Mark HannaLeawoodKansas

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas resident, is a man of many talents and hobbies. An active health enthusiast, he follows a very strict fitness regimen to improve his body. His current exercises focus on weightlifting with a few supplemental workouts. He is also a connoisseur of dietary supplements. He finds that the supplements he takes provide an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

Mark is an avid rock music fan. One of his favorite hobbies is playing the drums. His daughter shares this passion, and they often rock out together. Mark uses music as a way to relax and unwind after a long day.

Basketball is another one of Mark’s past-times. While attending college, Mark was on the school’s intramural basketball team. To this day, he still occasionally enjoys playing and watching the sport.

Always willing to help the community, Mark often volunteers at the local homeless shelters. He works in the children center at Community LINC. This organization specializes in providing housing for homeless families. Mark finds it rewarding to give back to the community so he remains an active member.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas resident, has an extensive knowledge of surgical products. After working in sales management for over 20 years, he has become a strong authority on the industry. Although he does not plan on returning to his old profession, he still holds interest in the world of surgical products.

Mark is also an advocate against cyber-bullying. Thousands of people are the victim of torment through the Internet each day. Mark works diligently to raise awareness and eventually end cyber-bullying.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas citizen, has always shown interest in helping others. One of his main objectives in life is to help others and his community. That is why he spends a majority of his time participating in charities and helpful causes.

Like countless others, Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas resident, was once a victim of cyber-bullying. This new form of torment has thrived in recent years as society became more computerized. The victims often include both children and adults. Mark has dedicated his time to researching the history, causes, and effects of cyber-bullying.

History of cyber-bullying

According to Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas-based advocate, cyber-bullying gained prominence at the turn of the 21st century. In 1999, one of the most famous bully-inspired events occurred. Two students at Columbine High School in Colorado shot and killed 13 students. One of the motives behind the shooting was that the students were victims of severe bullying. After the incident, strong anti-bullying policies were enforced around the country.

However, as the Internet acquired popularity, bullies found a new domain to torment victims. Cyberspace allows for people to share information with thousands of people with little restriction or monitoring. In a 2008 study, it was revealed that almost 50 percent of U.S. teenagers have faced cyber-bullying. There are many ways that cyber-bullying is carried out.

Types of cyber-bullying

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas’s anti-cyber-bullying activist, has researched the different types of online torment.

- Harassment – This consists of a bully sending harmful messages to the victim. The messages are conveyed through emails, instant messages, and social networking sites. Harassing messages include:
o Threats
o Insults
o Offensive images
- Humiliation – This is the exposure of embarrassing or humiliating information about the victim. Bullies will post blogs or webpages that contain personal details for the world to see. In extreme cases, bullies acquire revealing pictures of their victims and then share them with others.
- Impersonation - This is the practice of the bully creating a fake online persona of the victim. The recent emergence of social networking sites has created many cases of impersonation. Bullies use fake profiles to mock their victim or post offensive information under their identity.
- Revealing information – This occurs when a bully posts personal information about their victim so as to recruit more bullies. Someone will post the address or phone number of their victim on a message board or forum. Other users see this information and will call the victim or vandalize their home with harassing messages.

Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter permits worldwide users to communicate with each other. Although these sites are intended to share fun photos, jokes, and stories, they are also used in more harmful ways. People have used social networks to spread gossip and rumors on people that they did not like. In some cases, they would acquire an embarrassing photo of a victim and share it to their friends. They would then share it once again. This causes a chain that would lead to the photos’ distribution to thousands of users.

Cyber-bullies have utilized social networking sites in other manners as well. In 2006, a teenager named Megan Meier committed suicide after a cyber-bullying incident through MySpace.com. Megan’s neighbor, Lori Drew, had created a fake profile of a teenage boy. Lori used this profile to harass Megan, eventually telling her that the world is better off without her. Megan, having a history of depression, tragically hung herself shortly after.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas resident, has noted that video sharing has also increased cyber-bullying. Sites like YouTube allow users to upload videos for the entire world to see. Other users can then comment on the video, sometimes expressing very negative opinions. YouTube comments have provided a way for bullies to harass their victims while retaining anonymity. YouTube is not only a tool to cause bullying, but it has become a way for victims to reach out.

A teenager named Amanda Todd posted a video to YouTube in October of 2012. The video consisted of her show index cards that portrayed her experience as a bullying victim. Amanda’s torment began when she was only 12 years old. Revealing pictures of her had circulated around the Internet, causing her classmates to tease and mock her. After years of bullying and a history of depression, Amanda committed suicide shortly after posting her YouTube video.

In 2002, a Canadian high school student filmed himself pretending that he was a Jedi from Star Wars. The video features the student swinging a stick around in a comical fashion. The tape was discovered by the student’s peers, who then uploaded it to the Internet. The video titled “Star Wars Kid” has become recognized across the world. It is one of the most popular viral videos of all time. Unfortunately, the student in the video faced mockery and ridicule for his antics. Nowadays, he acts as an advocate for cyber-bullying in Canada.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas citizen, has discovered that cyber-bullying does not only affect children. There are many instances in the past of parents facing similar torment. In 2006, a young boy named Mitchell Henderson committed suicide. Friends and family created a memorial MySpace page dedicated to him where they could leave comments honoring him. Cyber-bullies used this information to acquire Mitchell’s parents’ address and phone number. For over a year, these bullies would call and harass the Hendersons about their son’s death.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas’s leading advocate against cyber-bullying, has found it upsetting that so many people face cyber-bullying. His research shows that the main reason cyber-bullying is so prominent is that it provides freedom. Bullying in school is slowly fading away due to watchful authorities. Online, however, there is virtually no authority to stop the attacks. Therefore, Mark is constantly working to devise ways to defeat cyber-bullying.

Cyber-bullying is one of the major issues that society faces each day. Unfortunately, there are few laws and regulations that can prevent it. Thousands of organizations are rallying for stronger measures against online torment. Advocates like Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas resident, are committing to eventually eradicating cyber-bullying.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas local, hopes to continue his many endeavors in the future. He still wishes to pursue his active, healthy lifestyle while enjoying sports and bonding with his daughter. He also wishes to continue helping the community by volunteering and advocating against cyber-bullying. According to Mark, cyber-bullying is becoming a growing problem in the future.

As society becomes more inclined to using the Internet, this opens the door for more cases of online abuse. In recent years, the amount of Internet users has skyrocketed. But cyber-bullying can even affect people that do not use the Internet. That is why it is important to encourage prevention and awareness.

Some organizations have posted suggestions on how to prevent cyber-bullying. Users are advised to never store any type of personal information or photos on a computer. Most cyber-bullying cases involve the distribution of revealing photos and personal details. Users are also instructed to remain cautious when sharing information with others. It is possible for someone to pose as a friend on the Internet and intercept any messages that you send.

Many individuals are calling for a ban on social networks. Although sites like Facebook allow for friends to keep in contact, they also provide a new tool for bullies. With the elimination of social media sites, bullies will have less opportunity to impersonate or share victim information.

Mark Hanna, Leawood, Kansas resident, hopes that cyber-bullying will soon disappear. After facing victimization, he does not want others to go through the same ordeal. With the combined effort of other advocates, Mark wants to create a cyber-bully-free future.