Cyberbullying Proposal for Cockatoo Rest

Bullying can be in the physical and verbal forms, as relational aggression, cyberbullying, and sexual bullying. Cyberbullying is using a cell phone, Internet or other innovative technologies for threatening, harassing, and embarrassing another person (15% of cases). Moreover, cyberbullying is complex in its structure. That is why it can lead to physical violence (attacks and murders), verbal violence (social embarrassment, provoking, name-calling, spreading hurtful rumors, insulting messages in social nets, and making threats, 30% of cases). It can provoke relational aggression (a social manipulation for breaking confidence, spreading rumors, and occupying a leading position with the help of a humiliated person (15% of cases), and sexual bullying (10%) (Katz & Keeley 2014).

Analyzing the situation in Cockatoo Rest, one can say that it is critical as cyberbullying is a social evil here. In the past month, citizens of this city received an abusive or threatening text message. It proves the danger in which they live. Moreover, people from Cockatoo Rest send text messages that contain some negative information about another person. This bad tendency proves an unhealthy social environment in this city that demands preventive measures. Violence and cruelty are in social nets. The citizens of Cockatoo Rest have to threaten and abusive messages on their Facebook pages. Moreover, they have posted messages with the derogatory and negative information referring to someone’s Facebook page (Bauman, Cross & Walker 2013).

This essay intends to define cyberbullying of teenagers as a social evil in Cockatoo Rest. It presents health implications related to this aggression and proposals for decreasing the level in the community.

Health Implications Related to Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is sending some cruel and harmful texts or images through the Internet or other digital communication devices. This aggression can occur in social nets like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, and on personal websites. One transmits insulting messages through cell phones, e-mail, and chat rooms. In Cockatoo Rest, practically all teenagers are the users of social nets and Internet surfing. There is nothing strange that it is a two-sided process that distributes at a high speed provoking cruelty, violence, and aggression. Cyberbullying can belong to many categories: exclusion, outing and trickery, impersonation, denigration, stalking, harassment, and flaming. The existence of these categories proves about the rooting of this bullying in the Australian community as a social issue (Katz & Keeley 2014).

Another problem of cyberbullying refers to the health implications for victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. As to victims, they are morally and psychologically oppressed. That is why such cyber attacks can lead to mental disorders and suicide. The destructive effect of cyberbullying influences teenagers’ behavior making them more aggressive, violent, nervous, and irritated. It is a sharp problem in Cockatoo Rest that increases the level of suicides and degradation of moral and ethical values. Poor sleep, anxiety, loneliness, depression, stress, and unhappiness are the symptoms of victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. It is evident that both sides suffer from this modern issue.

Cyberbullying relates to behavioral problems, aggression, and social problems. Psychologists regard this problem as psychopathologic behavior. One question that needs to be asked, however, is whether cyberbullying in Cockatoo Rest is a psychological or social phenomenon. The phenomenon of this issue is both psychological and social in nature. It is characterized as aggressive behavior that leads to harm, repetition during a period of time and occurs in interpersonal relationships where one has a higher power (Bauman, Cross & Walker 2013).

In Australia, the statistics show that 10% of cyberbullying cases are provoked by enormous access to weapons, movies, video games, television, social nets, and media violence. 40% of cyberbullying cases are the results of family problems as poverty, parents’ drug, or alcohol abuse. 30% of cyber cases can be explained by the impact of school, social community, and personal alienation. Differences in ethnicity and race, as well as income levels,  belong to the risk factors that can lead to anti-social behavior. The statistics are alarming and motivates for making a community a safe place (Beran & Li 2008).

It is evident that health implications related to cyberbullying have psychological symptoms. In most cases, victims try to hide the main reasons for this aggression. That is why they become reserved, depressed, and oppressed. If they are not psychologically and morally strong and stable, they can commit suicide to hide the reasons for bullying. Embarrassment and fear are the main moral factors that do not allow overcoming a cyberbullying.

Proposal Plan

School should be a safe place. That is why school authorities should use preventative and disciplinary actions and collaborate with families to avoid suicide cases because of cyberbullying in Cockatoo Rest. Students should be busy. Vocational programs and cultural events would prevent a suicide. They devote time to Internet surfing and using social nets, but families and schools should involve them in volunteer activities. Students should know that every their violent action leads to imprisonment or punishment and not to a suicide. The cases of committing suicide because of cyberbullying are an ethical dilemma of the whole community. That is why not only schools, but families, police, and government should be involved in the process of solving this issue.

