Cyberbullying Is A New Type Of Bullying - 1119 Words

Cyberbullying is a new type of bullying that has developed through the use of technology. Cyberbullying has been defined as â€Å"... intentional and repeated harm inflicted on people through the use of computers, cellular telephones, and other electronic devices† (Funk Wagnalls). A problem with this definition is that the bully can claim that they had no intention of harming the victim. Even if the harassment is repeated, the bully could just be joking and unknowingly causing harm to the victim. One problem with cyberbullying is that there can technically be an infinite amount of bullies. This can happen because the main perpetrator can post content on the internet, then that content can reach the victim in several different ways (Funk †¦show more content†¦There are no national laws in The United States that define any type of bullying. However, The United States does have an outline of eleven policies which are intended to stop bullying. In one policy, while inves tigating the incident, the local education agencies should â€Å"...include notifications to parents of the victim...and parents of the alleged perpetrator, and, if appropriate, notification of law enforcement officials† (stopbullying.gov). This outline alludes to the bully actually breaking the law by harassing the victim. The three laws defined in the Ohio law book are: 29 OH  §2913.01, 29 OH  §2903.211(A), and 29 OH  §2917.21. Subsection 2913.01 defines what telecommunication and telecommunications device are. This is important because if it was not defined, then it would be a giant loophole in how cyber harassment cases are handled. Subsection 2903.211 is the section that defines menacing by stalking. The section describes menacing by stalking as the following: â€Å"No person by engaging in a pattern of conduct shall knowingly cause another person to believe that the offender will cause physical harm to the other person or cause mental distress to the other person. In addition to any other basis for the other person s belief that the offender will cause physical harm to the other person or the other person s mental distress, the other person s belief or mental distress may be