Did you know that according to CBS news, “more than 9 out of 10 American teenagers use social media” and 76 percent of them use Instagram? Social Media gives users the freedom to express themselves through images and text to create content and find other people with similar interests. But some users tend to use it inappropriately by creating fake accounts, phishing, and engaging in the perhaps most pernicious problem in social media: cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a whole new kind of bullying because it can be anonymous and has impacted many teens across the world. It has become so harsh that some even took their lives because of it. Social Networks could resolve this problem by adding stricter policies and regulating content.

According to www.dosomething.org 1 in 4 teens have been cyberbullied online and 70% claimed to see it but has done nothing about it. Cyberbullying is a worldwide problem that can affect almost anyone online. As of now, Instagram is the most popular social media site passing Twitter (in the number 2 position) and Facebook (dropping down into the third position). One app in particular called Yik Yak was removed from all App Stores because the cyberbullying was too harsh. On the Yik Yak app, users anonymously “yak” posts which other users can Upvote/Downvote which is kind of like a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. You earn “Yakarma” which is similar to points. This anonymous app got popular among teens in middle school and high school which caused major problems. There are numerous amounts of petitions online to take the site down. Schools and colleges even “banned” students from using the app. Apps with  positive motives take a U turn because of cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying has taken many lives, including a familiar story of a once happy person, Amanda Todd. Amanda was a happy, easy going person that, as most teenagers do, have social media accounts. One day, she met an anonymous user on Facebook and they chatted for a while. The user flirted with her and convinced her to flash herself topless to the user and the flattered Amanda did. More than a year later, the photo resurfaced on Facebook causing a viral craze. Masses of bullying occurred cyberbully and physically. There were many online hate campaign and pages making fun and teasing her. She lost all her friends and was even beaten by her classmates causing her to change schools. A few months later she decided it was too much for her, and took her life. Her YouTube video showing her story on flashcards went viral. Even though most people had compassion and sorrow for her, to the shock of everyone, hate campaigns still went on making fun of her story and suicide. People who bullied her still walk around today, but every hateful post and comment brings pain to her loved ones.

The story of Amanda Todd and many others show that cyberbullying is no laugh or joke and is more dangerous than physical bullying. (story from www.nobullying.com)

Others like people from www.science.com argue that cyberbullying does not cause teen suicide. They believe that face to face bullying like verbal and physical abuse causes the teen to suicide. They also said that most of them had mood disorders or a preexisting mental illness. That may be true, but the cause of most physical bullying starts online as cyberbullying. Once it starts as cyberbullying, it progresses as physical bullying, and then the teen might take their own life.

In conclusion, cyberbullying on social media is very, very dangerous. You can send information to the masses whether it is good or very bad. You have the ability to “share” information with one click. My message is to use social media appropriately so everybody can enjoy it.