Cyberbullying is like an infectious disease that distributes very quickly. It has a psychological character as can impact negatively as well on the sensitive psychics of students of school age. As we talk about teenagers, it means that community members, students, and parents should give some information about preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Psychologists and healthcare specialists should be trained to identify this disease and its victims. They should be attentive to the traditional forms of bullying, isolation from peers and rejection of socialization. One recommends conducting art therapy for students being insulted and offended; suffer from embarrassment, low self-esteem and issues in social, personal, professional, and academic life. Cyber victimization is interrelated with psychosocial adjustment. That is why psychological procedures, art therapy, and psychological consultation are necessary at every school (Campbell et al. 2010).

School and teachers, family and parents should also be the integral components of a cyberbullying prevention strategy. It will be a good opportunity for the society to get security and shorten school violence. One proposes to create a council of parents, teachers, and the police that will be responsible for controlling young offenders and criminals. It is necessary to implement the programs to explore the ways of looking for security, solving cyberbullying, and collaboration with all levels of government.

The government should pass the laws forbidding suspicious networks. Psychologists should involve young people and adolescents in the programs that benefit the emotional and mental well-being. One should teach students not to be sensitive to verbal and psychological bullying and always address for the assistance when they face with similar issues. Another way of escaping from abuse is avoiding suspicious users on the Internet that may provoke insults, threats, negative comments, and accusations (Farrington & Ttofi 2009).

The task of the cyberbullying prevention strategy is aimed to strengthen crime prevention skills and involving them in crime prevention practice. Indeed, the successful realization of this policy will benefit law enforcement and the whole community. It is worth saying that this method has such benefits as taking care of safety for people and developing a safe web environment inhospitable to a crime. It is evident that psychologists, healthcare specialists, and crime prevention officers should be in one boat when it comes to cyberbullying.

In fact, it is necessary to say that this cyberbullying prevention policy will benefit the shortening of the crime rate. It is so as it concerns not only a juridical aspect, but also a moral and ethical one. This cyberbullying prevention policy concerns more about education of children. The right raising and disciplining of kids by their parents are the biggest ethical dilemma at the present time. Wrong education may lead to offenses, crimes, and cyberbullying.

The cyberbullying prevention policy should include in itself the community-based crime and family-based crime prevention, school-based prevention, a struggle with crime risks, preventing the crime at places, policing for crime prevention and criminal justice as well crime prevention. Only the complex of these actions and practices will bring a positive result. The main reason for the effectiveness of this means is that it struggles not only for following laws but for the education of moral and ethical principles (Farrington & Ttofi 2009).

The effectiveness of the policy depends on the collaboration of school teachers, psychologists, the family, and the police. It is necessary to include such activities as community organizing and mobilization against cyberbullying, after-school recreation programs, and also social net violence prevention. Moreover, one should offer community-based mentoring and home visitation of families with infants for helping students who suffer from isolation because of cyberbullying. Parent training for managing troublesome children, preschool education programs involving parents, and some programs for preventing family violence are also necessary steps for raising morally and psychologically strong children (Cross et al. 2011).

Another proposal of the protection for young people from being sensitive to cyberbullying is practicing art therapy. The benefit of this method is evident. Art therapy improves health, counsels, heals, treats, rehabilitates, and helps people with mental disorders. It is an expression of feelings with the help of any form of art. Art therapy uses the performing arts, painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, music, and literature. The most important thing is not to be afraid to express oneself and one’s feelings through art. The main aim of this means is to teach students to reveal themselves and awake the desire to create. It is not necessary to create art masterpieces. The main point is to use art as a way of achieving a feeling of comfort and becoming healthy. In general, art therapy helps to improve the emotional state and mental well-being, relieve stress and tension, as well as avoid depression and self-discovery (Campbell et al. 2010).

Art therapy is based on the principle of self-exploration that incites a person to reflections and conclusion on his/her actions and behavior. The results of art therapy are a feeling of relief, better mental health, and a more stable emotional state. Creative methods of this method help to discover the self, see the person from another side, become more confident, and control emotions. The most important thing is to find a suitable kind of art, and art therapists will help to do the right choice. Art therapy is recommended for students who suffer from anxiety, insomnia, schizophrenia, depression, mental and emotional disorders, neurological problems, substance abuse, drug and alcohol addictions, family problems, some other kind of abuse, and domestic violence. The main benefits of the method are the following: development of social skills, improvement of mental, emotional and physical state, and treatment of negative effects of cyberbullying.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that cyberbullying is a serious issue for Cockatoo Rest as the statistics is really alarming. It is impossible to overcome this problem, but its negative impact on the psychics of young people being extremely sensitive to abuses and insults may be reduced. One recommends conducting art therapy for students being insulted and offended; suffer from embarrassment, a low self-esteem and the issues in a social, personal, professional and academic life. The government should pass the laws forbidding suspicious networks. Psychologists need to involve young people and adolescents in those programs that benefit their emotional and mental well-being. One should teach students not to be sensitive to verbal and psychological bullying and always address for assistance while facing with similar issues.