Cyberbullying and Australia - Comments

I cannot agree more with this article. I've always wondered WHY cyberbullies get a kick out of what they do...

No, they shouldn't have to. But people shouldn't complain about something they can simply chose not to look at/read. Plus, if that's what you got from what I said, about how you think I implied that it's the victim's fault, that's what you got. Not what I meant. I think I know what I mean rather than you considering I said it. I've been a victim of it, why would I say that it's the victim's fault? That's not very logical.

No, you didn't directly say it. But it's obvious that you're implying it's the victims fault because, for whatever reason, they somehow can't erect enough barriers around themselves to stop being harassed. The point is: they shouldn't have to coat themselves in security. They shouldn't have to unplug their internet because someone wants to be an ass.

@Nolan

I never said it was the victim's fault, thanks. It's just easy for them to avoid it, it's not as hard as people think, And I've been harassed by a shit load of people in my city, I know what it's like. But they can avoid it, and have the ability to not take it personally and ignore it. It's the internet, if you don't like it, you control whether you look at it or not. And I never said anything about bullying in the real world, so I don't know what you're getting that from, that's different.

Very well written. Cyber bullying if absolutely ridiculous, and while there are ways for victims to handle it as people have talked about below, it shouldn't be happening in the first place. Anyone who has to resort to bullying someone online is a sad individual and needs a reality check. I mean, just look go on any given Youtube video and scan through the comments: it gets just plain vicious on there sometimes.

@Nolan

If one does not have the internet, then one cannot be cyber bullied. Ergo, eliminate the internet. Its as simple as unplugging the router.
Or on a lesser scale, if one does not have a social networking site which enables communication, then one cannot be hacked/receive hurtful messages.

Direct bullying, on the other hand, is a completely different situation which cannot be controlled by the flick of a switch, whereas cyber bullying can. When cyber bullying enters the "real world" it becomes direct bullying. I was referring to cyber bullying alone, just to clear things up, not direct bullying.

@LettersFromGod/xDearRachel

Wow, way to be completely antagonistic. There's no way to debunk cyber bullying, and it's honestly really cold to blame the problem on the victims.

Sure, it's easy to delete, and to block, and to ignore. I do it all the time online. But what about those situations that mutate into physical 1-on-1 interactions? If the person lives thousands of miles away, sure, it's easy to erase it from your mind...maybe. But when the person harassing you is living maybe five or ten minutes from you, simply erasing messages might not do the trick.

And even if direct bullying was truly the victims' fault (which I'm quite honestly dumbfounded people actually believe) There are host of ways around personal safeguards that still cause just as much damage. It takes no effort at all to start a rumor. No effort at all to blog negative things about another person.

The mentality that ignoring things makes them go away doesn't work in the real world.

On a different note, I'm really glad this article was written. I don't personally live in Australia, and I can say that cyber bullying is worse in the U.S.A tenfold. Bullying is the worst. x-X

"Cyber bullying" is far from an issue. A lack of knowledge regarding the use of the internet is the problem.
If you do not know how to handle "cyber bullying", then get off the internet. If you must stay on, however; make whatever social networking site you happen to be signed up to private in every manner and for the love of Jesus. H Christ think before you post anything because it can and will be used against you. Change passwords regularly <<< I cannot stress this enough. Make your secret question answer completely irrelevant. Just a quick note, Iphones have GPS which can be used to find your current location from the safety of the other party's home. Don't respond to the bullying, delete+block is easy as hell.
As for the hackers giving you viruses or sending viruses and whatnot, I highly doubt anyone wanting to cyber bully would have the capabilities of doing so, as they are usually 14 year old immature idiots and maybe it was that thing you downloaded the other week instead mixed with paranoia.
And just remember kiddies, if you post/have posted provocative/half naked photos, there is most likely some peadophile heaving over them right now as you read this :D

I honestly think cyber bullying is a joke. You have the power to control what you see online, who you talk to online n' whatnot. There's a block button, there's privacy settings. I've been bullied loads online, and guess what? I stopped it all with block buttons. :) If it bothers me? I don't read it. It's a lot more simple than this whole "let's make a big deal out of bullying all of a sudden when it's been going on for hundreds of years" makes it out to be.

I cannot agree more.

Many serial bullies are also extremely attention seeking, and become infuriated if they are ignored. Their objectives are “power, control, domination, and subjugation.” When they provoke a response, they derive a sense of power, and enjoy the victim’s further attempts to communicate with them. They use the victim’s response to further anger others, and observe as the situation inflames. However, the bullies themselves often harbor internal aggression, which they feel the need to take out online. They do so more conveniently as there are fewer constraints than in the real world, and they derive satisfaction from tormenting others through the internet.

This is a really great, well-written article. Cyberbullying must be stopped. If you won't say something in person, why say it online?

Very well written, and very objective. You did an excellent job of supporting your points with citations, and the article was very clear and grammatically well constructed. One small suggestion--in paragraph 4, I think maybe instead of "animosity" you may have meant "anonymity?"

Bullying--cyber or otherwise--is a symptom of insecurity and lack of self-control. It is up to everyone to try to recognize when it is happening, and to confront it to let the bully know it won't be tolerated. Many will back down, and those who don't need punishment that has some teeth in it. What they do affects people, sometimes leaving permanent scars, and sometimes at the cost of the victim's life.

No one's ego is worth that.

Cyber bullying is wrong. It's worse than normal bullying because the victim cannot escape. This article was awesome, well done.