Should Cyberbullying be a Crime?

Cyberbullying is a widespread issue that affects many young kids and teens. With technology and the internet at everyone’s fingertips, bullying can now occur online and in person. This allows young people to bully others and be bullied at any time, not just during school hours. We can all agree that there should be consequences for cyberbullying, but how severe should they be? It has become a messy problem with many possible solutions. Some states, like Michigan, have chosen to adopt laws that make it illegal to cyberbully another person. With these laws, cyberbullies could face fines and even jail time for their actions.

I think making cyberbullying a crime is too extreme in most cases. I do not think we need a law like the one in Michigan to address the issue of cyberbullying. I think getting the government involved depends on the severity of the cyberbullying. If it is an extremely serious case, they should get involved and punish the bully who caused harm to another person. But I think most cases are not severe enough to warrant this type of action. Unfortunately, I think there are too many cases of cyberbullying that occur so it would be a big task to find every single bully and fine them or punish them.

Instead, I think parents need to address the problem of cyberbullying. They need to teach their children from a young age to treat people kindly and that it is never okay to taunt, belittle, or hurt others. When cyberbullying occurs, the parents, and the school if necessary, should punish the child for their actions. They also need to make sure the child knows what they did was wrong and why it was wrong to make sure they learn from it and won’t do it again.