Leah Taylor

Unit 3, Assignment 2:
Cyber Bullying-
In this assignment, I am going to be writing a report about my chosen topic which is
cyber bullying, I chose this topic because I feel that it effects so many young people,
as my target audience is going to be 11-20 year olds the reason why I chose this age
range is because 11 years old is when people start secondary school and I feel that
this is the age where you get into social media, and then up to 20 because it’s still
young and people can still be cyber bullied when they are adults. I am doing all of
this for a short documentary what will be going on channel 4, I will be creating
questionnaires for people to complete so I get some primary research and people’s
opinions on this issue.
Primary research:
I created a questionnaire for people to fill out so I had some
opinions from other people and then I can analyse the
results and then that can go into the short documentary,
most of the questions are multiple choice so the person
doing the questionnaire can just tick the answer they want
to put in and then one or two of the questions are ones
where the person doing the questionnaire has to write their
opinion. The image on the right is the questionnaire which I
gave out to 8 people and then filled it in, from these
answers I can get the primary research I need to complete
this report because it has people opinions and experience
in, I can also create graphs and charts from the answers
which will help me get some more statistics. I gave my
questionnaires out to 8 different people, I decided on 8
because it is enough people to get good results from.
For the results that I got for the questionnaires was for the first question was only a
couple of people goes on social media for 9+ hours a day and then the rest of the
people who took my questionnaires said they go on social media for 4-8 hours and
then only one person said that they are on social media for 2-4 hours per day.
 What social media sites do you use the most.

25%
Facebook
44% Twitter
Instagram
6%
Snapchat

25%

How often do you go on social media in a

day?

