Cyberbullying is a serious, often overlooked form of psychological abuse.

While it does not physically hurt victims, it can severely damage them mentally.

Cyberbullying comes in many different forms. It can include sending hurtful messages online or on a cell phone, spreading rumors on the internet or through text messages, hacking into someone’s account on a social networking site and saying damaging things, posting bad pictures of someone without their consent, etc

(Cyber Bullying Statistics). Bullies find many things to attack you about. They might comment on your looks, your weight, sexual orientation, activities, and many other things. The internet is a dangerous place—emotions are very hard to convey. While you may think what you said was playful and humorous, the person to whom you were talking might interpret it as something hurtful. You may be a cyberbully and not even know it.

Cyberbullying is much too common. 42% of children have been targets of cyberbullying (Statistics and Tips). Though numerous, these victims are hard to point out. They don’t have bruises, black eyes, or torn clothes; instead they have immeasurable psychological damage. If the bullying these victims go through doesn’t stop, the pain keeps on building and has the potential to result in something ugly. Some victims may get into substance abuse, and some might get into cutting.

Then there are those that feel like there is absolutely no way out of the hell that they live in, and they decide to take themselves out of this world.

Take, for example, Phoebe Prince. Phoebe was a student in Massachusetts, who had recently moved from Ireland with her family. While her principal called her, “smart and charming” (Kotz), the “popular” girls at her school did not agree.

After briefly dating a senior boy from the football team, the other girls didn’t think that she “knew her place.” They then began taunting her repeatedly—calling her a slut and other derogatory names over Facebook, texts, and in person. One day, when she was walking home from school, girls threw an energy drink at her and insulted her incessantly. Phoebe promptly went home and hung herself (Kotz).

If you find yourself in that kind of situation, don’t resort to taking your own life. There is always some way to make it stop—all you have to do is get help. Only one in ten teens that have been a target of cyberbullying notify their parents (Cyber

Bullying Statistics). This may be because they’re embarrassed or afraid. This means that nine out of ten victims of cyberbullying keep it to themselves. They store all of these negative emotions and never express them to others. Sometimes they’re scared that if they “tattle,” their bully would do something even worse. The truth is, telling your parents about cyberbullies is an important step to stopping it.

Persistence is key—keep talking to them about it until they do something about it.

Don’t stop at parents, either. Talk to your school officials—trusted teachers, counselors, coaches, and principals. They take cyber bullying very seriously and will help you with bullies.

There are many other ways to help prevent cyberbullying. First and foremost, don’t read messages sent to you by bullies. But if you do, don’t react to them. Bullies put other people down to feel better about themselves—if you have no reaction, they don’t get anything out of it. So don’t make them feel like they’re affecting you, because that’s all they’re looking for. That’s how they win.

If you get one thing out of this, I hope it’s that you think about what you put on the internet. Once you put it out there, you can’t take it back—it’s out there forever. Think about how you talk to your friends over the web, because chances are, there are a lot of different interpretations possible for one simple statement.

Sarcasm is not easily implied. Think about how what you say might affect someone, and don’t let yourself be the cause of someone’s life being taken by their own hand.

Watch out for your friends—if you see someone bullying them, take the initiative to tell someone about it. They might be hesitant to try and get help, but you can be proactive and get them the help they need. Stand up for them, because nobody deserves to be treated badly, over the internet or not. Who knows—just by telling an adult about someone in need of help, you could ultimately save their life.

Works Cited "Cyber Bullying Statistics - Bullying Statistics." Bullying Statistics - Teen

Violence, Anger, Bullying, Treatment Options . Web. 03 Apr. 2011.

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"Cyber Bullying: Statistics and Tips." I-SAFE Inc. Web. 03 Apr. 2011.

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"Cyberbullying — National Crime Prevention Council." Home — National Crime

Prevention Council . Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .

Kotz, Pete. "Phoebe Prince, 15, Commits Suicide After Onslaught of Cyber-

Bullying From Fellow Students - True Crime Report." True Crime Report - Strange But

True Crime Stories from Across America. 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2011.

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