"X" Marks the Spot | Teen Ink

"X" Marks the Spot

March 24, 2011
By Jessica Barbosa BRONZE, Coventry, Rhode Island
Jessica Barbosa BRONZE, Coventry, Rhode Island
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Social networking was made for people to stay in touch with friends. Over time it is turning out to be the complete opposite. Social networking is no longer benefiting the population it is destroying the population. It causes more problems in a person’s life, especially teenagers. It is bad enough that it happens in everyday life like in school or in person but it is a lot worse when it is on the internet and in writing because writing does not go away, not that words do either, and if it is on the internet then everyone on the internet can read it too. There are many systems on the internet these days, the main ones being; Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. A lot of bullying happens through the internet and many people do not even realize they are doing it and if they do realize it they most likely don’t care.

People say things on the internet talking to their friends about their peers but they either do not realize that the victim can read it and that it hurts them or they just do not care. Either way it should not be done, I understand not everybody likes everyone and not everyone gets along but that does not mean it is okay to talk bad about other people either. Some people say that cyber bullying happens because when someone is on the computer they feel untouchable so it causes them to just do it because they do not feel they can get punished for it but they can. Most victims are scared to tell on the attacker because they feel they will get bullied even more or do not want to stand up for themselves because they do not want to get bullied anymore. But in all reality if they do not stand up for themselves or do not tell anymore that attacker is not going to stop.

Not only is individual bullying a problem on the internet but people add people that they do not even know and they have their personal information on there as a result the bullying could increase. Some people put their information on the internet which is a bad idea because it is not hard to track the person at all. Other people put false information on there so that they seem young and friendly but really they are an old creep. Then the older person seems innocent so they try meeting up and when they do odds are it will not turn out well. Granted this does not happen all the time but it is not worth taking that chance. Why risk getting hurt just to meet somebody new? Is it really worth it?

Bullying is not nice, don’t be a bully and do not be a victim. Bullying hurts, it is not fair. Some people who get bullied take those words to heart and they ruin themselves and lower their self esteem. People have to live with those for the rest of their life; unfortunately the victim’s life usually is not as long as most people’s life because they get so fed up with being bullied so they end up committing suicide. If you ever feel under pressure online, just remember "X" marks the spot.


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on Apr. 11 2011 at 6:46 pm
goodnightmoon, Wapakoneta, Ohio
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Favorite Quote:
We all matter. Maybe less than a lot, but always more than none.
-John Green

While I do agree that cyberbullying (and bullying in general) is starting to become a problem, I disagree that social networking is "destroying the population." Anyone online has the power to close out of a window, not share personal information, not talk to or friend a person on a social networking site, etc. I honestly think that it is more the individual's fault than the site's. An individual being bullied does not need to deal with it. They can simply exit out of a window, block the person bullying, or something of the sort. This was a pretty good article, but I disagree with most of the main points you made.