Society thoughts on cyberbullying, what do you think?

[zolace]

I think that the online world should stay as free as possible, so as much as I dislike that people can be as arrogant and mean online as they want without ramifications, I still would side with the argument that the term cyber bullying is just another building block towards censorship. I do realize that words are powerful, even online, but I think it should be the parents' responsibility to raise people who are secure enough to just walk away or close the window or even block people, as I think it's just highly impractical to keep telling everyone to "stop being mean online".
What do you guys think? Should cyberbullying be considered as legitimate even though you can just easily close the browser when someone is being mean, or is there just something to the other side of the argument that people are missing?

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[Nik1ab]

If some people have nothing better to do than calling other people names, they should do it.
I hate it when anyone tries to censor everything.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I like Tyler The Creator's take on cyber bullying



lol.

[Lethn]

While harassment can exist to some extent, I don't dispute that, a block/ignore function normally eliminates it entirely, in fact, I'd argue that it provides a much safer place for people to communicate than in real life because you can't get stabbed or kidnapped unless you're dumb enough to give them your address or post your details everywhere. The problem is as mainstream media have proven with Bitcoin, the people complaining about this know nothing about technology so they go on a crusade against it demanding the government do something rather than simply avoiding forums and social networks that don't have a block/ignore function available to them.

The government should only be really interfering if they are being threatened in real life and getting phone calls etc. but again, this only ever happens if you share details with someone who's untrustworthy.

[umair127]

I think that the online world should stay as free as possible, so as much as I dislike that people can be as arrogant and mean online as they want without ramifications, I still would side with the argument that the term cyber bullying is just another building block towards censorship. I do realize that words are powerful, even online, but I think it should be the parents' responsibility to raise people who are secure enough to just walk away or close the window or even block people, as I think it's just highly impractical to keep telling everyone to "stop being mean online".
What do you guys think? Should cyberbullying be considered as legitimate even though you can just easily close the browser when someone is being mean, or is there just something to the other side of the argument that people are missing?

I concur with the thought that the online world should stay free, freedom really means nothing if there aren't any reasonable restrictions on it. Part of a person's freedom is to be free from persecution, and allowing cyber-bullying to continue is a violation of that. Considering the fact that our lives are becoming increasingly dependent on the internet, I don't see why cyber-bullying should be treated any different from  bullying.

[Charlie Prime]

Plenty of laws already exist which criminalize harassment and slander.

The purpose of the current "cyber-bullying" media campaign is to condition Joe Public to accept internet use licensure, just like automobile use.

"It's for the Children!"

[zolace]

I think that the online world should stay as free as possible, so as much as I dislike that people can be as arrogant and mean online as they want without ramifications, I still would side with the argument that the term cyber bullying is just another building block towards censorship. I do realize that words are powerful, even online, but I think it should be the parents' responsibility to raise people who are secure enough to just walk away or close the window or even block people, as I think it's just highly impractical to keep telling everyone to "stop being mean online".
What do you guys think? Should cyberbullying be considered as legitimate even though you can just easily close the browser when someone is being mean, or is there just something to the other side of the argument that people are missing?

I concur with the thought that the online world should stay free, freedom really means nothing if there aren't any reasonable restrictions on it. Part of a person's freedom is to be free from persecution, and allowing cyber-bullying to continue is a violation of that. Considering the fact that our lives are becoming increasingly dependent on the internet, I don't see why cyber-bullying should be treated any different from  bullying.

Bullying is another overused word. Much like Bigot is overused. A troll is not a bully it is a person that probably has a low self esteem and tries to make others feel bad to make themselves feel better.

[sana8410]

I think that the online world should stay as free as possible, so as much as I dislike that people can be as arrogant and mean online as they want without ramifications, I still would side with the argument that the term cyber bullying is just another building block towards censorship. I do realize that words are powerful, even online, but I think it should be the parents' responsibility to raise people who are secure enough to just walk away or close the window or even block people, as I think it's just highly impractical to keep telling everyone to "stop being mean online".
What do you guys think? Should cyberbullying be considered as legitimate even though you can just easily close the browser when someone is being mean, or is there just something to the other side of the argument that people are missing?

I concur with the thought that the online world should stay free, freedom really means nothing if there aren't any reasonable restrictions on it. Part of a person's freedom is to be free from persecution, and allowing cyber-bullying to continue is a violation of that. Considering the fact that our lives are becoming increasingly dependent on the internet, I don't see why cyber-bullying should be treated any different from  bullying.

Bullying is another overused word. Much like Bigot is overused. A troll is not a bully it is a person that probably has a low self esteem and tries to make others feel bad to make themselves feel better.

Cyber bullying is no different from bullying. It should be treated like defamation legally. People forget that sometimes, it's not fists or bullets that hurt more but words. The pen may be one of the most formidable weapons and I've seen lives around me destroyed due to bullying, fake gossip, and the such. It should be treated as a serious crime no doubt.

