No, they couldn’t.
Just a single obvious example: What tools did they have to broadcast photoshopped images of you to all of your peers?
Just a single obvious example: What tools did they have to broadcast photoshopped images of you to all of your peers?
If anything, social media would give that kid more opportunities to find a group that will accept them.
It's not a world of difference, but it might explain why it's not as stark as you might expect at worst.
If you're thinking "what tools did they have to create photoshopped images of you with?", why would you attribute that to social media?
You just did a lot of oil paintings. And prior to that you did some cave drawings?
The irony would be hilarious, if it wasn't just straight up mean.
Let me give you an analogy:
An apple takes 1 year to fall from a tree.
An apple takes 1 seconds to fall from a tree.
An apple falls from a tree.
No difference.
To physically bully you before with a compromising (but fake) photo, the bully would need to physically distribute said images to the presence of your friends and family, which requires time, knowledge of their location, etc. Not so now; if you used a social network and they could see connections to other users (such as family members) then they can just follow those connections by messaging those people directly.
That difference in scale and ease for the bully is real vis-a-vis physically vs social media.
And normal people on the internet was told to never ever reveal their name or address to others online for fear bad people would misuse that info.