The rise of Internet technology gave way to numerous challenges, and one of them is the spreading of cyberbullying. There are many types of cyberbullying, yet harassment remains the most common issue and the one which has severe implications for victims. Harassment disproportionately affects minorities and especially women, yet it is unlikely to affect me in any way since I prefer to ignore it.
First of all, it is important to provide a clear definition of what online harassment is and what its key aspects are. Harassment refers to a malicious practice that implies sending offensive and threatening messages over the Internet to a person or individuals, which is frequently repeated on several occasions (Watts et al. 6). Harassment has the purpose of distracting the victim and disturbing their mental state. The practice usually relies on the use of race, religion, color, sex, age, or disability as the premise for offensive behavior.
Recent data show that there is a clear gender distinction in terms of the perpetrators and victims of online harassment. Specifically, women tend to be victims of the practice more often than men. At the same time, it was discovered that men were more frequent perpetrators of cyber harassment. Such findings indicate that the problem of cyber harassment can be driven by the issues related to gender inequality which is common in society.
There are many examples of cyber harassment because it is a type of bullying that is difficult to contain and address on social media and other online platforms. For instance, in Japan, a notable wrestler, and actor, Hana Kimura, ended her life by suicide after being subject to online harassment for a prolonged period of time (Yeung et al.). The death of Hana Kimura caused the Japanese government to adopt new legislation, which made cyber harassment, as well as any type of online insults, punishable by imprisonment. Minorities often become subject to considerable volumes of online harassment. For example, studies show that transgender people are disproportionately affected by perpetrators online who engage in harassment. Specifically, after an analysis of 10 million online messages, it was discovered that 1.5 million of them were transphobic (Haynes). Thus, such data points to the fact that minorities, including women, can be considered the most affected people by online harassment.
The level of impact of cyberbullying and online harassment on one’s academic and professional life depends on personal qualities. Yet, in my case, I consider online harassment an issue that will not affect my motivation to learn, my academic abilities, or my overall satisfaction with the academic setting. I am aware of the danger of harassment, and therefore I know how to address it effectively to prevent it from impacting my mental state. Similarly, cyberbullying is unlikely to have any influence on my career or professional aspirations. I understand the intentions of the perpetrators and that their only reward would be my academic and professional struggles because of harassment. Therefore, the best way not to be impacted by online harassment is to ignore it.
Cyberbullying constitutes a major concern for people who extensively utilize the Internet and social media, and harassment is one of the most common forms of it. Online harassment is a phenomenon that has a more serious effect on minorities, including women and transgender individuals and is usually perpetrated by men. I understand that the most effective solution to avoid experiencing any impact of online harassment is to ignore any offensive messages.
Works Cited
Haynes, Suyin. “A Study Analyzed 10 Million Online Posts Over 3.5 Years. It Found a Torrent of Transphobic Abuse.”Time, 2019.
Watts, Lynette, et al. “Cyberbullying in Higher Education: A Literature Review.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 69, 2017, pp. 268–274.
Yeung, Jessie, et al. “Japan Makes ‘Online Insults’ Punishable by One Year in Prison in the wake of Reality Tv Star’s Death.”CNN, 2022.