[Lethn]

Bullying is just a sugar coated word for harassment and assault that parents in particular try to use to cover up their children's crimes and make it sound less serious than it actually is and yes, with some of the shit I've seen, if the children involved were adults they'd go to jail or a mental hospital.

[hilariousandco]

Bullying is just a sugar coated word for harassment and assault that parents in particular try to use to cover up their children's crimes and make it sound less serious than it actually is and yes, with some of the shit I've seen, if the children involved were adults they'd go to jail or a mental hospital.

Yes, but they're children and they're still learning right from wrong, and they're not usually legally responsible for their actions. If a six year old kid put his hands down a girls knickers it doesn't mean he's a sexual predator and should be locked up like a rapist.

[Hazir]

Cyber bullying is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. You think you can't get hurt from some random comments on the internet? Think again. Many people committed suicide just because of online bullying.

[IamCANADIAN013]

Not sure if anyone here knows much about the Amanda Todd bullying case.  It has made cyber bullying front and center where I live.  While I do agree that people can just unplug and walk away, it still needs to be dealt with.  Bullying in general is a cowards act and a cry for help. Unfortunately the internet allows people to hide behind a computer and spew their filth.

Back in the day, bullying was done in the school yard and eventually they would bully up the wrong tree and have their ass kicked.

[Ron~Popeil]

Cyber bullying is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. You think you can't get hurt from some random comments on the internet? Think again. Many people committed suicide just because of online bullying.

How exactly is there no escape? You can use ignore features, close your browser, delete social media accounts and if all else fails hold down your power button for 10 seconds. Unlike school yard bullying "cyber bullying" requires active participation of a willing victim.

Suicide is always a tragic event no matter what is going on, but in all cases of suicide there are other things going on with the individual including depression and other mental problems.

[Mike Christ]

I was bullied in-person all throughout school--real bullying, as in actual physical pain--and yet someone who literally subjects themselves to being bullied online is what we're worried about now.  Those people who committed suicide over cyber-bullying, I guarantee this, had years upon years of child abuse saved up from neglectful parents and those fucked up government schools to the point where cyber-bullying was merely a straw on the camel's back.  I didn't begin to contemplate suicide, I fought back, made stronger friends, protected myself: said no and meant it.  I didn't have a choice; the obvious option was to simply remove myself from the school, but since I was forced to go there and the bullies were forced to go there, my options were limited.  These are the conditions of real bullying.

When you get cyber-bullied, here's the steps you take to stop the abuse:

1. Stop subjecting yourself to the abuse
2. There is no step two, that's it

You can ignore the person on Facebook, you can block them from contacting you on IMs and emails, you can blacklist the bully from contacting you, you can choose not to engage with people who engage with the bully etc. etc. etc.: your presence on the Internet is under your full control.  Even this website lets you ignore people; it's to the point where if you get cyber-bullied, you literally have to be asking for the abuse, which isn't too uncommon for someone who is very much used to being abused elsewhere.

Calling someone a victim of cyber-bullying is another way of saying, "Parents can't be blamed; put the blame on something or someone else."  I am tired of people pushing victim complexes onto others to defend themselves; just admit it, people who commit suicide from cyber-bullying indicate a long series of failures on the parent's part.  There is nothing to change about cyber-bullying; it's going to happen so long as the Internet allows two individuals to communicate with each other.  You cannot force people not to interact with each other if they choose to.  We should ask why people convince themselves that they must subject themselves to the bully; what bully could the individual had to be subject to growing up?  What could have caused the individual to have such little sense of self-worth that suicide seems like the only good option?  These are the questions you don't hear when it comes to these individual activist movements because it has been precluded that the problem could never be the parents, it has to be (flavor of the week) that's driving kids to depression and suicide!  Nevermind the fact that a psychologically healthy individual would have no problem dealing with a bully, let alone one online.

[IamCANADIAN013]

Cyber bullying is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. You think you can't get hurt from some random comments on the internet? Think again. Many people committed suicide just because of online bullying.

How exactly is there no escape? You can use ignore features, close your browser, delete social media accounts and if all else fails hold down your power button for 10 seconds. Unlike school yard bullying "cyber bullying" requires active participation of a willing victim.

Suicide is always a tragic event no matter what is going on, but in all cases of suicide there are other things going on with the individual including depression and other mental problems.

For some there is no escape.  Once the damage online is done, for some, there is no turning back.  They have allowed too much of their lives to be known and it's hard for them to get away from it, even by unplugging themselves.  In the Amanda Todd case, a man was arrested for cyber bullying in the Netherlands, The bullying happened in BC Canada. Pack mentality took over and her classmates turned cyber bullying into physical bullying.

