A word, a phrase, a few simple taps on a keyboard – this is all it takes to hurt someone in our society through social media. It begins as a frustration, or maybe a seemingly harmless joke, possibly between friends or in the back of your mind. It forms into an idea, and you, in the heat of the moment, decide your voice needs to be heard. This thought of yours should be shared because that girl at school just looked ridiculous, or that guy you know from class asked too many questions for your liking, and the world needs to know how you felt about it. It takes just seconds to type out your thoughts and then post them to the world. It is done so quickly and so carelessly.

You don't even think twice about it, but this action carries a weight that you cannot comprehend. Just as quickly as you typed and pressed send, the person you have ever so nonchalantly vented about has seen it and been hurt. The girl who looked ridiculous and the guy from class suddenly take a blow to their self esteem, and at the very moment you pressed send, you became a bully.

A bully. The image that comes to mind is the kid in the schoolyard that towers over his peers; he takes lunch money, he intimidates the weak, but this is not the bully of the social media landscape. A cyber bully is a girl, a boy, weak, strong, short tall, popular, geeky, a cheerleader, a jock, an adult, or even a friend. Social media has given a voice to those who may not have been heard otherwise, but it has also provided a space for us to post about nearly anything we want. It is possible that we have become so comfortable with sharing our every thought and idea, that we have become blind to how we affect those who are on the receiving end.

We now say things on social media that we would never say to someone’s face, and that is a dangerous place to be. So, while the actions of the kid in the schoolyard are not excusable, the actions of a cyber bully possess the ability to cause long-term damage. We now have a platform at our immediate disposal to hide behind a screen and say things that drudge up insecurities in others that they may not have known they had, or maybe they did and you have now confirmed their worst fear in knowing that others have noticed.

At school or in class, you now realize that girl won’t walk down the same hallway as you, and that guy no longer raises his hand and won’t make eye contact with you. You become guilty and take down the posts, but the damage is already done. You can remove the post, but you cannot remove the past and the damage done. After a while, the victims of a mean post may be able to stand up, dust themselves off, and stand tall, proud of who they are, but not all cyber bully victims are able to do so.

I challenge every person who reads this to, instead of posting something negative, post something positive and encourage others to pass it along, because in a world that can become so negative, we need more beacons of light to shine. Kindness is truly contagious.