The Internet has altered the way we talk, the way we think, and the way we interact, all in less than a decade.

Although, there are many benefits to the change, there is one undeniable downfall among teens, cyber bullying.

Like traditional bullying it has the potential to strip one’s self-esteem except with a twist.

Junior Sarah Weisman had her own experience with virtual harassment.

“Someone texted me and said all these mean things,” Weisman said. “It got so serious my mom called the police and got all that situated. For a few years I had to get over that and it took a while for me to just have confidence in myself.”

Many students have found a way to look past negative messages on social media.

“People just want to be mean and childish so show them that they can’t, show them that you’re better than that,” said junior Diamond Farmer.

It can be easy to ignore the Den Times and ignore the lectures about it.

The fact is cyber bullying is happening.

But what does that have to do with Heritage?

“At Heritage the consequences of cyber bullying are the same for the consequences for any type of bullying.  It’s taken very seriously,” said Alissa Hopkins, our technology adviser.

“I used to think that cyber bullying wasn’t apparent in my school,” junior Noor Khan said. “But it doesn’t matter where you are or who you are, cyber bullying exist.”

The hatred one may feel for another doesn’t always last forever, but once it’s on the Internet, it does.

“The thing that I always tell myself is, ‘would I want my grandmother to see what I’m posting’,” Hopkins said. “Am I proud of what I’m posting?”

Bullying is never okay. Whether it’s physically, verbally, or virtually.

If you witness a cyber attack, alert a trusted adult or if you’d rather the report be anonymous, the ‘Frisco ISD Bullying App’ is available on any App store.

What message will you send?