25%
37%
2-4 hours
4-8 hours

38% 9+ hours

Question 3 asked the person who is taking my questionnaire, it asked if they have
ever had a bad experience with someone on social media. The answers from this
was it was exactly half and half, so 4 out of the 8 questionnaires said that they have
had a bad experience online and then the rest said they hadn’t. This shows that for
the people I gave the questionnaires to that 50% of them have had an experienced
with cyberbullying.
Question 4 asked the people who were taking the questionnaire if they know anyone
who is or has been bullied online. 2 out of 8 people said no and then the rest which
is 6 people said that they have this shows that more people see other people getting
bullied and don’t really do much. With the people who did my questionnaires have
witnessed cyberbullying rather that it actually happened to them.
On question 5 it was asking if anyone knew what the symbol to the left of the
answers and then it was a multi choose answer so they could have picked from 1 of
the 3, and all 8 of the people who took the questionnaire put the correct answer, this
is good because it means a lot of people know this symbol so when they see it online
then they know that it is a safe place and no one can be cyber bullied without
someone seeing what they are putting and they will probably be banned from that
site.
Question 6 asked what would they do if they saw someone being bullied online.
Almost all of the people who took my questionnaire said that they would tell the
person who is being bullied online to repot the person who is being bullied.
Types of questions:
You can ask many different questions to people about cyber
bullying, for my questionnaire I found some of the questions on
a few different websites, as I didn’t want to ask a question what
could hurt someone’s feelings or bring up bad memories if they
ever have been bullied online. I wanted to ask questions about
symbols what relate to cyber bullying to see if anyone knew
what it stood for and I was quite surprised to find that everyone
who I gave the questionnaire to knew what it stood for, this is
good because they know what to do if they or anyone they know
is getting bullied online. Also, a good question to ask is how long
some goes on social media in a day, this allows you to see if
people go on their phones for longer than others then this could
lead to being bullied online or the person to bully someone
online.
What is cyberbullying?
Like bullying in person, cyberbullying (also known as online bullying) is repeated,
deliberate behaviour intended to tease, demean, or harass someone in a less
powerful position. By contrast, cyberbullying uses electronic media and information
technology as the means for carrying out the harassment. Since cyberbullying is
online, it exposes the victim to harm 24 hours a day, can be made anonymously, and
can potentially be broadcast to a far wider audience than in-person attacks.
Cyberbullies can use any type of Internet-connected device through web services
like text and instant messaging, games, or social media such as Facebook and
snapchat.
Secondary research-
Worldwide web:
I have got some information from different website
on the worldwide web.
Cyber bullying is any form of bullying which takes
place online or through smartphones and tablets.
Social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming
sites and chat rooms such as Facebook, X Box Live,
Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and other chat
rooms can be great fun and a positive experience.
Types of cyberbullying:
There are many ways of bullying someone online and for some it can take shape in
more ways than one. Some of the types of cyber bullying are:
Harassment - This is the act of sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages and
being abusive. Nasty or humiliating comments on posts, photos and in chat rooms.
Being explicitly offensive on gaming sites.
Denigration – This is when someone may send information about another person
that is fake, damaging and untrue. Sharing photos of someone for the purpose to
ridicule, spreading fake rumours and gossip. This can be on any site online or on
apps. We even hear about people altering photos of others and posting in online for
the purpose of bullying.
Flaming – This is when someone is purposely using really extreme and offensive
language and getting into online arguments and fights. They do this to cause
reactions and enjoy the fact it causes someone to get distressed.
Impersonation – This is when someone will hack into someone’s email or social
networking account and use the person's online identity to send or post vicious or
embarrassing material to/about others. The making up of fake profiles on social
network sites, apps and online are common place and it can be really difficult to get
them closed down.
Outing and Trickery – This is when someone may share personal information about
another or trick someone into revealing secrets and forward it to others. They may
also do this with private images and videos too.
Cyber Stalking – This is the act of repeatedly sending messages that include
threats of harm, harassment, intimidating messages, or engaging in other online
activities that make a person afraid for his or her safety. The actions may be illegal
too depending on what they are doing.
Exclusion – This is when others intentionally leave someone out of a group such as
group messages, online apps, gaming sites and other online engagement. This is
also a form of social bullying and a very common.
Cyber bullying affects people from any age or walk of life, including children, teens
and adults who all feel very distressed and alone when being bullied online. Cyber
bullying can make you feel totally overwhelmed which can result in many feelings
embarrassed that they are going through such a devastating time, and not knowing
what support is available to them. Many children feel unable to confide in an adult
because they feel ashamed and wonder whether they will be judged, told to ignore it
or close their account which they might not want to do.
For many cyber bullying affects their everyday lives and is a constant source of
distress and worry. With mobile technology being so freely available it is an ongoing
issue and one that is relentless. Not only does it go on after school, college or work
has finished, but it then carries through into the next day and the cycle continues. It
has been well documented that cyber bullying has resulted in tragic events including
suicide, and self-harm and clearly, more needs to be done in order to protect
vulnerable children and adults from online bullying.
If you are worried that your child or a loved one might be the victim of cyber bullying
here are some signs to look out for:
 Low self-esteem
 Withdrawal from family and spending a lot of time alone
 Reluctance to let parents or other family members anywhere near their
mobiles, laptops etc.
 Finding excuses to stay away from school or work including school refusal
 Friends disappearing or being excluded from social events
 Losing weight or changing appearance to try and fit in
 Fresh marks on the skin that could indicate self-harm and dressing differently
such as wearing long sleeved clothes in the summer to hide any marks
 A change in personality i.e. anger, depression, crying, withdrawn

Newspapers:
I went onto The Guardian newspaper and I found
a news article what was all about cyber bullying,
and the effects of social media. The next couple
of paragraphs are some of the information I have
gotten from The Guardian newspaper website.

Social media companies such as Facebook,

Snapchat and Twitter have been accused of
failing to protect young people from harassment
after a cyberbullying inquiry found that online
abuse severely affects their mental health.

Almost half of young people have experienced threatening, intimidating or abusive

messages on social media, pushing some to the verge of suicide in the most
extreme cases, according to a survey commissioned by the Children’s Society and
Young Minds.

Sixty-two percent of respondents were under 18 and three-quarters were female.

