Thematic and Rhetorical Analysis of the Concept of Cyberbullying

CYBERBULLYING
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1 INTRODUCTION
The introduction and advancement of technology have proved to have both its advantages and disadvantages. A 2007 report by Amanda Lenhart states that one in every three online teenagers are victims of online harassment, with girls being more inclined to the effects of cyberbullying, both online and offline. Cyberbullying is defined as the deliberate act of digital intimidation, harassment, and embarrassment. The action is carried out in various ways, including both verbal and non-verbal behaviors of violent, sexual, and unpleasant messages, gross messages, and unauthorized phone calls. There have been numerous debates on the nature of cyberbullying, the causes and severity of the act, popularity of ages involved, and the responsibility of parents and children on the behavior. This essay seeks to present information on a comparative analysis of two scholarly articles on the theme, and prove the validity of the hypothesis that although sex and age are direct influences of the behavior, the root cause of the perpetration is parents' unawareness of their children's online behavior.
2 THEMATIC ANALYSIS: THE CONCEPT OF CYBERBULLYING
As the central concern of the paper, numerous concepts of cyberbullying are stemmed from its definition to its application in different environments. A range of definitions for the behavior suggests that the scientific community responsible for its concepts did not come to a consensus on the specific nature, understanding, and limits of the phenomenon. This study asserts that this is because of the immaturity of their research and the contemporary, diversified, and dynamic nature of the digital relationships as well as the influence of new technologies in the cyber universe. However, such challenges do not hinder the comparison between the two articles in the paper and the sociological context of the impact of gender, age, and parental rules in the dissemination of the behavior.[Ferreira, Taiza Ramos de Souza Costa, and Suely Ferreira Deslandes. 2018. "Cyberbullying:Conceituações, Dinâmicas, Personagens E Implicações À Saúde". Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 23 (10): 3369-3379. doi:10.1590/1413-812320182310.13482018.]
In the article “Estimating the Magnitude of the Relation Between Bullying, E-Bullying, and Suicidal Behaviors Among United States Youth, 2015”, the researchers show the readers that individuals, especially the youth, who have publicly identified themselves as belonging to the LGBT community, are at a higher risk of cyberbullying. The article further states that 15.5% of teenagers in the United States experience cyberbullying. Being a journal article with numerous analyses and comparisons of data from other scholarly journals, the document offers credible facts and data on the topic. The research also states that cyberbullying accounts for an estimated average causal effect of 4.16% in suicide attempts among adolescents. This places the practice among some of the main reasons why teenagers kill themselves daily in the country.[Kuehn, Kevin S., Annelise Wagner, and Jennifer Velloza. 2019. "Estimating The Magnitude Of The Relation Between Bullying, E-Bullying, And Suicidal Behaviors Among United States Youth, 2015". Crisis 40 (3): 157-165. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000544.]
An American media organization called TED also contains video talks on the impacts of cyberbullying on the lives of many people. In one video, Monica Lewinsky, the speaker, gives a testimony on how the act affected her life. She says that one night, people commented such nasty words as "bitch," "whore," and "liar" on her posts. She reveals that her fame when she was 22, destroyed her life and the lives of both her parents. She would cry all night and suffer from a severe case of insomnia. She states that the situation made her have suicidal thoughts, but she could not carry on with it. However, in another example, a boy, who was also a victim of the practice, was not so tough, and he committed suicide as he could no longer stand cyberbullying.[Talk, MED. 2015. "Monica Lewinsky Redefines Her Story In Anti-Cyberbullying TED Talk". News.Stlpublicradio.Org. https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/monica-lewinsky-redefines-her-story-anti-cyberbullying-ted-talk.]
In another example, the story of a girl was aired in the news about how her life was utterly destroyed by people who posted nude pictures of her on the internet. She tells the writer of an article that sit had reached a point where she did not want to live any longer. She could not go to school the same she could never go outside because of the fear of cyberbullies residing in the neighborhood. She says, "I used to be an outgoing person, and now I'm just trying to get back to my old self," and “I'm on anxiety tablets now. It's knocked my confidence. I don't even go out of the house that much.” These three real-life examples of cyberbullying have just proved how dangerous the act can be and how harmful it is to teenagers.[McIntyre, Niamh. 2017. "Teenager's Face Photoshopped Onto Pornographic Images By Trolls". The Independent. /news/uk/home-news/teenager-home-address-shared-social-media-trolls-cyber-bullies-life-ruined-leeds-a8017541.html]
3 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
The researchers and authors of "Examining adults' participant roles in cyber bullying" attempt to create a connection on whether sex, age, and time spent online offer a plausible prediction of cyberbullying in a casual environment. The study states that there are five types of cyberbullying in up to nine forms of media. According to the authors, of all the types, there are two distinct groups ...