Bullying does not stop once we leave elementary school. It used to be something physical and obvious, but as we get older, bullying can be very discreet, yet very deadly.
Bullying is real. Whether or not you have experienced it yourself, it's occurring right now. Some of us faced bullying, others have not. For those that have gone through or are going through that horrible phase, we know that it affects us mentally, physically, and emotionally. And the results of the impact? It can be as detrimental as many suicide victims have faced bullying. But if you follow the news and actually notice, most of the victims that ended their lives were not bullied physically. In fact, most of the victims faced cyber bullying or even indirect bullying.
Once I started college this year, I never expected to be a victim of cyber bullying. I was bullied physically when I was in elementary school, and let me tell you, cyber bullying is a whole other level. It can kill.
It was a school night when I received a call from one of my friends who asked me if I have read a post on a social media in regards to me. Once, I read the post, I felt angry but I did not know what to do. The main goal of the post was to make me look bad. I was sad, and I felt alone. I remember how I couldn't sleep that night nor was able to concentrate in class the following morning. For a whole week, I was sad, emotionally exhausted, and could not sleep. Eventually, six days later, I got sick from the memories of what was said of me. Thank goodness at that time I had someone who cared about me and told me to go report of this. At first I thought, "well don't we have the right of speech? What the person said, didn't they have the right to?" But I then went to the authorities and reported what went happened, and thankfully, people were there to help to help me get through that horrid time.
Now what about those that have no one to help them?
We might think bullying only occurs when we are young, but today, it's still happening. Based on the Megan Meier Foundation, it has been recorded that 2.2 million students have claimed to be victims of cyber bullying and of social media in 2011.
As free as we all are able to write, post, and say anything we want, there's a distinct line between what should be said of another person, especially if it's going to affect them negatively. Sometimes cyber bullying is not taken as serious as physical bullying, but both do have the same amount of impact. In fact, cyber bullying might have a more intense effect because those words, pictures, videos will always be the images imprinted in the victims' minds. And sometimes, there are victims who have someone there to assist them, but what about victims who don't. If cyber bullying is not taken more seriously, more innocent lives will be gone.
Together we can all work together to make this a safer world not just for ourselves, but for others "cyber-ly."