The findings were based on oral and written evidence from young people – including
an online survey of 1,089 children, social media companies, mental health experts
and children’s charities.

Respondents said they felt let down by social media platforms, and wanted
companies to take tougher action against cyberbullying, including banning abusive
users.

The children’s charities have recommended that social media companies pilot
approaches to identify children using their platforms, and to gain explicit parental
consent for under-13s. They said the government should require social media firms
to publish data on their responses to reports of online bullying, which the inquiry
found to be “inadequate”.

“You kind of expect to experience it: nasty

comments on the selfie, Facebook posts and
Twitter posts, people screen grabbing your
Snapchat story to laugh about it … I feel like it’s
something people don’t take seriously. But
leaving just one nasty comment could really hurt
someone,” a 15-year-old girl told the inquiry.

“Social media companies should take complaints

more seriously. If someone reports something,
they shouldn’t take days to review it, they should
literally just remove it straight away. The reaction from adults is just delete your
account to stop the bullying, but that’s taking something away from that young
person’s life for something that’s not their fault,” she added.

In the next couple of paragraphs, it is from the BBC website, and it is another news
article about cyber bullying.

"He was a happy laddie, not depressed and the last type of person you would think
would take their life.

"We're a very close family and I just wished he had come to me and said something."

The words of the mother of 17-year-old Daniel Perry, who took his own life after he
was apparently blackmailed after befriending someone he thought was a girl of his
age online.

In reality, it is thought he was "talking" to an extortion gang.

The apprentice mechanic was told on 15 July to deposit thousands of pounds in to
an account or images or video of him would be shared with his family and friends or
the public.

Hours later, he was dead.

It is a story that sends shivers down the spine of most parents.

In an interview with the Dunfermline Press, his mother said he had "not being doing
anything wrong - just what anyone his age might do", but had been too
"embarrassed and horrified" to tell anyone about what had happened.

Quantitative research-
Programme ratings:
On Channel 4 in 2015 there was a programme called Cyberbully and I
looked on this website http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4135218/ and this
is the official website given to this film, this film was given 7.0/10, and
5,532 people have given this film a rating and that is how it got to this
rating. The storyline for this film is “How far will you go to protect your
life, Casey is facing every teenager's worst nightmare, as an
anonymous hacker plans to leak her private photos to the public
through the Internet. She races against time in order to end the
stalker's plan and save her identity.”
Usually quite a lot of TV programmes have episodes which will be
about someone getting bullied online
TV programmes like Coronation street,
Holyoke’s, and EastEnders. The
writers do this because cyber bullying
is a very big topic now because more
and more people have access to new
technology and social media, so
people think if it is broadcasted to a lot
of people then more adults are aware
of what is going on, and may be they
now know how to help after watching it,
and usually after the programme there
will be a voice over saying “if any of
tonight’s topics have affected you then
you can ring the number” and then it
will come up with a number, this will
allow someone who is getting bullied
online to speak to someone who
knows what to say about this. It’s good
that they put them on TV programmes like this as a lot of people watch these
programmes. The image to the right show the programme ratings from the 24 th of
Febuary to the 4th of March 2018.
Qualitive research-
Film reviews:
In 2011, there was a film what came out and it was called
Cyberbully and it was about a girl who gets bullied online, I
have found some reviews on a couple of different websites.
On the official imdb website the first review what I came
across said this:
"As many fellow IMDb users have said, this film shows
cyberbullying in a completely unrealistic and over-
exaggerated way. The entire concept of the movie is
laughable. The acting is dreadful. It fits into almost every
modern cliché.

Only reason this monstrosity doesn't get a 1 is due to its

reasonable moral that it attempts to teach, and it has
apparently done its job to some extent.

