According to a study by the University of Toronto, one out of five students have been bullied in the past three months. A study in Alberta reported that one-third of students who had cyberbullied were victims of cyberbullying as well. Cyberbullying is becoming more common due to easy access to different forms of technology like texting, e-mail, and chat rooms. The issue with cyberbullying is that it isn't just said outloud where only some can hear or see, but it's documented in often places where the whole cyberworld can see it. Teachers and parents cannot monitor and control this type of bullying as easily because it's not in a place for them to witness it all the time. Schools are addressing this issue more and trying to educate and inform their students and parents of this form of bullying.
I think cyberbullying can be a very bothersome thing to people because you cannot really ever get rid of the evidence of the bullying and it's where almost everyone in the world can see or know of it. It's a harder issue to confront someone about because it is less known and not as easily understood. I do think that sometimes the way to fix it is to make light of the situation or not take it as hard, because through different technologies it's often difficult to recognize sarcasm and playfulness. So communication is key to understand the full intent and thought.
I definately agree that cyberbullying is becomimg a big problem. I think the biggest reason for cyberbulling, which wasn't mentioned in the article, is that cyberbulling is so much easier to do and feels so harmless. I personally would never go up to someone and say something really mean to their face on purpose, however in the "cyber-world" i'm not really standing face-to-face. Cyberbullying creates that buffer between you and someone so if you do say something mean, they can't hit you in the face right then and there. It almost creates the illusion that your a safe distance away from the person so it makes it o.k. which is so twisted but I can definately see how someone could think that way! Great Blog Ashby!!:)
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