Assumption College, SLV Basic Education Division SY 2011-2012 Third Trimester

COMMUNICATION ARTS ENGLISH Grammar and Composition II (Research Strand)

Cyber bullying and its effects on the youth today An Argumentative Research Paper By Camille Lucero II-2

Miss Maria Salve Cerezo Year II Grammar (Date of Submission)

Cyber bullying and its effects on the youth today An Argumentative Research Paper By Camille Lucero Cyber bullying is when a person, usually a minor, is tormented, threatened, harassed or humiliated through means of the internet and mobile phones by another minor. Cyber bullying can go as far as the imagination and technology can go. These days, most cyber bullies use the anonymity features on websites such as formspring or tumblr to attack the victim without being caught. Most cyber bullies do it for revenge. Some do it for entertainment, because they are bored and have nothing to do with their lives. Now that technology is evolving, the way of life evolves with it. Everyone knows that the internet and mobile phones are the most used means of communication among people. The government uses the excuse that the internet and text messaging are too big to monitor and control it, let alone legislate. It is hard to stop cyber bullies from bullying because anonymity helps disguise the perpetrator. The question is, should the government pass laws against cyber bullying before the rate of cyber bullying victims increases or should they pass laws against cyber bullying after the toll of suicide victims due to cyber bullying is at its height? The government should pass laws against it before the rate of victims increases. Most people do not understand that the youth uses the internet every day, and that they are exposed and vulnerable to situations such as cyber bullying. A movie was released in 2011 by ABC called Cyberbully. In this movie, Taylor Hillridge, a sophomore, was given a laptop for her birthday. After signing up for a social network, her fellow schoolmate started spreading rumours about her. Then a boy who she had never met before added her in the social network and she started telling him about the most intimate moments of her life. That same boy started to go against her too. Little did she know, it was her best friend who was pretending to be that boy to teach her a lesson. After having enough of the harassment and the lies that were being spread around, she posted a suicidal video, which her best friend saw. After she posted the video, she tried to commit suicide, but was then stopped by her best friend who betrayed her. This movie was inspired by a story of a cyber bullying victim named Megan Meir, who committed suicide because her friends mother pretended to be a boy that Megan likes after she and her friend had a falling out. The movie was an example of the extent that cyber bullies will go to hurt someone out of anger and jealousy. It also exemplifies the effects of cyber bullying on its victims. It was shown

that she refused to go to school to face her oppressors. She was also diagnosed with depression and had to take tranquilizers. Going back to Megan Meiers story, the suspect was not charged because officially, they did not break any of the laws in the constitution. After that incident, a lot of protests were held to seek justice for the death of Megan Meier, which pressured the Missouri governor at the time, Matt Blunt. So, due to the incident, Governor Blunt made a law entitled "Modifies various provisions relating to stalking and harassment." The law states that those who knowingly communicate with another person who is 17 years of age or younger and threatens, harasses or causes emotional distress will be penalized. The law also makes it a crime "to engage, without good cause, in any other act with the purpose to frighten, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to another person, cause such person to be frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed, and such person's response to the act is one of a person of average sensibilities considering the person's age." This is a very good and concrete example of why legislators should make laws against cyber bullying. Not only will it protect peoples rights but it will also give justice to the oppressed. Though, it is not right to wait until an incident happens, it should be done beforehand for people to know that they can be safe from the internet. Aside from having lawmakers make laws against cyber bullying. One needs to practice precautionary measures in order to avoid situations of cyber bullying. For example, one should only add people they know and not tell their personal information to strangers. If one is a victim, s/he should report to a parent right away to find a solution to the problem. It is also suggested that one can join teenage support groups to express what one is feeling and to listen to others that relate to him/her. Based on this research paper, people need to know that the internet is safe and that there should be laws in order to protect their safety. It also gives examples on how to cope with cyber bullying and the measures that need to be taken in order to prevent cyber bullying.

LIST OF WORKS CITED 1. Booth, Teena, writ. Cyberbully. Dir. Binam Charles , and Perf. Osment Emily. ABC Family, 2011. Film. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1930315/>. 2. IBLS, Editors, ed. "INTERNET LAW - Missouri Governor Signs Cyber-Bullying Bill into Law." . IBLS, 2007. Web. 1 Mar 2012.