Resolved:Should Cyber bullying be a criminal Offence? (Serious/Prepared Debaters Only Please)

Cyberbullying. We are all awere of it. But what exactly is cyberbullying and more importanlty, should it be considered a criminal offence. I presonaly negate the resolution, RESOLVED: Should Cyberbullying be a criminal offence. Contention 1: Most Cases of Cyberbullying are not to be considered criminal offences. Cyberbullying may be a problem. A problem we can all concede to. But, i say that in no way should a simple act of cyberbullying be considered a crime. The vast majority of cyberbullying incidents can and should be handled informally: with parents, schools, and others working together to address the problem before it rises to the level of a violation of criminal law(1). One should not take the problem too far, or else the lid could explode. For a criminal offence to occur there must be two main elements - the prohibited conduct and the mental element of a guilty mind or intention. Unless an offence falls into the unusual category of a strict liabilityoffence, the prosecution must, in order to prove that a person has committed an offence, show that both these elements were present(2). Thus, one can now begin to see that in order for Cyberbullying to be considered a crime, it would have to fall under the categories above. In many instances, the cases do NOT fall under the categories. If prosecutors can’t find anything to charge a particular cyberbully with, that bully has not committed a crime. If simply being a jerk was a criminal offense, we would need many more prisons than the hundreds we already have(6). There is no way one can say that Cyberbullying should be considered a crime. Furthermore, one can see that the penalty for a small infraction such as just taunting a person online is too severe. Contention 2: Cyberbullying is decresing, contrary to what one may beliveve. As a young adult living in todays society composed of computers and smart phones, i am very aware of the problems that such things pose. But, i am also aware that as one enters the stage of young adult, one tends to mature more. Cyberbullying is seen as a very immature and stupid act amongst my peers and myself. We MAY tend to judge people according to their clothes,race etc. but we never go beyond that. Now when I say "WE", I mean all of the 21st century teens around me. Moving on, a study published last month in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that the percentage of youth (of 12 to 17 years old) reporting physical bullying in the past year went down from 22 percent in 2003 to 15 percent in 2008(3). Furthermore, A national study commissioned by the Girl Scouts came to a similar conclusion. Young people are actually more responsible, more involved in their community, and more tolerant of diversity than they were 20 years ago. The survey found that 84 percent of youth said they wouldn't forward an embarrassing e-mail about someone else(4). One can now begin to see that cyberbullying is decreasing due to the fact that Many young people want no part of bullying and consider it reprehensible behavior(4). Thus, i belive that making Cyberbullying a crime would be a waste of time,due to the fact that Cyberbullying is decreasing. Contention 3: Making Cyberbullying a criminal offence would be loaded with trouble. Now, when I say TROUBLE, i mean legal problems. Implementing cyberbullying as a criminal offence would prove to be a disastrous event and a big waste of time. First of all, making cyberbullying a criminal offence would go directly against the First Amendment of the Constitution wich reads "Congress shall make no law. .. abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press"(5). A person has a right (given to him or her by the constitution) to post whatever he wishes to post online. If he or she wants to make a comment about a person, be it the president or his or her peer, they have a right to do it. The Constitution grants such a freedom, so why not exersice it? Furthermore, how can one prove that the cyberbullying is being aimed at a said victim because the said victim taunted the offender in the past? How can one prove that the said offender did not aim to harm the said victim and was only playing around with him or her? When people are punished, it should be for the harm that they intend to do. If a bully crosses the line between freedom of speech, and invasion of privacy, or harassment, those are the crimes he should be charged with, as is happening in the cases currently in the news(6). No person should be considered a criminal just because he exersised his freedom of speech. Plus, if it continualy nags at the victim, why does the vicim just walk away form the computer? There is absouloutley nothing stopping a said victim from walking to his parents and telling them what is occuring. In many cases, the victim of cyberbullying decides to take the verbal beating, as opposed to just simply SHUTTING THE COMPUTER SCREEN. One needs to take these things into consideration into hand before pointing the fingers. Cyberbullying may be a vast problem, but that does not mean that it should be made a criminal offence. When a person is being cyberbullied, he or she must deal with the problem as they seem fit. An offence , yes. A crime,no. Thus, i urge the voter to stand beside me in this resolution. Thank you for even taking the time to read my case. Have a great day. Sources1). http://cyberbullying.us...2)http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au...3)http://www.unh.edu...4) . http://www.girlscouts.org...5) . http://topics.law.cornell.edu......6) . http://www.nytimes.com...