E.7 - Mohammed Mudhish
E.7 - Mohammed Mudhish
E.7 - Mohammed Mudhish
Mohammed Mudhish
ENGL-001C-0864
Indeed, in this current digital era, social media is not used as a tool but is in itself a
landscape where young teenagers live out most of their social lives. Yet underneath the surface
of connectivity and shared experiences, there is a very pervasive and damaging phenomenon.
Recent surveys state that over 35% of students have, at some point, experienced cyberbullying in
their life (Patchin). These statistics point to the prevalence of cyberbullying and underline its
The rise of social media has been meteoric. Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are
communication devices that have changed into significant social hubs. This is especially true for
youngsters who do not just use it to have fun but also as a vital part of their social and emotional
development. This anonymity, and the reach of social media has made it incredibly popular, but
with the same fact, it has turned out to be a hotbed for cyberbullying. With physical interaction,
constraints malicious behavior not only becomes more comfortable to act but also tougher to get
away from.
It is in this context that one needs to appreciate the fact that while social media may provide
enormous opportunities for networking, self-expression, and learning by its users, it has also
become a breeding ground for the activity of cyberbullying, thereby necessitating urgent, serious,
and effective remedial action in the matter. We need to be more aggressive about regulation and
proactive policies at the platform level in response to this threat. We need to protect all users but
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specifically the younger demographics as they are both the most active and the most vulnerable.
It is only through such effort that we can start to neutralize the shadow side of our increasingly
interconnected world.
Cyberbullying, thus, is the use of new means of media tools, that is, the Internet and
mobile phones, to purposely upset or try to scare a person. This new form sometimes takes the
shape of general harassment or trolling activities. This includes harassment from sending
mean messages to upset people; and doxing, which means putting up someone's personal
information unauthorizedly online. Speaking of the statistics, the rates of cyberbullying are
dangerously high, especially among the youngest age groups. In fact, according to a report issued
by the Pew Research Center, nearly 41% of all teens in the U.S. have fallen victim to some kind
of online harassment (Vogels). The discussion is, in fact, that these incidents are not isolated
cases but seem to be increasing as part of the social media package and with higher doses of
Its overall impact on the victims is deep, multidimensional, and profound. There might be
grievous distress psychologically, which can lead to depression and symptoms of an anxiety
disorder. Emotionally, the fear of bullying creates a constant emotional space of aloneness and
sleep disturbances, and lowered immune responses. The continuous negative effects, on the other
hand, are equally troubling: most victims tend to socially withdraw and suffer a tremendous fall
in self-esteem (Sheley). These issues tragically can persist into adulthood, hence affecting an
individual's capability to build a healthy relationship and even thrive within professional or
academic settings. What is more, the pervasive nature of digital platforms implies that escaping
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cyberbullying can be exceptionally challenging. Cyberbullying can follow the victim through
every digital interaction, whereas a traditional bully could usually be escaped by changing the
Social media algorithms are optimized to increase as much user activity as possible, often
with little regard for their safety. In reality, such algorithms facilitate very heated content that
evokes strong emotional reactions and, unfortunately, can stand for bad and harassing content. In
a way, the nature of these systems often inadvertently amplifies the visibility—and therefore the
reach—of this content, which could be one of the contributing factors to the increase in
cyberbullying. For example, a mean comment that gets maximum reactions and shares turns out
to be more visible not only to the immediate network of the victim but also to other potential
While awareness of these issues has increased over the last few years, such social media
platforms are still not resilient enough in their policies to act against cyberbullying. Quite clearly,
though Facebook and Twitter have mechanisms and apparently policies to tone down
harassment, there have been some major gaps and inconsistencies in the execution of these
policies. For instance, a system that places the onus on users to report abuse on the site before
any action is taken developed normally leads to excessive delays by which time usually much
damage has been done. Also, the specific definitions of what cyberbullying actually constitutes
are subject to individual interpretation from various moderators– effectively preventing universal
policing of the policy in question. These corporations are ethically required not only to ensure
they continue to work on these policies but to actively implement them as well. Social media
