By Jason D. Varga
cyberbullying What a wonderful world we live in, in these modern times with information and social interaction at our fingertips. This though can came at a dark cost.
Something we have all experienced to some degree is cyberbullying. Why is it so rampant? Well, there are those who sadly have become bullies in real life, then there are people who would not act or react in a bullying fashion in person yet, because they can operate from the relative safety of anonymity or distance using the internet, they tend to become more inclined to bully others. In this day and age, everyone has an opinion and everyone equally seems also to be easily offended. Internet arguments are common, leading at times to some form of bullying. I have been called out on social media for posting something that apparently offended someone, or that they disagreed with to then be met with a barrage of bullying. I am
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Supernal Magazine
no angel either and if I see something posted that is fake news, I’ll generally call it out. The spread of fake news helps no one; also if I witness someone engaging in dangerous or unethical practices, I call them out too if I feel it will at least help to stop someone else being damaged by said practice. However, my topic for this issue is cyberbullying that is relentless, personal, threatening, vindictive and where there is no safe place from the attacks. Yes, we can block a person from our social media,yet that can only do so much and I have witnessed someone being attacked by groups of people, via social media, emails and texts, at all times of the day and night. There was no escape, no relief. The stress and anxiety this poor person suffered every time their phone went off,
each time they checked their email, was dreadful. It got to the point where they eventually cancelled all their social media profiles, changed phone numbers and email addresses and still received threatening letters at their home. In November 2018, NSW introduced ‘Dolly’s Law’. Perpetrators of online bullying could face up to five years’ prison time under this law, which came into effect after a 14yo Northern Territory teen took her own life in January of the same year after persistent bullying and abuse, including cyberbullying. Information on this act can be found here: https://www.justice.nsw.gov. au/Pages/media-news/mediareleases/2018/dolly-law.aspx
Cyberbullying has no boundaries. The young are twice as likely to commit suicide due to persistent cyberbullying, while businesses can experience loss of income.