Overall, there are much better films that successfully grasp the concept of online
bullying. If your intent is to teach others or learn yourself about the consequences of
cyberbullying through film, look elsewhere immediately. If you want a good movie to
laugh at, this is a good choice."
Another review on this website is:
"I get it, people want to take on a popular topic, so they can make tons of money.
The problem is, this film is so poorly executed that I couldn't take this film seriously in
the slightest.
So, this films about some teenager who has no problem mocking people, but if
somebody mocks her, she starts crying. Get used to it, because you will be putting
up with her for the duration of this abomination. There is even a scene where she
talks to someone who has been mocked for being gay. She blows him
off, due to him actually, being gay. Are we seriously supposed to have sympathy for
this character?
I could mock this film for all of the laughably bad scenes, but I would be beating a
dead horse by doing so. I'm certainly not the only one who sees how terrible this film
is. The idea that anybody has taken this film seriously seems like a sick joke.
Cyberbully is not worth your time, unless you want a few cheap laughs."
Attitudes to media product:
I found I website what did a test on
cyberbullying and how social media and
technology effects it and how easily someone
can get bullied online now as most people
have access to technology and social media.
This study examined the prevalence of cyber-
bullying and attitudes and behaviors related to
cyber-bullying among 359 adolescents.
Experience with cyber-bullying and the likelihood of sharing the experiences with
parents, teachers, and other adults were examined. Information on usage of
technology and social media was also examined. Results demonstrate that the
participants spend an average of 3 hours a day on their computer, tablet, or
smartphone for things other than schoolwork; and that most use 2 or more social
media sites. Results revealed a significant relationship between the number of social
networks used and the amount of cyber bullying they have experienced or been
exposed to. Furthermore, results demonstrate that parents are key factors in their
teens’ experience and exposure to cyber-bullying.
Audience research-
Age:
The age of the audience I will be aiming this at will be 11-year olds to 20-year olds. I
choose 11 to be the youngest age because this is when people start secondary
school, and this is the most likely place that cyber bulling will happen, and then the
highest age is 20, I have chosen this to be the highest age because people who go
to university can get bullied online. But anyone can get bullied online, but it is mostly
likely to happen in teenagers and young adults. Also, I think at 11 this is when parent
let children use more social media, without them wanting to know what they are
doing, or this is when they get a good phone what is their own.
Media preferences:

Cyberbullying uses technology like mobile phones

and the internet to bully or harass a victim. This can
lead to anxiety, depression or self-harm in their
victims. For younger people in a digital age, it can be
hard to escape the abuse when their life is
continuously plugged in.

Before the internet age, bullying ended once you

were out of a particular setting or situation however,
cyberbullying is a constant form of harassment. With
over 25% of adolescents and teens exposed to
repeat bullying through their phones or the internet, bullying can continue around the
clock.
The number of children receiving counselling over cyberbullying has more than
doubled in five years, prompting the NSPCC to call on ministers to put pressure on
social media sites to do more to protect children from online abuse.

Children as young as nine have contacted the NSPCC’s ChildLine complaining of

being tormented by name-calling, blackmail and death threats posted publicly on
social media profiles and blogs. Others have complained of rumors being spread
about them online.

ChildLine delivered 5,103 counselling sessions to children affected by cyberbullying

in 2016/17, up 12% from 4,541 the year before and 2,410 in 2011/12. Girls between
12 and 15 are the most likely to seek help.

The 24/7 nature of social media means children are unable to find respite at home,
with potential consequences for their mental health. Of the counselling sessions
delivered by ChildLine, 14% of children were 11 and under, 50% were 12-15 and
15% were 16-18.

Last month the government released its internet safety green paper, which proposed
a voluntary levy on internet companies such as Google and Facebook to pay for
measures to combat and raise awareness about online bullying, as well as a
voluntary code of conduct.

The NSPCC calls for the introduction of a rulebook enshrined in law that will require
social media sites to protect children from online abuse. It also wants social media
companies to introduce cyberbullying alerts to flag bullying behavior to moderators.

The charity says there also needs to be strict privacy settings by default, clear and
easy to understand reporting processes, and specially trained child safety
moderators.

