The "Real" Damage of Cyberbullying & Emotional Health

When we were little kids, many of us visited the doctor too many times as a young person. Through all the needles, lights, and questions that our doctor would ask about our physical health, many of us are healthy and in good spirits after many accidents or colds or bruises from being too rough with our friends. 

We can see and feel physical health. I can see that you may have a black eye or that you have broken your arm. This is very convenient and great when it comes to addressing the issue of fixing these ailments. But what about mental health and emotions, especially as they relate to cyberbullying? 

Well, it is just the opposite of physical health. I can not look into your brain and see that you are depressed, sad, angry, or concerned. By your facial expressions I may be able to see that there is a problem but most people are quite talented in the area of keeping emotions in check. 

Mental health today has progressed leaps and bounds over what we understood about how the human brain operated 100 years ago in relation to emotional health. 

But why is this such a big concern in social media and how cyber-bullying affects that?

In a bulletin article by the Royal College of Psychiatrists on mental health in relation to social media, cyber-bullying can take on many forms, of which are not always applicable in reality. From put-downs to trolling to flaming, cyber-bullying can hit the emotions of the receiver on many different levels. 

One of the ways that cyber-bullying is an even bigger problem in attacking emotions is that the sender can send his hurtful message from wherever and whenever he chooses, making the receiver vulnerable on many levels. 

What are some of the emotional problems that cyber-bullying has on the receiver?

One of the largest concerns among professionals and experts is the cyber-bullying first causes a lack of togetherness and community as one person feels left out and unaccepted from the group. This can then lead to a downward spiral of events as the person begins to feel alone and outed from the group. 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists went on the explain and discoer both the emotional and physcail affects that verbal abuse through socail media by stating that, "Studies of school-age cyber victims indicate heightened risk of depression,^5,22,24 of psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches, abdominal pain and sleeplessness⁶ and of behavioural difficulties including alcohol consumption.²⁵ As found in studies of face-to-face bullying, cyber victims report feeling unsafe and isolated, both at school and at home."

What does this mean for us?

In the end, by aware and careful with emotions. People find great hope and dispair, depending upon their emotional state on certain days. To send a hateful message to a disliked friend or co-worker is not only saying what you mean in the message, but also that you do not care for thier emotions and their inward feelings. Overall, be an encouraging person and someone that will respect the emotions of the people around you.

Works Consulted 

"Cyberbullying and Its Impact on Young People's Emotional Health and Well-being | BJPsych Bulletin." Cyberbullying and Its Impact on Young People's Emotional Health and Well-being | BJPsych Bulletin. Royal College of Psychiatrists, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Being Professional, Your Social Media, & Your Past

You have heard the horror stories of friends friends not being able to land a important position, or any good job because they had a wonderful social media history... 

No, I am wrong and you are smarter than that to believe a statement as absurd as that. But lets take a moment to reflect on how active you are on social media. When you wake up and made a cup of coffee, what do you do...? Check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Email, Text messages, and every other little notification you received throughout the night while you were dreaming about sheep or fluffy clouds. This is all good to a point. Social media is a great medium to share quickly and casually the important events of life with anyone you care to share life with. But how does social media have anything to do with your professional career?

Did you know that most companies will check at least one social media one of your social media accounts during the hiring process to confirm that nice, pretty little resume you gave them with your first handshake? Probably not! In fact, in a recent article by Forbes magazine on how social media can help you land a dream job, 37% of employers use social media as a way to filter out bad applicants. This means that 1/3 of the companies you apply to will most likely be looking at your Twitter history and not really the Honors section of your resume. What is even more shocking is that Forbes found that 1/3 of employers that use social media as a screen said that they have found content that prevented them from hiring a person. 

So what is the take away from this? 

First, be smart about how you use your social media presence on a daily basis. That means that if you would not want your grandparents to see you post, then it may not be the best idea. 

Secondly, try to separate your friend group from your professional network on social media. Meaning that it is a good idea to keep Facebook and Instagram for your friends and family while LinkedIn should be kept for finding that perfect job opening. 

What about cyber-bullying and the professional world?

For the most part, I would never have thought that cyber-bullying would ever take place in the professional realm. I mean, you are supposed to be professional! 

In a article by the Society for Human Resource Management stated that American business absorb the cost of $300 billion dollars annually to mitigate and medicate workplace bullying of their employees. In many instances, cyber-bullying is carried out through emails, company chat rooms, or text messages between employees. In rare events, cyber-bullying has led to many suicides in the workplace as employees have been abused and devalued as individuals. 

This all goes to say one thing: Be Considerate 

Before you post, think, breathe, and think about how a viewer or your receiver of the message will feel or interpret your words. 

Happy Posting! 


Works Consulted

Smith, Jacquelyn. "How Can Social Media Help (or Hurt) in Your Job Search." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 

"What HR Can Do About Cyberbullying in the Workplace." SHRM. N.p., 13 May 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 

The Election, Media, and Cyber-bullying

The dust has settled, the votes are in, the election season is finally over. If you are like me, you are thankful for the silence on your local news channels, radio, and social media... just kidding. Your social media posts have been submerged in shared articles, soundbites, or links to videos of debates or press conferences of one of the many candidates. The Freedom of Speech is a wonderful personal liberty and right to have in America. Sharing links or posts on social media is one of the ways society can exchange information or ideas on recent political issues and is another great way to stay connected if you are link me and have little time to devote to watching the evening news. 

One difference in this election cycle and others is how people have responded to shared links or news articles on social media that are either for or against a particular candidate. During the past few months I have watched friends, strangers, professional connections "wallow in the mud" as they have responded to political posts with hate, contempt, and ill-will towards their fellow citizens to only ensure that they have "won" a minute argument over a single issue. Even more so, social media has led to a cyber-bullying atmosphere among any social media users that just share a valuable article on a important issue that affects them. 

Not just voters are dabbling in cyber-bullying activities, even the candidates are getting in on the action such as Donald Trump or media outlets. Cyber-bullying is even an issue among the many national issues being debated among the candidates. The LA Times and other prominent newspaper outlets have written articles on Melania Trumps proposal to combat cyber-bullying as one of the issues her husband would address as the next President. 

With so much anxiety, apprehension, and ill-will on both sides of the political spectrum, my advice to you readers would be to breath, relax, sit down, and think if you are posting or commenting to lend light to an issue or increase the understanding among a group of friends, or are you just pushing "send" to reinforce your own opinions on the issue to feel good about where you stand on the issue? 

Works Consulted:

Mehta, Seema. "Melania Trump Lamented Cyberbullying, and the Internet Went Crazy." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.