Garcia Flores 1

Vanessa Garcia Flores

Professor Rodrick

English 115

4 October 2017

Cyberbullies Shaping Identities through the Web

Many aspects form identity. As people grow older, they find their true identity through

experiences. But when someone is born, parts of their identity is given to them such as, their

gender, their family, and their culture. And as they grow older they try to find who they truly are.

Many people play a big role in shaping somebodys identity and some people have more impact

than others. The people that make the biggest impact are the people they spend the most time

with, which is the people they go to school or work with and their family. But the biggest thing

that has played a big role in shaping identity is technology and social media.As technology

develops, social media is developing around the world and there are billions of users on each

platform. People as young as 11 years old are on these social media platforms connecting to

different types of people around them and even around the world. Through these platforms,

many people connect with friends and family around the world in order to keep up with what

they are doing. Even though technology and social media has helped people connect, but it has

also caused emotional repercussions and emotional distress due to cyberbullying. Through social

media, identities of victims of cyberbullying are seen as weak, while the bullies are given more

power.

At a very young age, when kids enter elementary school and middle school, many kids

are trying to find themselves and finding who they truly are. They are experiencing new things
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and finding new trends that ensure that they fit in. Through these times, many kids and

teenagers are trying to find the friends that accept them for who they are and they would do

anything in order to fit in. At times, people do not meet the certain qualifications to fit in with

certain groups because of how they look or because of how they perceive themselves. Because

these young teens and kids are finding who they truly are and if they are not accepted by the

people they mostly want it from, they find their insecurities. The majority of the reasons why

people are not accepted for who they are is because of their body image. They get their ideal

body images through social media. Williams and Ricciardelli say that through social media, there

is exposure to unrealistic body images; modelling; pressure to conform; gender-typed

socialization; objectification of the body; internalization of appearance ideals; increased negative

affect that results from viewing unrealistic images of the body; social comparisons; interactions

with peers and other normative influences; the adoption of appearance management behaviors

and body change strategies to improve oneself; and compensatory motivations such as disordered

eating as a way to validate ones self-concepts. At times the bullying begins in the place where

the spend the most time, in school. When they go home it is not over. Because technology has

advanced, many kids and teenagers are involved in the world of social media, so when they go

home, they are being bullied online. Since these kids are exposed to unrealistic body images, that

they develop the idea that if anybody elses body does not look like that, they are considered

ugly or fat. But those statements are false because beauty is not defined by somebodys

weight. But social media gives adolescents a platform to judge other people based on their

appearance, giving them power to do so, while victims feel helpless.

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Cyberbullying can occur within different age groups, but it occurs most often with

adolescents. Because parents or higher authority do not know what their children are posting on

public social media sites, children take advantage and communicate their feelings through social

media. Since these children have power about what they post and what they say online, they

often bring down other people that do not match the same personalities and social construct as

their group of friends. Things such as a single act such as posting an insulting comment or a

compromising picture may result in continued and repeated humiliation for the victim as said by

Zhang. At often times, many children are being bullied at school and cyber bullied at home, but

do not often speak upon their feelings towards what is happening to them. The words they are

being called, the isolation they are being put through, and the unacceptance leaves an emotional

impact on these kids because they feel like they will never find place to feel comfortable at home

or at school.

Not only does technology shape the identity of billions of people around the world. Many

aspects play a role in shaping identity and shaping a person the way they are today. The main

source of technology many people have a cell phones, more specifically smart phones. As smart

phones develop overtime, so does the media sites that are available for people to use despite their

location. Identity is able to be seen through the smartphones of people because many people

personalize their phone by changing their wallpaper to something that has a meaning to them or

something that sparks their interest. Including their social media sites. On their social media

sites, they post photos or statuses that match who they truly are or who they are trying to be.

Some people judge others on what they post or what they see. Often when somebody is being

cyber bullied or bullied in general for posting what they want, the victim does not often speak
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upon it. Not because they are embarrassed, but because they feel like if they speak up, it will

continue to occur in the future.

Believe it or not, identity can be created through any aspect of technology and social

media, whether they are being affected or not. In the article Friend or Foe: Cyberbullying in

Social Network Sites, Zhang, Liang Yu, Wakefield, and Leidner speak upon the forms of identity

that both the victim and the perpetrator pick up due to cyber bullying. The victim is the main

person that is affected when it comes to cyber bullying. They become the target and they are

attacked to the point where they come to their breaking point. Once the victim is targeted, the

victim because quiet and insecure. Once somebody, usually with higher power than them, has

targeted their insecurities, they no longer feel comfortable with themselves. Often victims who

have reduced power, increased demands and, in particular, problems with classmates negatively

affect health (Clausson). The victims health is often affected such as symptoms of illness,

such as recurring headaches and nervousness, and feel even more stressed(Clausson). They

often feel this way because they feel like they have to worry about more, when they should not.

When their health is affected, they begin to give up on life. On the other hand, the perpetrator is

not directly affected. The perpetrator is the one that is attacking the target. The perpetrator makes

an effort to absolve himself [or herself] of responsibility, the delinquent may attribute his

harmful behaviors to environmental factors such as bad companions or a poor childhood

(Leinder). The perpetrator does it in order to make themselves feel better and confident. This is

how social media has affected adolescents. They depend so much on social media that their life

begins to revolve around social media causing them to be a bigger target of cyberbullying.
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Although this should not be the case, nobody should be an easy target for social media.

Everybody should be given the right to post what they want because it is their life.

Social media can have a positive and negative effect in a society. Through social media,

many people can connect with people that they have not seen in a long time and they can share

their moments with others online. On the other hand, people take advantage of social media and

use it to attack people in order to build their own self confidence. The identity of victims of

cyberbullying develop through these acts because they are being targeted. They develop weak

personalities and they find no point to their life, while the perpetrators develop what seems to be

a strong and confident character. Social media can affect how someone defines themselves. Even

though social media can be used to promote and share with loved ones, it is often misused and

misunderstood. Identities are shaped through social media and cyberbullying.

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Works Cited

Brianna, director. Cyberbully - Suicide Attempt Scene. ** SAD PART. Cyberbully, ABC Family,

10 Mar. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8XtncQy2i8. 4 October 2017.

Einberg, Eva-Lena, et al. Awareness of Demands and Unfairness and the Importance of

Connectedness and Security: Teenage Girls Lived Experiences of Their Everyday Lives.

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, Co-Action

Publishing, 16 June 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4471215/. 4 October

2017.

Williams, Robert J, and Lina A Ricciardelli. Sex Roles. 1st version, vol. 71, ser. 11-12, Springer

Link, 2014, link-springer-com.libproxy.csun.edu/article/10.1007/s11199-014-0429-x. 4

October 2017.

Zhang, Sixuan, et al. Friend or Foe: Cyberbullying in Social Network Sites. Baylor University ,

2013. 4 October 2017.