Indeed, pen is mightier than the sword just like the old adage goes. This statement has also been proven by many studies which could make or even break one’s dream or life. Words are truly powerful which can affect people especially teenagers directly or indirectly. That is why psychologist encourage adults to set good examples to young breeds to be mindful in the choice of words they are using most especially in communication.
Consequenty, Mother Theresa of Calcutta once said that people in humanity must use polite words. These kinds of words maybe short and simple, but their echoes are truly endless. These words may be the guiding principles of the youth to show how humane they are in this world instead of just thinking that they are already manifested such virtue simply for being human. Unfortunately, these teachings from Mother Theresa seemed to be forgotten which is very evident on the use of foul and offensive words not only verbally but also rampant in the online platforms often called as cyber bullying.
According to the National Crime Prevention Council, cyberbullying is a type of bullying act in which Internet, cell phones or other technological devices are being used as media to send or post texts, images or even videos intended to hurt or embarrass another person. One common example of cyber bullying is posting embarrassing image and information about someone on the internet, particularly in Facebook. There were some who uploaded videos depicting malicious contents in the Youtube. There were also incidents that cyber bullies posted personal information about their victims. Others created fake accounts, pretended to be someone else and posting cryptic messages that embarrass the real user.
However, According to Belsey,(2010) the President of www.cyberbullying.org, he clearly defined cyber bullying as the type of bullying that involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others.
Similarly, in Manila Philippines, based on the report of the Philippine Star last February 7, 2019 on online violence, cyber bullying and digital harrassment affect over 70 percent of young people globally. Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF) appealed to the internet user’s to “be kind online” so they may prevent this form of violence that silently killing the hopes and dreams of the victims.
One of the biggest things that people of the online communities tend to ovelook is the fact that words do hurt. The foul words become more when they were posted in the social media since many people can see and tried to get involved that sometimes worsen the situation of the person being bullied in the internet.
The world is more connected than it has ever been. Skype, email, Facebook and Twitter. They can snap a picture on our one’s phone, post a thought or share a joke with thousands or millions of other people - all within a matter of seconds. Teenagers in this generation often coined as “millenials” are exposed in social media which made even more vulnerable and prone to experience cyber bullying. Easy access of teenagers to social media is also considered by experts a major factor which increased the risk of getting abuse on the said platform.
Parents are encouraged to be vigilant on the utilization of their children to internet because of high risk in encountering cyber bullying. Children who are bullied in the internet or online platforms may give traumatic experience that may affect the child holistic development.
Cyber education is really a timely and perfect solution to mitigate the impact of cyber bullying. Educating the youngsters on cyber bullying may help not only the bullied children or victims to cope up to their terrible experiences but also may enlighten the bullies/perpetrators to stop their wrong doings. Having one goal in this advocacy will change the game and may create a better and happier ending for today’s generations who are deemed considered as the hope of the country.