[Mike Christ]

Part of a person's freedom is to be free from persecution

There is no such thing as "freedom from"; this implies you have no control over yourself and must control the actions of others, which is the precise opposite of freedom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpCUKIzDYpQ

You don't have a right to not be prosecuted.  You have a right to not subject yourself to prosecution.

[zolace]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

[Lethn]

Cyber bullying is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. You think you can't get hurt from some random comments on the internet? Think again. Many people committed suicide just because of online bullying.

How exactly is there no escape? You can use ignore features, close your browser, delete social media accounts and if all else fails hold down your power button for 10 seconds. Unlike school yard bullying "cyber bullying" requires active participation of a willing victim.

Suicide is always a tragic event no matter what is going on, but in all cases of suicide there are other things going on with the individual including depression and other mental problems.

For some there is no escape.  Once the damage online is done, for some, there is no turning back.  They have allowed too much of their lives to be known and it's hard for them to get away from it, even by unplugging themselves.  In the Amanda Todd case, a man was arrested for cyber bullying in the Netherlands, The bullying happened in BC Canada. Pack mentality took over and her classmates turned cyber bullying into physical bullying.

Yeah, that one wasn't bullying, that was physical assault they used the fact she was on the internet to locate her and track her down, like I said, people are sugar coating it and trying to make it seem less serious than it actually is, if somebody called me a name over the internet that isn't anything, but if they started deliberately stalking me and trying to track me down RL that's when I'd take action but this is why I believe anonymity software and block/ignore functions should be defended and promoted at all costs.

Think about it, what if things got even more serious than that and if somebody who had fled to another country from somewhere like Russia was speaking out against them? They'd track them down and assassinate them if they had a look at the details of their credit/debit cards etc.

I think if I get quite a lot of money I'm going to be donating a substantial amount to various organisations like Defense Distributed for sure.

[sana8410]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

C'mon, you've never gotten the least bit offended by repeated personal attacks from trolls yourself, or even just general trolling at other boards? What if they followed you around to other websites after you left one, trolled your facebook and business webpages, harassed your friends / family / clients, etc?

[zolace]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

C'mon, you've never gotten the least bit offended by repeated personal attacks from trolls yourself, or even just general trolling at other boards? What if they followed you around to other websites after you left one, trolled your facebook and business webpages, harassed your friends / family / clients, etc?

    I have no Facebook page, nor any other social media page. My life is not that empty, lonely and sad that I feel the need to tell everyone every time I take a shit or make a meal.

[sana8410]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

C'mon, you've never gotten the least bit offended by repeated personal attacks from trolls yourself, or even just general trolling at other boards? What if they followed you around to other websites after you left one, trolled your facebook and business webpages, harassed your friends / family / clients, etc?

    I have no Facebook page, nor any other social media page. My life is not that empty, lonely and sad that I feel the need to tell everyone every time I take a shit or make a meal.

You missed the point and didn't answer all of my questions.

[noviapriani]

I think that the online world should stay as free as possible, so as much as I dislike that people can be as arrogant and mean online as they want without ramifications, I still would side with the argument that the term cyber bullying is just another building block towards censorship. I do realize that words are powerful, even online, but I think it should be the parents' responsibility to raise people who are secure enough to just walk away or close the window or even block people, as I think it's just highly impractical to keep telling everyone to "stop being mean online".
What do you guys think? Should cyberbullying be considered as legitimate even though you can just easily close the browser when someone is being mean, or is there just something to the other side of the argument that people are missing?

I believe cyberbullying is a real thing and that it exists but it really shouldn't. I believe the people that let it affect them aren't really smart or intelligent. I mean how hard is it to just close a page, or just ignore words on a screen. All this happens online and not in reality. In reality it's hard to ignore because it's real people saying real words aloud in front of other people, but when you're online, you're really just alone in your room by yourself with no one actually there.

[zolace]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

C'mon, you've never gotten the least bit offended by repeated personal attacks from trolls yourself, or even just general trolling at other boards? What if they followed you around to other websites after you left one, trolled your facebook and business webpages, harassed your friends / family / clients, etc?

I've never had repeated attacks towards myself, I'm maybe not too interesting as nobody's following me around the web, nobody on the web knows my family or friends.....did I answer them all?

[sana8410]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

C'mon, you've never gotten the least bit offended by repeated personal attacks from trolls yourself, or even just general trolling at other boards? What if they followed you around to other websites after you left one, trolled your facebook and business webpages, harassed your friends / family / clients, etc?

I've never had repeated attacks towards myself, I'm maybe not too interesting as nobody's following me around the web, nobody on the web knows my family or friends.....did I answer them all?