Market research-
Advertising placement:

The government has launched its first digital campaign to tackle

cyber bullying, with online ads that show a boy being harassed
using a YouTube-style video and via mobile text and instant
messenger. Launched by the department for children,
schools and families, the campaign does not attempt to
target the bullies themselves, instead highlighting the
"accomplices" who have the power - especially in a digital
world - to fuel the ongoing harassment. The campaign,
which will consist of up to seven digital ads, will run across
websites including MSN, Yahoo!, Bebo and MySpace with
12- to 15-year-olds as the main target. One banner in the
cyber bullying campaign - which has the strapline "Think
it's easy to escape bullying?" - expands into a drop-down
box when a user rolls their cursor over it. The expanded ad
shows a typical kid called Johnny and three types of digital
media he commonly uses - instant messenger, a MySpace-style profile and a
YouTube clip of the boy singing - implying that bullies can track kids everywhere
online. Another, simpler, banner ad - called Army of Accomplices - shows a picture
of three aggressively posed teenagers with the line "Think this is a lot of bullies to
deal with?".

To highlight just how horrible cyber bullying can be, the Canadian Safe School
Network's anti-bullying campaign, Stand Together, created a series of banner ads
that "bullied" influencers and bloggers.

The ads -- with mean messages such as "Nobody likes you" and "That shirt makes
you look stupid" -- mirrored online retargeting, literally following people around the
web as they viewed different sites, serving
as a reminder that for some kids, there is
no escape from bullying. The campaign,
by Toronto agency BIMM, encouraged
influencers to then share their
experiences online.

The agency worked with Touche Media

and AOL in Canada. To get the campaign rolling, Creative Director Rene Rouleau
explained that the agency sent e-vites to key influencers, press and bloggers for a
major anti-bullying event. "We asked these unsuspecting people to click on the
unique and personalized URL in the email to see more anti-bullying info and event
details," he said. "Once anyone clicked on that unique URL, unbeknownst to them,
we had them. They were now cookied and could be tracked, and then we could start
serving them our 'Bully Ads.'"

The ads actually "had no resolve, no explanation or payoff -- again a challenge but
AOL respected the idea and the cause," he said. "And if some of them did notice the
Bully Ads and actually clicked through than our job was done, and we revealed what
we done to them and why -- on the landing page."

Product research-
Placement:
Computer Placement within Homes

Surveys indicate that cyberbullying victims are cyber‐bullied outside of school hours
and, in many cases, at home. Some children may be more prone to engage in cyber‐
bullying and the sharing of illicit multimedia content which they know that parents
and carers do not see.
Parents should be provided with more information about effective supervision
techniques that will reduce instances of cyber‐bullying that originate or occur in the
family home. To reduce the likelihood of cyber‐bullying in the form of illicit multimedia
content, CLC recommends that parents and carers be advised to consider placing
their family computers in the open living areas of the home. As common forms of
cyber‐bullying occur over instant messenger and email, the positioning of computers
in open family environments may not alert parents and carers to many types of
bullying a child may experience. These forms of cyber‐bullying could be better
controlled and minimised by encouraging parents in the use of filter technologies and
by engaging their children to discuss any concerns they may have regarding use of
the internet.

Conclusion-
In conclusion, more people are getting bullied online today as there is easy access to
the technology which allows people to use social media and more people at a
younger age are creating accounts on the different social media site, even if they are
below the minimum age you can be to set up a site they will lie about their age as
these sites don’t ask for proof about your age, quite a lot of these sites minimum age
is 13, these sites have set this up to be the minimum age as they have gone through
a lot of meetings and done a lot of questionnaires and surveys to make sure they are
making the right decision, to then have people very young logging on to their site.
Quite a lot of these people who are under the age limit is immature so will say things
without thinking and then the thing they say will stay around and could affect them
later in life. Also, with some of these social media site, stranger who the people don’t
know can add them, if they done have any private setting on, and then start talking to
them, as these kids don’t know this person they will engage in the conversations and
these people could be a lot older than them, this could end in some serious
consequences for the person who is older and started taking to the younger person.