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With so many social media avenues available for the masses, the Internet is becoming a dangerous, threatening, yet enticing place for all. It is important to look at the growing number of negative social media aspects of which children can be subjected to on a daily basis. This paper will discuss the research literature on cyberbullying, including causality and predictive factors, consequences of cyberbullying from economic, health, and social perspectives. Additionally, the authors will make suggestions to identify and protect against cyberbullying. The literature provides an eye opening realization that, if lefton the current path social media are on, the dangers will continue to increase. Educators, parents and children need to be aware of the damage that can occur and understand that cyberbullying can be just as harmful as physical bullying. In order to better understand the cyberbullying phenomena, it is essential for everyone to become awareness of the issue relating to cyberbullying. This is especially true as the social media frenzy continues to increase.
With an ever-growing number of people using social media it is important to protect the children from bullies. As much as they can be made aware of physical bullies, they must be aware of cyberbullies. The Internet has provided a new medium with which people can commit inappropriate, harmful activity. The damaging activities include, but are not limited to, cyber-hacking, cyber-stalking, and other forms of harmful behavior including bullying (Kowalski, Limber, & Agatston, 2012). The literature discusses cyberbullying instances that include all age groups of children from early childhood to adolescence. This paper will review the international cyberbullying literature for those varying age groups among minors.
Cyberbullying is reported as an aggressive, intentional act distributed by an individual or group, using contact in an electronic medium, continuously and relentlessly against someone who cannot stand up for himself or herself easily (Smith et al., 2008). Menesini & Nocentini (2009) found cyberbullying is an imbalance of perceived power wherein victims have a hard time defending themselves from bullies.
Cyberbullying research is still growing worldwide, focusing on the commonness of the occurrence, the relation between customary and electronic bullying, and on potential associations or risk matters related to cyberbullying (Menesini & Nocentini, 2009). Lenhart (2010) found that 68% of students use the...