CYBERBULLYING AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Zgodovina nas uči, da je nasilje prisotno med nami odkar pomnimo. Nenasilen pristop k reševanju konfliktov je za človeštvo dokaj nov, saj se je začel globalno uveljavljati po koncu 2. svetovne vojne z ustanovitvijo OZN. Vendar pa je za uveljavitev tako velikih ideoloških sprememb ter navad na globalnem nivoju potreben čas. Tako je bilo za generacije naših staršev popolnoma samoumevno izvajanje nasilja nad učenci s strani učiteljev. Pretirane pozornosti se ni posvečalo tudi fizičnemu obračunavanju med sovrstniki, saj je dobršen del bil mnenja, da je to sprejemljiv način reševanja nesoglasij. Takšni obliki nasilja sta dandanes v upadu, v porastu pa je nova oblika nasilja. S tem, ko je svetovna populacija množično sprejela nove internetne ter mobilne storitve, so se odprla vrata nasilju tudi na tem področju. Podobno kot tradicionalno nasilje tudi spletna različica ni omejena demografsko ali starostno. Posebno težo pa mu daje lastnost, katera zagotovo ni značilna za klasične oblike. Posameznik lahko izvaja spletno nasilje nad osebo, s katero nima fizičnih stikov ter jo celo ne pozna. Praviloma lahko trdimo, da je število potencialnih žrtev pri klasičnem vrstniškem nasilju omejeno z okoljem, kjer se izvajalec nasilja giblje oziroma prebiva. Popoln kontrast temu je zaznati na področju spletnega nasilja. V tem primeru ima nasilnež moč doseči veliko širši del populacije, saj ga omejuje zgolj internetna povezava. Če pomislimo na dejstvo, da ima dandanes v razvitem svetu dostop do interneta skoraj vsakdo, lahko predpostavljamo, da je takšna oblika nasilja zelo razširjena. Večina spletno nasilje dojema kot del internetne izkušnje, zagotovo pa ne kot kršitev pravnih predpisov. Posledice takšnih dejanj lahko močno prizadenejo žrtve ter njihove najbližje. Glede na to, da so posledice primerljive tistim, ki jih pušča vrstniško nasilje je prav, da se tudi za spletno nasilje odgovarja na primerljivem nivoju. Skrajni čas je tudi, da se začnemo zavedati in aktivno reševati ta problem, saj je veliko resnejši kot se morda zdi na prvi pogled.We are taught that violence has been present amongst our society all throughout human history. Nonviolent approach to problem solving is a fairly new concept, which has been increasing on a global scale, ever since the establishment of the United Nations, after the 2nd Word War. However, these kind of ideological changes and habits, especially on a global scale, need time to take effect. The use of violence, as a form of teachers punishing disruptive students, was considered justified during our parents’ generations. Even physical abuse and confrontation amongst students was considered as a legitimate way of solving conflicts and didn’t seem to get much attention. Nowadays, this kind of violence is in decline but there is a new forms of violence which is on the uprise. By introducing new kinds of technology, such as the internet access and mobile services, violence has been able to spread to those areas as well. Similar to traditional violence, the internet version of it isn’t limited by demographics or age. However, there is one feature that is typical for this kind of violence, which the traditional one is lacking. An individual is able to exercise internet violence against a person, whom he doesn’t know and has no physical contact with. When it comes to a classic form of peer-to-peer violence, the number of potential victims is limited by surroundings and the mobility of the offender. Internet violence, on the other hand has no such limitations. The only limitation is the internet access, which allows the bully to reach a higher number of population. Considering the fact that most developed countries have internet access, we can assume that this kind of violence is extremely widespread. Most people perceive internet violence as a part of the internet experience itself and definitely not as violation of law. Consequences of these kind of actions can have a severe impact on the victims and their family members and are definitely comparable to the ones caused by peer-to-peer form of violence. It’s time we start realising that internet violence is a serious problem and should be actively dealt with in a proper manner