Media is growing bigger than ever over the past few years. Many people use different types of social media almost every day. Media can both cause and prevent bullying. I’ve seen cyberbullying happen a lot over social media including Twitter and Instagram. Over social media there are a lot of bystanders that can be unnoticed. If more people are positive over media then bullying can be prevented on social media. Most people can be greatly influenced on social media. If more people posted things about bullying prevention and spreading it around, people will be greatly influenced including teens and bystanders. They will think that bullying is not right and try to prevent it in social media and in real life. It will also inspire bystanders to stand up and do something about the situation.

To prevent bullying on media a technology, bystanders must…

• Take action by posting words of support for the victim. “I disagree with what’s been said.”
• Encourage the victim to seek help. “You are being bullied. Don’t keep what’s happening bottled up inside. Seek help from someone you trust.”
• Rally your friends to post comments that show support for the victim.
• Alert someone in authority (your teacher, parent, other adult) about what you are observing online or what is being transmitted through cell phones.
• Report what you are observing to the security team for the site you are visiting.  Facebook provides a number of suggestions depending upon where on the site the abusive content is located.

Media is a big influence to both teens and bystanders to prevent bullying.