With the rise of technology and various social networks, cyberbullies have found new ways to spread their hate. While we were used to hearing about bullying in schools and workplaces, it has now gone online too. The issue of bullying has become crucial, as it has led to the death of various individuals. It is definitely a crime and should be considered as such. The fact that these bullies go around spreading their hate with the intention to hurt is enough to consider it an equivalent to any other crime.
The internet has taken abuse to a whole other level and it is important that we take this issue seriously. If the voiceless people cannot stand up for themselves, it is important that we do it for them, because if we don’t, what differentiates us from the bullies? We talk about abuse and accountability and when it happens in public, we all go out to protest against it, yet we remain quiet about the issue of cyberbullying. We cannot be silent about this because any form of abuse hurts and it does not matter whether it is online of offline.
There are various ways to tackle the problem; we just need to take the initiative to do so. To start with, governments must set strict laws on cyberbullying and acknowledge it as a crime, in order to hold those people who engage in such activities accountable for their actions. Secondly, social networks need to strengthen their monitoring and track down those who simply use their accounts to abuse others. Thirdly, as users, we need to configure our privacy settings in order to prevent strangers from accessing our private information as well as to step forward and report any abuse.
It is the responsibility of us — me and you — and governments alike, to put an end to this global problem.
The reader is a Swedish student based in Gothenburg, Sweden.
