Cyberbullying

Recently, Michigan passed a law criminalizing cyberbullying. This law will punish a bully if they make a post online that is harmful to another individual. A violation will be followed with a $500 fine and that fine will increase depending if you are a first time offender. For individuals who are consistently getting fined, they may face jail time. To read more about the new legislation, click on the link at the end of the post. 

Social Media is a platform that allows for many opportunuties. The opportunity to interact and make friends. However, there are also numerous instances where social media has become a platform for bullies. In class, we saw the Amanda Todd video and we were able to take a look into her story. She was bullied in person and social media, which eventually caused her to commit suicide. We cannot deny the negative affects social media has had on children. However, criminalizing children, in my opinion, is not the best option either. 

There are many factors that drive a child to become a bully. They may be neglected at home, abused, or bullied by their parents or siblings. While I am not trying to make excuses for bullies, my point is that bullies need help because they themselves might be going through traumatic experiences. Criminalizing the bully, making them pay fines, or possibly putting them in jail will make their situations worse. In addition, it will not fix the behavior. Removing the child from an educational setting and into jail only send the message that they do not matter- and that is a message they may be getting at home. While not all bullies are going through traumatic experiences, I would propose for schools to encourage students to come forward to teachers and counselors, report the bully, and then make the child go to some sort of counseling to talk about their behavior. We should focus on fixing the behavior, not only punishing it. 

https://www.wtol.com/article/news/education/michigan-cyberbullying-law-goes-into-effect-wednesday/512-c360db41-f506-4a47-b790-6a739f409c2e