Two teens from Michigan and one out-of-state teen are arrested and facing charges for cyberbullying. According to Michigan State police, these charges are based on an in-depth investigation that originated in September 2020 related to social media threats, intimidation, and sextortion to area high school students.
A New Form of Harassment
Cyberbullying is a relatively new type of harassment stemming from the excessive use of social media and other websites.
This form of bullying takes place over digital devices like smartphones, computers, and tablets. It includes sending, posting, sharing, and viewing any sort of negative, harmful, mean, or false content about someone else.
Additionally, it can include sharing of personal information with the intention to cause embarrassment or humiliation.
It’s especially common among youth and children and highly impactful. Cyberbullying affects the mental health of victims, potentially leading to suicide. Unfortunately, it’s hard to notice.
This Time It Was Instagram
In this particular case, the investigators stated that the teens created anonymous Instagram accounts where they distributed sexually explicit photographs to the victims and other individuals intending to humiliate them.
Each of the teens now faces charges of distribution of sexually abusive child materials, possession of child sexual materials, and using a computer to commit a crime.