Essay: Individuals Should Be Prosecuted For Cyberbullying

Individuals Should Be Prosecuted for Online Statements 20% of youth ages 11-18 have been a victim of cyberbullying and 10% of youth ages 11-18 have been both a victim and offender of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has become a prevalent issue in modern society. Most children and teens have access to the internet and some form of technology. The ability to access such a large forum of information can cause conflicts between people. Individuals should be prosecuted for statements made online because photos that are meant to be private can ruin one’s reputation, threats can escalate into physical confrontation, and certain statements can greatly influence someone’s mood and behavior. To begin with, private photographs pertaining to someone’s personal life can be destructive to their reputation if they are spread online. As stated by Psychologist Eden Foster, “The effects of cyberbullying
60% of targets have answered that their online experiences as a target of cyberbullying affected them at school, home, and with friends as well as feeling frustration, anger, and sadness (“What is Cyberbullying?”). A few words on a screen may seem harmless to the offender, but the victim could experience a multitude of emotions and may even delve into depression. In 2008, Lori Drew abused Megan Meier online by creating a fake Myspace account and using it to flirt and break up with Megan (“The Dangers of Cyberbullying” by Brett Warnke). This type of harassment can change the typical mood and behavior of a person. Megan being “broken up with” probably hurt her feelings and when she found out that it was all a trick she must have felt like a fool. The actions people, children and teens especially, take online and on social media should be taken seriously and abusive behavior to another person online should warrant an appropriate punishment by