Cyber Bullying and Cyber Terrorism

Two concepts discussed in class that truly interested me were Cyber Bullying and Cyber Terrorism. These two concepts are important because they affect us personally and collectively. Cyber Bullying is as menacing as Cyber Terrorism. These two concepts correlate in that both are negative to the overall goal of keeping peace and human sanity. Cyber Bullying (CB) and Cyber Terrorism (CT) are connected in that bullying could easily be implied as being a terrorist act upon another human being. Same if terrorism were to apply, it could be considered bullying from one party to the other. Thus, both these concepts correlate and are significant to our studies because access to technological advancements such as the Internet leads faster and closer to bullying and terrorism than any other possible technological innovation thus far. This discussion post then argues that the big picture consists of negativity, regardless of what we call it, upon our existence on earth and its driving source is the Internet.

Cyber Bullying, according to StopBullying.gov is defined as “bullying that takes place using electronic technology” and, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Cyber Terrorism is “intended to damage or disrupt vital computer systems” (1994). First, these topics are related in that they both attribute negativity to our world, livelihood, and sense of safety. Bullying and terrorism are terms being used for centuries; however, it was not until recently that it became part of our household as well. The Internet contributed to this in that it allows access to connections between the wrong people, to blind friendships with people that may just be looking to hurt you, and it provided the one source accessible by almost all homeowners to distribute messages of hate, discrimination, biases, and war.

The two concepts complement each other in that one may very well lead to the other (bullying could lead to terrorism and terrorism could be implied as a form of bullying). The two concepts are both characteristically negative and adverse to a healthy society and could easily lead to fatal results. CB and CT are not easy subjects to deal with because many times, they could misinterpreted by emotions and reasoning (i.e., well, the victim was being rude to the offender therefore, a reason to bully OR, well, there is a religious war at hand and it cannot be interrupted in the name of sanity, the word of god must be accomplished through fatal wounds, and many more possible examples).

These concepts, however, do oppose one another in their severity. While CB may lead to death, it is a verbal confrontation and does not usually pass that point. With CT, the difference comes in the actions taken after the bullying or notice of imposition of violence on the other party. In other words, CT is the act of being violent and aggressive while CB is the passive-aggressive conversation between two or more parties. CB is considered a slightly lesser count than CT, of course, and it aims to affect a person and not a country or government such as it would be in the case of CT. Nevertheless, they are both related in that they both lead to negative attacks on another being.

The big picture, meaning our safety and sense of happiness in this life we live, is jeopardized by the accessibility to the Internet by so many people with bad intentions. The fact that it is too easy to attack others online makes all of us vulnerable. The fact that it is so easy to hack government files and conduct CYBER TERRORISM online also leads to our vulnerability as a country, government and society. Overall, both concepts correlate each other in that they are both lethal and contrast each other in the form of offense used (passive attacks through CB and explicit and aggressive attacks through CT threats).