Write an essay critically addressing the following statement, and focusing on Ireland: “the misuse of information and communication technology (ICT) by young people to engage in cyberbullying...

[endnoteRef:1]The Technology can be considered as both blessing and a curse [1]. With the multiple success in business and several benefits of Internet like online shopping, ecommerce, new employment opportunities, collaboration beyond boundaries to name a few there comes bundle of danger that can act as a massive threat to well-being of people. For instance, cyberbullying and online harassment, hacking, phishing as well as voyeurism are still more perilous than others in the list (Calmaestra, J & Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A & Ortega-Ruiz, R., 2012). ICT creates a virtual world that can lead to many real-life consequences in lives of people. This creates massive challenge for parents, family members, schools as well as different policymakers that attempt to keep tract with rapidly developing technologies to offer adequate protection for children. Furthermore, even great challenge is to balance all these important protections with the equally compelling freedom of expression, speech, and thoughts (Armstrong, E., 2002). [1: While the Internet presents certain dangers, it also amplifies First Amendment interests in many ways. See Reno v. A.C.L.U., 521 U.S. 844, 870 (1997) ("Through the use of chat rooms, any person with a phone line can become a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it could from any soapbox. Through the use of Web pages, mail exploders, and newsgroups, the same individual can become a pamphleteer. As the District Court found, 'the content on the Internet is as diverse as human thought.' We agree with its conclusion that our cases provide no basis for qualifying the level of First Amendment scrutiny that should be applied to this medium.").
See Corinne David-Ferdon & Marci Feldman Hertz, Electronic Media, Violence and Adolescents: An Emerging Public Health Problem, 41 J. ADOLESCENT HEALTH S1, S5 (2007) (noting that many risks come along with the "tremendous positive social and learning opportunities" created by electronic media).
See JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MAcARTHUR FOUND., LIVING AND LEARNING WITH NEW MEDIA: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM THE DIGITAL YOUTH PROJECT 2 (2008), http://www.macfound.org/atf/cfl{B0386CE3-8B29-4162-8098-E466FB856794}/DMLETHNOGL 2PGR.PDF (recommending that adults "facilitate young people's engagement with digital media" to develop necessary social and technical skills).
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We are living in one of the most dynamic times dominated with technology everywhere we go or whatever we touch. It is a double-edged sword, implying technology can be source of growth as well as balance between risk and opportunities. With penetration of internet to the deepest level including rural sections of the society, majority of people are highly connected ranging 24*7, irrespective of geographical location or time-zone. Essentially, we all are just one click away from our co-worker in different country or families, friends as well as even stranger. On one end, the technology and internet has made the world a global marketplace changing traditional ways of working as well as offering new opportunities to thrive for people with least resources. This technology also is a platform to communicate, storehouse of information and offers support to new entrepreneurs to begin their venture through fundraising. However, there is another side to this technology which traps people in deep dark black hole of web along with many instances of bullying while sitting completely safe in the vicinity of homes. By the virtue of this essay, I have performed an extensively analysis on cyberbullying especially comprehending its tremendous increase in Ireland. Technology can either be boon or bane based on how one utilises it. It can heart and soul for development at the same time given in the hand of amateur user same technology can become lethal weapon to damage several people at the click of the button. Today, cyberbullying is not only prevalent in Ireland rather it has become a social problem present across the world. This behaviour of attacking others and harassing them leveraging different online platforms is best observed in teenagers and young adults [2]. Intentionally pursuing initiatives that can create humiliation for others with the help of technology can be regarded as cyberbullying. The intensity of act can vary from an insulting joke to actual act of rape and presenting it on the open platform to further damage the situation. These actions need to be proactively identified and worked upon with serious implementation of criminalisation irrespective of the age. Although, the age of the bully can be brought in light to defend him/her, however the actions could be repeated with a clear intention to attack others which needs to be punished (Calmaestra, J. & Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. & Ortega-Ruiz, R. (2012). Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and their relationship with Cyberbullying).
As per the statistical records, more than 26% of children who falls under the age group from 9 years to 16 years communicated in the survey that cyberbullying made them scared and upset [3]. Furthermore, there were 14% of children in Ireland communicated that they are vastly affected because of online bullying for couple of weeks and months. As per the research conducted in 2015, there were 8.6 billion mobile devices used. While in 2018, the number of mobile usage and devices across world went beyond 12 billion which makes an average of 2 devices per user (Cyber Bullying Statistics - NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources., 2016). This highlights rapid rise of several electronic-based communication in recent decade especially in these two years of pandemic which has truly changed how one interact with others especially children and teenagers. Adolescents and teenagers are more active on internet than focusing on their studies as well as on the playground. There is massive shift from communication that takes place face-to-face that used to happen when technology was limited in its reach and now majority of communication are conducted online because of back-to-back lockdowns. This change in dynamics of interactions and social interactions are harmful in terms of limiting real-time communication...