I’ve watched as cyberbullying escalates; each instance more extreme than the last.

I’ve seen victims of cyberlying ‘forced’ to make videos to defend their looks, bodies, and choices. Explanations they never owed the world.

I wonder if this growing trend in cyberbullying points to rising self-hatred or if it’s simply cruelty. Perhaps anonymity plays a role, too.

Why do some people grow a spine only when there’s a screen between them and another person? A lot of diminishing and harsh comments said online would never be said face to face.


I’ve seen strangers’ photos posted without consent. Captions like: ‘This is my sister/brother, what do you think of her?’ They aren’t related. Nothing about them is known, yet they are publicly exposed, dissected, and judged. These, I’ve come to learn, are mostly done in the name of engagement or virality.


Is this really necessary?

Last year, I watched victims return to social media in tears, crushed by comments left on photos or videos of themselves.


It’s terrifying how anonymity and distance embolden people to speak so confidently about other people’s bodies and appearances.


Micro-cyberbullying has also been on the rise. Trolling under the guise of offering advice has been rising, A.K.A passive-aggressive communication. Bullies are getting increasingly creative.

Telling victims to just ignore it does nothing.
The human heart has no off switch. Trust me, I wished it did. People feel. People hurt. Some lose confidence over these attacks.

Screens do not cancel responsibility. And saying it’s the internet is just a lazy excuse.

The internet taught us how to speak loudly. It forgot to teach us how to be humane.