Assignment Week 4
Short Critical Reflection Paper
Jacquelyn Beagan
September 19, 2011
Introduction to Computer Literacy
INF 103
Instructor: L. Master
The first topic that I would like to address is cyber bullying. Cyber- bullying is a serious issue in today’s schools and business. If everyone adopted and educated people on netiquette guidelines would this issue be solved? Cyber bullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person (stopcyberbullying.org 2010). When an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyber-harassment or cyber-stalking, which can have legal consequences sometimes ending in jail time (kidshealth.org 2011). Unlike school yard bullying where the person being targeted can seek relief by running home the person being tormented by a cyber-bully can find no relief (Gallagher2007). Because of the impersonal nature of the internet there isn’t the one on one face to face encounter. All too often users find it easy to become the aggressor when they can hide behind a user name or take on someone else’s identity, they are usually aware that it is hard to track them down and make them accountable. Cyber- bullies can be relentless, striking on the web, a social network, by e-mail, blog and cell phone, and cyber- bullies have a much larger audience in which to badger and harass their victim.
The effects of cyber bullying can range from the most devastating of suicide to depression, despondence, self-destructive behavior and poor performance in school. A 2006 poll from the national organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids found that 1 in 3 teens and 1 in 6 pre-teens have been the victims of cyber bullying (cyberbullying.us/2011).
Many times cyber bullying is clear –cut with the bully purposely picking out the victim but that isn’t always the case. Cyber bullying can also happen unintentionally. This is why education on the importance of netiquette is so important. No one thing will ever...