How administration handles cyberbullying and what you should do if you witness it

How+administration+handles+cyberbullying+and+what+you+should+do+if+you+witness+it

In this digital technology era, social media is king. It has helped us communicate and interact with eachother easier and faster than ever with platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, just to name a few. This is a positive thing and it has helped society progress but it has also opened the doors to a lot of negatives. One of those negatives that can be the most detrimental to a student’s life is bullying. Nowadays, bullying is not face to face confrontation, it’s not someone pinning you up against the wall asking for your lunch money, it’s done from the comfort of the home, underneath a facebook post with over 100 people commenting  — cyberbullying.

In USD259 cyberbullying or bullying of any kind is not taken lightly. The consequences can be as serious as a student getting suspended or expelled. Counselor Cottner here at North says, “The first they tell you to do is screenshot it.”

When you experience or witness someone being bullied online, the school will review it and depending on what was said or done, they will decide what is the best way to discipline the student or students involved. Cottner states that even if it occurs over the weekend you can still have consequences, “If it carries over to school.” Meaning if someone is making threats to carry out at school or just if the bullying is extremely severe, that student can and will be held accountable for their actions.

Allison Waldt, a junior at North has been a witness to cyberbullying. The steps she takes when witnessing cyberbullying is to “Come to the other person first and make sure they’re okay and then take action to get someone involved so that it can be stopped.” She believes cyberbullying is so prevalent today because “It’s easier to be rude without the other person being physical.” She also believes most cyberbullying occurs on Snapchat.

“I think the person doing the cyberbullying is really self conscious so they do it behind a screen, there’s no confrontation.” says Andrea Medrano, another North student.

Cyberbullying is like a invisible villain, that could also include groups of many people against one. You can’t physically touch those people and they can’t touch you but the words they use against you are real, and is on display for everyone to see online and share with even more people. On those grounds it can be very harmful to a students life and mental health. It could even escalate as far as the student being bullied to commit suicide. Cyberbullying is bullying just underneath a new face and even if you log out, it’s still there. This is why it’s  important that if you see it to not be a bystander and if it happens to you, come forward and speak to someone.