The emergence of social media platforms on the internet has created a platform for people to share content related to knowledge, ideas, and information that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. However, in recent times social media platforms have become a reason for stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, self-esteem issues, envy, and loneliness. Additionally, social media also creates a space for cyberbullying and harassment which is becoming a growing concern in the digital era. In this respect, an article stated that severe cases of cyberbullying are being amplified by digital media platforms (Suciu, 2021). Based on this concern, this study aims to investigate the manifestation of harassment and bullying content on digital media and how the issues can be controlled. To vindicate this purpose, this paper initiates by discussing the cases of cyberbullying and harassment and then ana
lyzes how the cases are emerging through digital platforms. Furthermore, the impact of the cases is discussed considering some real case studies in recent times. Lastly, the determination of the responsible person for controlling the rising misleading cases on the internet and how the cases can be averted are evaluated.
Violent content and cyberbullying cases on social media
Cyberbullying: Amanda Todd’s Story, Taken from (118) My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm – YouTube
Excessive cases of cyberbullying and harassment through internet platforms can be identified as one of the major concerns in digital media. To support this statement, a cyberbullying case of a British Columbia teenager reported by ABC news stated that the teenager has been blackmailed and bullied for sharing her video through social media platforms and it stirred her to commit suicide. The cases of bullying through social media victimized most young people as a study revealed that more than one-third of young people aged between 12 to 17 have been bullied on the internet (Patchin, 2019). Another article has evaluated hundreds of bullying and harassment cases that are involving teenagers and making this incident a major concern for the internet world. Online harassment is not limited to teenagers as the tech-head Elon musk has been alleged by the internet fellas for abusing a flight attendant. On the contrary, an article stated that the bullying cases in real life such as workspace bullying, school, family, and games are the worst kind of experiences that needed to be dealt with. However, bullying and harassment are critical phenomena that need the attention of society and people over the internet despite its environment. The rising cases of this adversity are triggered by digital platforms which are discussed in the following.
Emergence of problematic contents through digital media
Cyberbullying and harassment cases are affecting people on the internet, especially students and teenagers around the world. In a recent article, the social media giant Facebook revealed that there are over 9.2 million bullying and harassment content on their platform and over 7.8 million such posts on Insta. Additionally, bullying cases have also victimized adult people among internet users. In this respect, a study stated that more than 41% of adult internet users have experienced cyberbullying and 27% complained about being victimized by online harassment more than once (Statista, 2021). Harassment and bullying cases also targeted physically disabled people as a study stated that more than 70% of students with physical disabilities are being bullied over the internet (Verdesandio, 2017). The role of social media platforms as a medium for bullying and harassing people can not be denied. Supporting this statement, a report revealed that YouTube is the most likely to be a platform for cyberbullying where the rate is more than 79% followed by Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook which are triggering adversity in recent times. On the other hand, a study stated that bullying over media channels is not new as the violent content on television, cell phones, and movies from the beginning of the digital era has been a concern for the world (Huesmann, 2007). However, the rise of the concern is majorly seen in the era of social media and the platforms are creating opportunities for these phenomena to emerge. The outgrowing cases of online bullying and harassment are creating a great impact on the lives of people around the globe as discussed in the following paragraph.
Impact of digital problematic contents on human society
Prevalence and impact of online violent content on people over the internet stunned the world as it is not only creating discrimination and mental stress but also resulting in suicidal death in many countries. As per a resource, it is revealed that kids from European countries such as Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are at the most risk of bullying through the internet. Cyberbullying results in self-harm or death for young people and becomes a real issue in modern times. In this respect, a study stated based on their survey stated that more than 20% respondents reported of thinking about attempting suicide due to online bullying and harassment (Hinduja, & Patchin, 2021). The harassment cases even resulted in not only self-harm but also identity threat to young and adult people over the internet. In respect, a study stated that online bullied teenagers are most likely to be victimized due to fraud identity that exaggerated the concern. The cases of cyberbullying and harassment are also affecting the mental state of the victims that results in poor health conditions. Accumulating the facts, it is apparent that the impact of online violent content and harassment is affecting internet users, and controlling the adversity is necessary.
Control of problematic contents on digital media
The rising cases of cyberbullying and harassment over the internet require the attention of the authorities as these are affecting both young and adult people around the world. At the top of everything, stopping online harassment and violent content requires identifying who is the responsible person and how they can control or prevent the adversity around the digital platforms. The GCLD or Global Cyber Law Database is targeted to be the most comprehensive and authorized cyber law source for all the countries. The major victims of cyberbullying are teenagers and students who spend comparatively more time on social media platforms than others as can be seen in the previous analyses. To address the issue, several schools are using laws and codes for preventing bullying of students. The “Jeffrey Johnson Stand Up for All Students Act” in Florida is issued to prevent any types of bullying that includes cyberbullying. Social media sites also need to be involved in preventing bullying posts on their platforms. In this respect, a report stated how Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are protecting teenagers from being bullied over the internet. In contrast, a report stated that social networks are failing to tackle bullying over the internet (BBC, 2018). However, cyberbullying can not be stopped overnight to be practical. Facebook has removed more than 28.8 million violent content on its platform. The prevention measures can be more effective and successful in the upcoming times.
The essay aimed to investigate how violent and problematic content is emerging through digital media and who should responsibly take steps for preventing adversity. Based on the analyses, the study concluded that cases of violent and bullying content are emerging and triggered by social media and affecting majorly the teenagers as well as adults peoples on the internet. To address these issues, the governing bodies need to be involved as well as the social media firms to be proactive towards their content filtering system. Most of all, awareness among people is necessary and the responsibility of internet users can result in violent content prevention within a shorter period.
References
BBC News. (2018, February 26). Social media firms “failing” to tackle cyber-bullying. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43197937
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2021). Cyberbullying.org. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://cyberbullying.org/cyberbullying_and_suicide_research_fact_sheet.pdf
Huesmann, L. R. (2007). The impact of electronic media violence: scientific theory and research. The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 41(6 Suppl 1), S6-13. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jadohealth.2007.09.005
Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act (2020). Europa.Eu. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571367/IPOL_STU(2016)571367_EN.pdf
Patchin, J. W. (2019, July 9). Cyberbullying data 2019. Cyberbullying Research Center. https://cyberbullying.org/2019-cyberbullying-data
Rossow, A. (2018, February 28). Cyberbullying taken to A whole new level: Enter the “Blue Whale Challenge.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewrossow/2018/02/28/cyberbullying-taken-to-a-whole-new-level-enter-the-blue-whale-challenge/?sh=687f4c43267
Statista. (2021). U.S. internet users who have experienced online harassment 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/333942/us-internet-online-harassment-severity/
Suciu, P. (2021, September 29). Cyberbullying remains rampant on social media. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2021/09/29/cyberbullying-remains-rampant-on-social-media/?sh=5c1e553843c6
Verdesandio, R. (2017). Strategic of information system. School of Information Systems. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://sis.binus.ac.id/2020/12/08/strategic-of-information-system/
Workplace bullying. (2011, August 22). Administration and Finance | Human Resources. https://adminfinance.umw.edu/hr/employee-relations/respectful-workplace-policies/workplace-bullying/
