Cyberbullying
How is cyberbullying linked to mental illness?
Statistics linking bullying to mental illness
- Studies show that both victims AND their cyber bullies may suffer from mental, behavioral, and emotional health problems.
- Victims of childhood bullying are at higher risk of developing mental health problems later in life.
- Youth who were victims of bullying have a higher chance of having agoraphobia, anxiety, and panic disorders.
- Victims of cyber bullying experience lack of acceptance in their peer group which results in loneliness and social isolation. This is likely to lead to low self-esteem.
- People who feel socially isolated are at increased risk of suicide.
- Cyberbullies too are at risk of depression and suicide idealization.
- As of 2012, there had been 41 suicides since 2003 involving cyber bullying in the US, Canada, Australia. and the UK, but most of these victims were also bullied in school and many suffered from illness including depression.
- A study showed that 32% of students say that because of bullying, they have felt so depressed "that it was difficult to function"
- According to a study by Yale University, bullied victims are 7-9% more likely to commit suicide.
- A study in Britain showed that at least half of suicides in youth people are related to some type of bullying.
Ways to avoid being a victim of cyber bullying
- Make your social media accounts private and conceal any private info.
- Don't respond to hate or mean comments with more hate or mean comments.
- Don't give personal information to strangers online.
Ways to respond to cyberbullying
- If possible, block the person on all social medias.
- Tell an adult
- Don't say hateful things back to the person, it will only make them more hateful.
Helpful sites
The following websites are helpful tools for learning more about cyber bullying and it's effects.
How to block or report cyber bullies on social media sites
Snapchat :
To block a user :
To block a user :
Twitter :
To block a user :
To block a user :
To block a user :
- Open the app and click the little ghost at the top of the screen
- Click 'my friends'
- Find the user you want to block
- Click their name to reveal the tool bar
- Click the settings button by their name
- Press block
- To report a user you have to go to the snap chat website rather than the app
- Once you're on the website, click the up arrow at the bottom of the screen to reveal the options
- Click 'support' under the company category
- Then click 'safety and abuse' on the left side of the screen
- Now select 'report a safety or abuse issue'
- Lastly, fill out the provided questions and submit for further investigation
To block a user :
- Open the app and go the page of the user you want to block
- At the top right hand corner, click on the 3 dots
- Now click 'block user'
- Follow the first 2 steps of how to block a user on Instagram
- This time instead of clicking block user, click 'report'
- Now click on the options that best suit your situation
Twitter :
To block a user :
- Open the twitter app and go to the page of the person you want to block
- Click the settings button under their name
- Click 'block'
- Follow the first 2 steps on how to block someone on twitter
- This time click 'report' instead of block
- Click the option that best suits your situation
To block a user :
- Go to the Facebook app and go to the page of the person you want to block
- At the top right hand corner, click the little box with the up arrow
- Click 'block'
- Go to the Facebook app and click the 'more' option at the bottom of the screen
- Scroll down to the bottom where it says 'settings'
- Click 'report a problem'
- Click 'abusive content'
- fill out the questions
Consequences of Cyber bullying
In Ohio, cyber bullying may be charged under telecommunications harassment law or menacing by stalking law. Most states in the US have cyber bullying laws. In California, all schools are required by law to institute student on student bullying and cyber bullying policies. Montana is one of the few states that does not have anti-bullying laws. In the SWL school district, no bullying is prohibited and bullying could result in suspension or expulsion. This includes and type of bullying, even that involving elections.
Daniel perry's cyber bulling story
Daniel Perry was 17 years old when he took his life because of an incident on skype. Daniel lived in Scotland and he thought he was skyping with a girl his own age from the US. But it wasn't a nice girl behind the screen, it was a cyber bully. After leading Daniel to believe he was talking to a nice American girl, the person behind the screen revelaed himself. The person threatened to send videos of the incident to Daniel's family unless Daniel paid off the harasser. Daniel texted his grandmother and said he was coming home but never returned and instead ended his life by jumping off a bridge. Daniel's fear of embarrassment and humiliation in his own family scared him enough to make him take his life,