{"id":2792,"date":"2026-07-31T04:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T03:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2792"},"modified":"2026-07-31T04:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T03:24:15","slug":"behind-the-screen-when-social-media-becomes-a-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2792","title":{"rendered":"Behind The Screen: When Social Media Becomes A Weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Aminone Angela<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While social media has transformed communication by connecting people across the world, its growing misuse for harassment, intimidation and the spread of harmful content has made cyberbullying an increasing concern, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many users, social media is no longer simply a platform for sharing experiences or interacting with friends. Instead, it has become a space where offensive comments, false rumours, anonymous messages and online harassment can have devastating emotional consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue is illustrated through the story of Ada, a student who initially dismissed cruel comments on one of her photographs as harmless jokes. Within days, the attacks intensified as strangers joined in, eventually forcing her to stop attending classes. Although fictional, the account reflects the experiences of many victims of cyberbullying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and X have created unprecedented opportunities for learning, business, entertainment and self-expression. However, these same platforms have also become tools for bullying and intimidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyberbullying refers to the use of digital technology to threaten, humiliate or repeatedly harass another person. It may involve abusive messages, spreading false information, sharing private photographs without consent, creating fake accounts or posting offensive comments online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying follows victims beyond the classroom or workplace because digital platforms are accessible at all hours, making it difficult for victims to escape the abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emotional and psychological consequences can be severe. Victims often experience anxiety, depression, loneliness, low self-esteem and fear. Many withdraw from family members, friends and school activities, while some lose confidence in themselves. In extreme cases, cyberbullying has been linked to self-harm and suicide, making it a significant public health concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the major challenges is that many victims remain silent. Some fear that reporting the abuse will make the situation worse, while others worry that they will not be believed or that their parents will simply confiscate their phones instead of providing support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feature argues that addressing cyberbullying requires collective responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents are encouraged to maintain open communication with their children about their online experiences while teaching responsible social media use. Schools are urged to incorporate digital citizenship and online safety into their educational programmes and provide counselling and support for affected students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also calls on social media companies to strengthen reporting mechanisms and take prompt action against accounts that promote harassment, abuse and hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individual users are equally encouraged to think carefully before posting or sharing content online by considering whether their words or actions could harm another person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the feature, technology will continue to evolve, but society’s sense of responsibility must evolve alongside it. Social media was designed to connect people, not to spread fear or destroy confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report concludes that promoting empathy, kindness and respectful online behaviour will help create safer digital spaces where people are encouraged rather than intimidated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also reminds users that behind every profile picture is a real person with genuine emotions, making compassion and responsible online conduct essential for a healthier online community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aminone Angela<\/strong> is a 200-level Journalism and Media Studies student at Delta State University, Abraka<\/strong>. She is passionate about media, digital communication and raising awareness of social issues through impactful storytelling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Aminone Angela While social media has transformed communication by connecting people across the world, its growing misuse for harassment, intimidation and the spread of harmful content has made cyberbullying an increasing concern, particularly among young people. For many users, social media is no longer simply a platform for sharing experiences or interacting with friends. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[431,654,642],"class_list":["post-2792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viewspoint","tag-opinio-article","tag-socail-media","tag-viewpoint"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2792"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2794,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792\/revisions\/2794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}