Bullies who prey on their victims at school should be suspended.
Cyberbullying at school can prevent pupils from learning, meaning they will be left behind when it comes to achieving.
In addition to suspension, I believe blacklisting should be used; it can be an efficient way of stopping the bully.
An important reason why cyberbullies should be suspended from school is that they cause mental damage to other pupils.
Due to cyberbullying, one in three children between the ages of 12 and 18 will be attacked on social media while studying at school.
Children with disabilities like ADHD are always victims to cyberbullies because they are more vulnerable, and often use technology at school to assist them, which makes it easier for the bully to reach them.
You can't just go home now and escape your bullies. They are always there, thanks to technology.
Social behaviour scientists have come to a conclusion that children with violent households often become the young adult who preys on the innocent, and causes people to become depressed.
According to research, children who are bullied are three times more likely to show depressive symptoms.
Cyberbullies should be suspended from school because they are not just hurting their victim, they are also persuading other people to join in as well.
Cyberbullying is now considered an epidemic and spreads quite easily through social media.
This is because children who are regularly asked to join in groups that are considered ''cool'', are always pushed towards peer pressure.
In the end, children who are hanging out with the traditional cyberbully are bound to start following their ways.
In my opinion, cyberbullying is an epidemic and can make its way into any child's life.
If children are becoming more abusive online, this will contribute to the depressive symptoms of their victims.
Lastly, if the bully does not face bigger consequences, they will just continue.
The usual use of warnings and detentions does not help as much as it is intended to.
Bullies are not bothered by what they consider to be minor consequences.
What this all means is that bigger actions need to be taken against the bully at school, otherwise the bullying will continue.
To stop these bullies from abusing their victims, I think schools should include blacklisting in their systems.
This is the victim's way of blocking the bully on every social media website.
It has been co-developed by key social media founders to prevent cyberbullying.
Blacklisting is a stronger way of completely shutting the bully out of the victim's cyber-life.
• By Mackenzie Frost, Year 11, Tokomairiro High School
