”Watch Out:Cell Phones Can Be Addictive”Kathiann Kowalski states that “The average college student uses

The twenty first century is roaring, and the use of technology sweeps across the nation like a pandemic. The American lifestyle is being consumed by electronics. Due to the increase of technology, childhood is rapidly transforming and evolving. No longer do children only thrive in fresh air and on playdates, but also with tech savvy gadgets and computers. Children are currently part of a digital generation that has sprouted in a world immersed in technology and the internet, and they are utilizing cell phones, tablets, e-readers and computers every day. Furthermore, because technology is becoming a dominant part in childhood, cyberbullying among children is also increasing. Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that is accomplished through electronic communication. Suicide rates among middle and high school students have increased in the past fifteen years due to cyberbullying through social media and direct messaging.

Cyberbullying is a relatively new threat, and it is very similar to traditional bullying. Despite the fact that cyberbullying and traditional bullying both share the common goal of harassment, cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it does not stop at the schoolyard, and can continue when the victim is far away from the aggressor. It is just as devastating as common bullying, and sometimes is even more damaging. Professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin note in their journal, “Cyberbullying Creates Dangerous Stress and Anxiety”, that cyberbullying affects anywhere between 10-40% of students (contingent on their age group) (par. 1). J.D. Kelly A. Albin, in her article “Bullies in a Wired World”, defines cyberbullying as “…the ‘willful and repeated harm inflicted through use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices’” (157). It is caused by the fact that children feel their actions are mitigated when they use social media, as it creates the illusion of indirectness, and its effects range anywhere from mild depression to suicide.

“Technology is so much fun but we can drown in our technology. The fog of information can drive out knowledge” (Daniel J. Boorstin). Many people may not realize it, but with such rapid advancements in technology, this technology can take over and negatively affect society, with a regression of knowledge, increase of self-harm caused by cyberbullying, etc. Technology improvements are slowly turning today’s society into a dystopian society, as the internet becomes a platform for cyberbullying, reading/writing becomes less important, and society’s security and privacy becomes lost.

Technology is rapidly advancing at a dizzying rate which has seen many amazing feats but has also introduced and increased the act of Cyberbullying. Cyber bullying can be defined as targeting someone using any form of technology (this includes social media) to tease, stalk or humiliate someone online (Dictionary.com, 2016). Cyberbullying is so detrimental because it encourages the targeting of an individual; It is often done in secret with the bully hiding who they are by creating false profiles or names, or sending anonymous messages. It is difficult to remove as it is shared online so it can be recorded and saved in different places. Cyberbullying has such a negative impact that research shows that there is a correlation between the violent

The National Voices for Equality, Education, and Enlightenment (NVEE) reported that every 7 minutes a child is bullied, and 85 percent of the time no attempt at intervention is made. Children, teenagers, and even adults are skipping school or missing work to avoid their peers because of the extreme amount of fear they have of being intimidated or belittled. Technology then takes this a step further because even if an individual does not attend school or work they are still at risk of facing these same issues on the internet. The Yale School of Medicine also conducted a new review of studies, and their findings indicate that there is an apparent correlation between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. All of this information is not only sickening, but also incredibly alarming because we are the ones creating the technology that these problems are stemming

Cyber-bullying involves the use of technology to cause distress, harm, and torture to the victim. This involves sending abusive or intimidating messages, emails, and pictures through the use of several technological avenues. Traditional bullying involves physical aggression to a victim through using abusive verbal language and physical beating. Cyber- bullying seems to have surpassed traditional bullying because of the increased advance in the world of technology. Most bullies have turned to technology as their tool of propagating their actions. With the expanse of world-wide-web and technology as a whole, cyber-bullying may reach a point where it is no longer possible to control it. This uncontrollable nature of cyber-bullying makes it more harmful than traditional bullying.

Cyberbullying, intentional aggression through means of digital technology, is slowly becoming recognized as a social problem that needs to be addressed. This new form of bullying, emerged with the information and communication revolution during the last two decades of the twentieth century. Cyberbullying occurs largely through communication devices; cyberbullies harass their victims “by sending photos, text messages, e-mail, instant messages, and video through cell phones, personal digital assistants, and computers” (Swartz 2009). Since there was an initial gap between those who grew up with the new forms of communication technology and those of the older generation who had not adapted, the threat of cyberbullying was often left unchecked

Some of the devices and equipments that are used to propagate cyber bullying are cell phones, computers and tablets via text messages, websites, social media platforms and chats. Cyberbullying has been proven to be the most dangerous type of bullying in the 21st century. Bullies have learnt new ways to reach their target individuals. Hence, cyberbullying is determined by how easily bullies are able to reach their victims using electronic technology. Some of the social network platforms can be hacked by bullies therefore posting ill content about a person.

Technology has completely changed the way of America’s society is and how people interact with others. Since technology was invented, cyber bullying has often occurred as a consequence of technology which can often result in suicide or suicidal attempts. Today people argue whether if technology really affects the suicide rate for college students. Mostly everyone who is in college has some type of technology and/ or have at least gone on a social media website once before. Because so many college students have some type of technology, the increase of technology causes an increase in cyber bullying "It is estimated that between 10% and 21.9% of college students have been cyberbullied (Dilmac, 2009; Finn, 2004; Schenk, 2011), and 55.3% of college students have reported being victims of cyberbullying at least once in their lifetime" (Dilmac, 2009).

Bullying is of various types: first is the verbal bullying, that includes teasing, threatening, inappropriate commenting based on a person’s appearance or sexual orientation. Second is physical bullying which includes hurting or attacking someone or someone’s possessions. The third type of bullying is Social bullying which includes damaging someone’s reputation. Cyber bullying is a form of social bullying that occurs on social media, online forums and through texting or gaming. It includes the use of digital devices such as cell phones, computers etc. According to the statistics from the 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 16% of high school students had experienced cyber bullying in the past 12 months. My goal in this paper is to discuss the causes and effects of cyber bullying, and to create a digital awareness among parents and teachers to prevent the cyberbullying.

The U.S. Office of Justice has produced a fact sheet on cyberbullying which points out that while digital technology "…allows all of us immediate access to information," which provides many positives for individuals. But the digital revolution has also "…provided some people with the means to exploit the innocent, commit crimes…" and in fact this technology offers an avenue for bullying that usually takes place in hallways and on playgrounds in schools to enter cyberspace (www.ojp.usdoj.gov).

There is no doubt that technology has changed our society. Now things are faster, easier, and more efficient than ever before. With all these changes, bullying has been impacted in a positive and negative way. Although technology has given victims of bullying an outlet to complete education without going to school, technology has made it easier for bullying to happen on anonymous apps and social media sites.

Bullying can be defined as ‘aggressive, intentional acts or behaviours that are carried out by a group or an individual, repeatedly and over time against a victim, who cannot easily defend him or herself’ (Smith et al, 2006, p1; Slonje and Smith, 2008). Bullying is a form of abuse that is based on an ‘imbalance of power’ (Shariff, 2005, p459; Smith et al, 2006, p1). Some examples of bullying include name-calling, spreading rumours, and sexual harassment. Increasingly, technology is being used as a method of bullying, and where this is the case, the term ‘cyberbullying’ is used (DCSF, 2009; Mishna et al, 2009).