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Passage 1

         Cyberbullying is defined as an act of willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. It might be carried out through various electronic media such as phone calls, emails, texting, instant messages, social networking and chat rooms. It refers to incidents where people harass, threaten, humiliate or excruciate their peers using online technology. One of the most common cyberbullying behaviors is name calling. Other forms of cruel behaviors include spreading rumors, posting embarrassing photos or videos of someone, making fun of someone’s race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and sexually harassing someone.  

         A number of studies have confirmed that cyberbullying has detrimental effects on the victims. Many targets reported feeling depressed, sad, angry and frustrated. In addition, those who reported to be bullied revealed that they were often afraid or embarrassed to go to school. Research also established a link between cyberbullying and low self-esteem, family problems, academic difficulties, school violence, and various delinquent behaviors. Cyberbullied youth were also found to have suicidal thoughts, and there have been a number of examples in the United States and abroad where youth who were victimized ended up taking their own lives.

         There are challenges in the prevention and ____34____ of cyberbullying. First, some people do not see cyberbullying as an urgent issue to ensure adolescent safety. Another obstacle relates to who is willing to step up and take responsibility for responding to inappropriate use of technology. Parents often say that schools should be covering it in detail during class time and through other programming whereas educators are not equipped with when and how to intervene in online behaviors that occur away from school but still involve their students. Last, adolescents themselves often refuse to seek help from an adult in fear that their technology will be taken away.

         These challenges are to be persisted unless measures are planned and implemented promptly. There needs to be a cooperation and communication between parents and schools. In addition, adolescents need to be informed about what constitutes inappropriate online communications, what to do when being victimized by cyberbullying and how to protect themselves from being a victim.

The author of this article wants to … cyberbullying