Yup, nobody seems to be addressing the issue that we appear to have raised and enabled a generation of bullies using these technologies. Seems a vastly bigger issue than the medium itself, or the vague implication that it's the victim's fault for using social media in the first place.
Bullies are, unfortunately, a historical constant, and are entirely orthogonal to the platform on which they engage in bullying activities. From ugly newspaper articles, through death threats delivered by letters, to that guy from elementary school who threatened to punch you if you didn't give him your lunch money - it's a people problem, not a platform problem.
It is indeed a people problem, and I'd be happy with people raising more compassionate children whatever media those kids end up using. One could talk endlessly about our failures to provide access to mental health services and support for early years parenting. I think the multi-generational harm that 'it never did me any harm' culture has wrought is immense, but I don't think these are facts of life that we should just concede.
But as it is, most schools have more opportunities to intercede and mediate these issues in physical spaces. As parents and communities we have very little experience, and almost certainly inadequate tools for doing that online. It's possible that this is leading to a greater number of bullies and a greater amount of bullying.
Watching TV, reading a book, etc teens don't get personally attacked, they do via social media. So, no mediums are different and the web has made things worse.