Well, the point is that probably no one with anything to lose would be so unconcerned or tough or macho if / when trolls moved beyond just repeatedly trolling them 20 hours a day on one website, and went on to following them to other sites (happened to myself and others), and even screwing with them, their friends, family, clients / business, etc (happened to others I know of) in real life.
As one guy on another site put it "Let's see how tough you are when they (a former nuthouse patient) find your 12 year old daughter's facebook page".

[zolace]

It's not just children who get bullied, everyone can be the target of bullying. People have been driven into suicide from the psycho terror they experienced online. It's not just a simple case of turning your computer off and saying it's all gone now. I think it goes far beyond just being "mean". The internet is an enormously powerful tool and should never be underestimated. I think all criminal acts on the internet should be followed up and investigated. There should also be a decent support structure for the victims.

[noviapriani]

Cyber bullying needs to be controlled because victims are people who take everything seriously and are personally wounded by it.
I think we need more education about cyber bullying, in schools, colleges and for parents of children of that age. Parents are often unaware that it's happening and need to know the signs to look for. Children and teens need to be taught how to deal with it, by reporting it immediately and stop using the site or the forum where it is happening.

[sana8410]

Cyber bullying needs to be controlled because victims are people who take everything seriously and are personally wounded by it.
I think we need more education about cyber bullying, in schools, colleges and for parents of children of that age. Parents are often unaware that it's happening and need to know the signs to look for. Children and teens need to be taught how to deal with it, by reporting it immediately and stop using the site or the forum where it is happening.

It's a sad fact that there are real world consequences of cyberbullying. It's very unfortunate that kids go through it. However, to an extent, many kids set themselves up for it. Kids today are willing to put their entire lives online for people to look at. If we can somehow teach kids to separate their online lives and their Internet persona, and then take additional steps to protect their online identity, we'd see a lot less of this. That's not going to fix anything in real life, but it'd make the Internet a lot more safe.

[zolace]

Cyber bullying needs to be controlled because victims are people who take everything seriously and are personally wounded by it.
I think we need more education about cyber bullying, in schools, colleges and for parents of children of that age. Parents are often unaware that it's happening and need to know the signs to look for. Children and teens need to be taught how to deal with it, by reporting it immediately and stop using the site or the forum where it is happening.

I don't really understand cyber bullying because the option is there to block the culprits and have no contact with them every again. I am not sure why someone would allow themselves to be affected by someone who is so pathetic they have to launch attacks through a monitor as mentioned. Like any bully they are weak only praying on those weaker than them.

[Nik1ab]

Too much pussification on this earth. You can't run around complaining of how your government runs your life for you when you get all teary eyed over someone tapping away on their keyboard. Grow up and deal with life.

Well said.

[Ron~Popeil]

Cyber bullying is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. You think you can't get hurt from some random comments on the internet? Think again. Many people committed suicide just because of online bullying.

How exactly is there no escape? You can use ignore features, close your browser, delete social media accounts and if all else fails hold down your power button for 10 seconds. Unlike school yard bullying "cyber bullying" requires active participation of a willing victim.

Suicide is always a tragic event no matter what is going on, but in all cases of suicide there are other things going on with the individual including depression and other mental problems.

For some there is no escape.  Once the damage online is done, for some, there is no turning back.  They have allowed too much of their lives to be known and it's hard for them to get away from it, even by unplugging themselves.  In the Amanda Todd case, a man was arrested for cyber bullying in the Netherlands, The bullying happened in BC Canada. Pack mentality took over and her classmates turned cyber bullying into physical bullying.

Be smart with your information online is your responsibility. It does not excuse physical assaults by individuals, but it is incumbent on everyone to use some common sense in their online activities.

Physical bullying is assault and all ready covered by existing law.

[IamCANADIAN013]

Cyber bullying is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. You think you can't get hurt from some random comments on the internet? Think again. Many people committed suicide just because of online bullying.

How exactly is there no escape? You can use ignore features, close your browser, delete social media accounts and if all else fails hold down your power button for 10 seconds. Unlike school yard bullying "cyber bullying" requires active participation of a willing victim.

Suicide is always a tragic event no matter what is going on, but in all cases of suicide there are other things going on with the individual including depression and other mental problems.

For some there is no escape.  Once the damage online is done, for some, there is no turning back.  They have allowed too much of their lives to be known and it's hard for them to get away from it, even by unplugging themselves.  In the Amanda Todd case, a man was arrested for cyber bullying in the Netherlands, The bullying happened in BC Canada. Pack mentality took over and her classmates turned cyber bullying into physical bullying.

Be smart with your information online is your responsibility. It does not excuse physical assaults by individuals, but it is incumbent on everyone to use some common sense in their online activities.

Physical bullying is assault and all ready covered by existing law.

I fully agree with being smart about what is shared online.  Unfortunately social media is rather new and some people are unaware of the damage that can be caused.  Proper education needs to happen and I think it is really lacking. I think it's something they should start teaching in Schools.