Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully someone, typically by sending intimidating or threatening messages. Cyberbullying has been classified as an issue for youth for almost two decades.

Most of the time the bully tries to remain anonymous. You can never know who’s actually behind the screen. Sometimes it could be one of your close friends. 

Over the past three years, cyberbullying has increased due to COVID-19. Back in early 2020, mostly everything began to be done on social platforms. Unfortunately, this meant cyberbullying had become more common. 

Not everyone who has been affected by cyberbullying has reported that they were a victim. The range of people to get cyberbullied is from sixth to eighth grade. Some cyberbullies will pretend to be someone else. 

Sometimes someone could make a hate account about you. Having a hate account can show who’s truly there for you by just looking at the followers. Cyberbullying can cause the victim to start feeling uncomfortable and incapable of showing who they truly are in some cases.

Not everyone knows what cyberbullying is. Some people don’t have access to the internet so cyberbullying can’t get shown to them. People who get cyberbullied have a higher chance of having anxiety and depression.

How can we stop cyberbullying? Limited comments on posts would help with the hate comments online. If social media could detect what an appropriate comment is, it could block out disrespectful and threatening comments.

Cyberbullying has worsened over the years. As of Jan. 2020, 44% of all internet users in the U.S. had said they have experienced some form of cyberbullying, compared to 2018 when there were only 26% reports of being a victim of cyberbullying. Over the span of three years, the percentage of reports increased by 18%.