Cyberbullying is a serious issue that is on the rise among teens. It takes place through “information and communication technologies” (Webster, n.d.). Examples are emails, phone calls, text messages, emails, and the social networking sites such as MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook. The trend is harmful than normal bullying because the victims cannot escape from it even when at home. The bullies can reach them at any time via mobile phones or the internet to send threats as well as abuse. The bullies threaten to physically harm the victims or simply embarrass them. This harassment affects the victims and in extreme cases, some teenagers have taken their lives. The bullies sometimes get away with it because they carry out their activities anonymously over the internet. Moreover, victims fail to speak up about the bullying, as they fear being denied the use of the internet or mobile phone. Silence helps to fuel cyberbullying further and it will only be curbed by encouraging victims and witnesses to speak out about the vice (Webster, n.d.).
Synchronous learning is advantageous because students meet in an online class at a specific time with their instructors. Thus, they can interact with their instructor and the other students. Complete the course in time because the learning pace is predetermined. Conversely, the learning is rigid because one has to be in the cyber class at a specific time failure means one lag. Others in class can monitor one’s activities in class such as the time one comes and leaves the class. Furthermore, discussions are done through typing and everyone in the class can see all the grammatical or spelling errors made. The other learning type is asynchronous and it has some advantages. The learner determines their learning pace within time limits. For example, one decides when to complete an assignment or take a test thus a flexible learning environment. However, it is easy to postpone the completion of the course work and take a longer time to complete a course. One does not enjoy interaction with the instructor and other students, as learning is solo (Smith, 2009).
White-collar crime is on the increase. The perpetrators use computers to commit cybercrimes particularly through the internet whose use has grown tremendously across the globe. The major types of cybercrimes will be child pornography, which is creating materials for distribution that exploit children sexually. Cyber laundering the transfer of illegal monies electronically and disguise sources and destinations. Cyber terrorism the use of the internet to harm people through violence based on political, religion or ideological bases. It is done through recruiting perpetrators through websites and use of computer technology to harm people. Lastly, through cyber theft involving activities such as hacking, fraud, piracy, embezzlement, espionage and identity theft and so forth. One can safeguard against cybercrimes by not sharing personal information with strangers over the internet, installing antivirus and antispyware programs, use of firewalls, download trusted email attachments only and visit secure websites only. Reporting cases of cyber crimes to relevant authorities is also important. Cyber criminals are hard to catch and preventing them from attacking is the best option (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010).
Reference List
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2010). Cyber crime investigations. Web.
Smith, D. (2009). Online Course: Asynchronous Learning or Synchronous Learning, Will You Be Where You Need to Be?
Webster, C. (n.d). What is cyber bullying?