CYBERBULLYING EMOJIS Cyberbullying involves the usage of digital communication to harm, intimidate, and bully an individual, mainly through sending messages that are threatening, intimidating, and cruel in nature. 14 With the use of technology, cyberbullying has become a prominent way for both youth and adults to say things they may not say in person, by hiding behind a screen. 15 Behaviors can include harassment via digital devices, setting up defamatory personal websites, or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces. This may also include online posting or electronic distribution of embarrassing or intimate images or videos, real or altered, without the consent of the person contained in the images/videos. Cyberbullying can happen at any time and can be in both public and private settings. Cyberbullying is the most recent phenomenon of the four types of bullying. 17 Given the pace of the development of new technology, and the fact our youth are introduced to digital devices and the internet at increasingly younger ages, information and trends on this type of bullying behavior change rapidly. Cyberbullying has changed the traditional face of bullying in three significant ways – Access, Scope, and Anonymity (ASA): • Access : it is virtually impossible for targets to get away from those who cyberbully. Most youth have access to all types of technology, which provides those who cyberbully the ability to reach their targets almost all the time. Targets do not have a safe haven as they do in cases of traditional bullying, and there is the possibility traditional bullying will follow the victim online. • Scope : unlike traditional bullying, due to technology, audiences of cyberbullying (both victims and those witnessing) have few barriers which can cause the issue to grow exponentially. • Anonymity : those who cyberbully can hide their identity. Anonymity, which is inherent in electronic communication, promotes a lack of inhibition. As a result, normal behavior restraints can disappear, allowing youth to act harsher than they would offline.
14 StopBullying.gov – What is Cyberbullying 15 Bullying Canada 16 StopBullying 17 ChildCare Education Institute
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