Online Harassment and What Can Be Done

Many people have experienced one form of bullying from their childhood. Some people were physically bullied by being pushed around and hit. Others were mentally bullied by being called names. However, when we become older we are more susceptible to online bullying. “40% of internet users have personally experienced some form of online harassment, from garden-variety name-calling to more serious examples like sexual harassment and stalking” (Lenhart). This is upsetting because since technology and internet is easier to get ahold of, there are more young people being online. Younger children don’t know what to do when dealing with harassment because they’re not taught what to do. Even if they were taught what to do, there are many different types of online harassment. Of those 40% being harassed online, 6% of them have been sexually harassed (Drake). This has been seen to lead to sexual harassment not just online. People who do this harassment can escalate to different means of harassment like stalking and even rape. As a woman online, let alone one who is involved in things like the feminist movement, I can personally attest to this behavior. I’ve been called crewd things online simply because of my gender. I’ve also seen grotesque behavior towards myself and my friends and people think they can get away with it because they’re behind a computer screen and it isn’t true. When I was harassed by an ex of mine for months over text message and Facebook messages I finally said enough was enough. I kept all the messages and sent them over to a resource officer from my high school. He was very helpful, in his words, he “was always more worried about the creepy ones as opposed to the violent ones.” Meaning in terms of online harassment, he was always more cautious of the ones who said weird things, like my harasser, as opposed to the ones who outright say violent things. This was helpful because even though he was behind a computer screen, that didn’t mean I was any less afraid of him and what he was capable of. “66% of people who’ve been harassed online say it was on social network. Also, 38% say it was from a stranger”  (Lenhart). I was one of the 62% who was harassed by someone I knew. I would also say it would be just as frightening to have it done by someone you don’t know. You don’t know who this person is or what they can do or if they can even see you at that moment. I feel something that could help ease other people’s worries about this topic is taking action. Most people don’t like to say anything or report the harassment for fear of victimization. Victimization is the action of people “victim blaming”. It’s already scary enough to have someone say horrible things to you, but to be told it’s your fault is even worse. People shouldn’t have to fear this. When I reported my harassment, the officer personally found him and told him if he came near me or contacted me, he would personally arrest him and charge him criminally for harassment. Then he proceeded to contact his parents and tell them what was going on. This eased my worries by a lot and helped me feel safer. During this time I was scared to even go home alone because he knew where I lived. If people felt safer to report these incidents then they could be taken care of and these offenders hopefully wouldn’t escalate.

Drake, Bruce. “The darkest side of online harassment: Menacing behavior.” Pew Research
Center, 1 June 2015, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/01/the-darkest-side-of-online-
harassment-menacing-behavior/.
“Online Harassment.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, 23 Oct. 2014,
www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/23/12113/.

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