Since we live in the 21st century, we are considered to be in a technologically advanced era. Every day we come in contact with technology at least once. With the access we have to the internet and the social media, we tend to spend the majority of our time on the internet. At the click of a button we have access to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to communicate with strangers all around the world. While some people can handle the responsibility of this privilege, others cannot; they take advantage of the things on the internet, as well as the use of the internet to connect to people if they can’t meet in person. While this seems to be a positive thing, it mostly brings negative influences.

The main negative thing that comes from this is cyber bullying. This is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as, “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.” Cyber bullying usually happens to school-age children, but can affect all ages. It is just a more specific type of bullying.

Bullying is unacceptable, but cyber bullying is more complex to deal with. Cyber bullying that happens typically does not get reported, but discovered victims would rather deal with it themselves than seek assistance. Others that do seek assistance do not receive the proper help that they are requiring.

Many people who do get cyber bullied that do not tell anyone end up just making the situation worse. “[Cyber bullying] is a terrible thing, but people need to stand up for themselves and learn instead of being a victim,” said Kaity Acevedo, freshman. One thing that one could do rather than being reactive is to tell an adult or close friend that they trust. While it is best to tell an adult, sometimes the victim does not feel that an adult can properly handle the situation. Others believe that it is easier to tell a friend because the victims know that the friend would react in a way that will best help him or her. Either way, a victim should tell someone. One should never keep those feelings balled inside because it could lead to severe consequences that a victim would regret for the rest of their lives.

When cyber-bullying, the predator is breaking the law and school rules. The people that cyber-bully are to be more vicious than during any other types of bullying. As Dr. Melissa Davis said, “[Cyber bullying] is an increasing problem, all persons sometimes text or type things they wouldn’t say to a person in front of them. The electronic platform makes people bold.”