It may be argued that bullying has been around before the development of social media. Nonetheless, the perceived anonymity associate with social media has allowed for an increase in both the participation and severity of bullying, as well as, leaving the victims of such harassments vulnerable at all hours of the day and night. The same dangers are present in both traditional and cyberbullying. However, the characteristics of cyberbullying have identifying markers to separate it from its traditional counterpart, such as, anonymity, larger audience and the disconnection of aggressor from victim (Casas, Rey & Ortega-Ruiz, 2013). Although studies show cyberbullying shares some similarities to traditional bullying, many researchers acknowledge that these two practices are not the same (Kowalski, & Giumetti, …show more content…
Which in some cases can lead to depression with dire consequences. Due to the dissociative anonymity present in the use of social media, young people are more likely to reveal personal details, private information and photos online, also known as the disinhibition effect (Cookingham, & Ryan, 2015). This means that a young person does not always perceive that what they post online may be seen by larger audience than originally intended. Moreover, many young people do not realise that once text, pictures or videos go online, they stay there (McBride, 2011). News stories similar to the one written by Hodge and Murphy (2016) which informs of the suicide of a teen after the release of an inappropriate photo, exemplify just how dangerous these dissociative characteristics and depression can be. It can be concluded that the destructive outcomes associated with the disinhibition effect, over-sharing and depression, are a considerable risk that cannot be over looked when weighed up against the benefits of social media