must commit to early detection of cyberbullying and go further in assuring all of their users of a
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safer experience, especially the vulnerable and impressionable youth that forms a considerably
A usual criticism of the imposition of strong social media rules is that policy could run
the risk of offending freedom of expression. Hence, staunch rules will consequently inhibit real
conversations and diverging opinions to be brought up, resulting in a community that is bland
and contains less dynamism. This is particularly true in ways where the border between hot
debate and harassment is rather thin. But there is a difference between freedom of speech and a
license to harm. Already, freedom of expression variously enjoys the protection of statutory and
constitutional privileges, while at the same time being limited by the rights and freedoms of any
other individual to be contented with their online habitat. Cyberbullying protection is not about
taking away free speech; it is about preventing serious negative emotional and psychological
Although the truth is that social media platforms are doing their best to fight
cyberbullying, they have mostly implemented some sort of a few tools against it, including
reporting mechanisms and AI moderation. Many a time, however, these measures fall short. The
very basis of the reporting tools is the dependence on the victims reporting incidents, which can
be emotionally draining, hence resulting in very low reporting rates. Moreover, though useful, AI
always lacks the actual context of understanding and, many a time, fails to differentiate between
playful banter and malice (Al-Gaarhdi et al.). Such limitations underline the necessity of more
sophisticated and proactive measures. Most importantly, in this respect, protection of extremely
vulnerable users, such as minors, outweighs theoretical risks of limitation of freedom of speech,
since the demonstrated harm of cyberbullying is already obvious through rising rates of mental
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health disorders among its victims and deems more tough preventive measures and responsive
It is only through major regulatory efforts that governments can perfectly address the
scourge of cyberbullying. Such measures are likely to include mandating social media platforms
to put in place real-time monitoring technologies that can help identify and prevent cases of
cyberbullying before they escalate. It follows that platforms may be required to carry out regular
audits into bullying incidents and the effectiveness of their intervention processes, as part of
legislation commitments or face accountability on account of failures in such systems. Also, the
electronic spreading of content that is deemed to be harmful could be criminalized through laws
to make it an offense, something that would really pressure these platforms and encourage them
to take protecting users more seriously than they are currently doing so.
to up their ante in better policies and technologies in the enforcement of those policies. This
would involve more advanced, high-sensitivity detection algorithms, which can consider
subtleties of language and context, lessening false positives to capture only actual cases of
bullying. To be quite clear, both these processes should be transparent—users should know how
incidents are being handled and the findings of their reporting. Additional sanctions of the sort
which might dissuade incidences of cyberbullying include greater lengths of temporary bans, and
in greater cases, resorting to involving the police. In addition to changes at the platform level, we
also require school-based educational programs on digital citizenship and the ethical use of
social media. Such activities can enable kids to use social media wisely in the face of
All along, in this discussion, we have seen how cyberbullying facilitated by the very
architecture and policies of social media platforms has far-reaching impacts on its victims,
calling for vigorous multiresponses. As we have argued, even as social media create
unprecedented possibilities for connection and expression, they are fraught with important risks
—especially for younger users. This, importantly, will require that we institutionalize and
implement stricter regulatory interventions, enhance platform policies we adopt, and welcome
educational efforts toward responsible digital citizenship. It is upon each one of us to ensure
safety within the digital world rather than its transformation into a battleground. Do we
contribute to a culture of respect and understanding as we integrate these even more solidly into
every aspect of our lives, or are the darker sides of human interaction taking over our digital
experiences?
Works Cited
Al-Garadi, Mohammed Ali, et al. "Predicting cyberbullying on social media in the big data era
using machine learning algorithms: review of literature and open challenges." IEEE
Sheley, Erin. "Victim impact statements and expressive punishment in the age of social
Vogels, Emily A. “The State of Online Harassment.” Pew Research Center, 13 Jan. 2021,
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/01/13/the-state-of-online-harassment/. Accessed 17
May 2024.
Wood, Mark A. "Antisocial media and algorithmic deviancy amplification: Analysing the id of
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