Social media is great, if it’s used in the right way and in the right hands. Used the opposite way though, and it’s a different story. Using social media can be all fun and games until things turn sour. That’s when things can go the wrong way and wreck people. This is when cyber bullying erupts. Cyber bullying, if you weren’t aware, is basically bullying via the internet, and it hurts. Perhaps it hurts even more than bullying because it’s someone sitting behind a screen, and that is a statement coming from a victim.

Cyber bullying is the third highest cause of death amongst young people, and causes around 4,400 deaths each year. 4,400 lives are taken each year. Does that figure shock you? It is ridiculously high. To think that someone needs to end their own life purely because of how someone else is treating them is repulsive. People really need to consider their actions online because the consequences are serious.

Snapchat is one of the worst, and easiest, forms of cyber bullying. If you aren’t familiar with Snapchat, it’s basically an app where you can send pictures for a specific length of time, up to ten seconds (I’m sure they’ve introduced a function for unlimited time viewing, but that hasn’t always been there). What do I mean by easiest? Well you send a picture, and boom, it’s gone. There’s no proof of it whatsoever. Same with the chat, it’s gone, unless you save it. This makes it difficult to prove anything. Sure, you can screenshot the picture but sometimes it’s gone that quickly, and the app can have a glitch, which means you aren’t able to catch it on time. Honestly, Snapchat irritates me. I wouldn’t say I’m a massive fan of it for that very reason given above - I’ve been on the receiving side of it and it’s absolutely not pleasant.

Cyber bullying affects people not only emotionally but also mentally and physically. Of course, the severity varies and people handle it differently. I know that when it was myself, it really shattered my self confidence and ruined my happiness. For others, it can impact them in ways which results in self harm or even worse. It’s sickening. The affects may be short term until the bullying comes to an end, but for others it’s more long term and it’s something that stays with them for life. Everyone is different. Cyber bullying isn’t something you overcome overnight, oh no. It’s a case of building yourself back up over a period of time.

According to the NSPCC, in 2016, Childline dealt with over 24,000 bullying issues, with over 16,000 young people were absent from school as a result of bullying. Sometimes, young people aren’t aware of the difference between banter and bullying, and this is when things go wild. They think it’s “just a laugh”, but honestly, words can hurt. Words stick by people more than actions in some cases. The “harmless banter”, ie bullying, sometimes comes from your friends, the people you least expect it from. You may post a selfie on Instagram whereby you think you look nice, and they leave a comment in which they find funny, but realistically, it hurts you deeply.

Watch what you say is the key message here. If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything.