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As I'm sure many of you were aware from the coverage its received in the news, this past January, 15 year old Phoebe Prince of Massachusetts committed suicide after dealing with relentless bullying. The causes for her action point to the bullying she received from numerous classmates, through text messages and through taunting on Facebook and other social media sites. To read more about the scandal, here's a link:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/03/29/2010-03-29_phoebe_prince_south_hadley_high_schools_new_girl_driven_to_suicide_by_teenage_cy.html
I bring this up, not only because it is a clear example of the consequences of virtual bullying, but because it touches on the traceability of online bullying that Levinson brings up. He argues that this factor is an advantage for victims, and this is true of this story. Prince's bullies are now being charged for their actions, and there is plenty of evidence against them. From the text messages, to their degrading messages to Prince's memorial Facebook group, they now have to pay the price for what they did to her. Though they will still plead not guilty, what they have left on the web will not go away. This is definitely a good thing for the victim in this case, and in all cases alike. In order to prevent more of these situations from happening, it's important that kids know that everything they do online cannot simply be deleted, which should prevent them from using the web as portals for their taunting.
Showing posts with label Dark Side. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dark Side. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Last Week's South Park
Last week's episode of South Park dealt with Facebook and mentioned ChatRoulette. It mentioned how people can get sucked into Facebook (literally) as well as the inappropriate sexual nature of ChatRoulette. The episode is called "I've Got Nobody," and subtitled: "You have 0 friends."
http://southparkstudios.com/episodes/267112/?xrs=
http://southparkstudios.com/episodes/267112/?xrs=
Light up the Darkness
Cyberbullying and cyberstalking are problems that started in older media such as email but have become more prevalent due to the popularity of social networking sites. However, it is up to us to discover certain solutions to alleviate the problems of cyberstalking and cyberbullying. As we mentioned in class, when Facebook started it out, it required a college email address, but this requirement has changed over the years. However, an age requirement could be an useful tool for preventing middle school and even younger high school kids from using solcial media sites to harass other children. This is certainly difficult as children can lie and say they are of age.
As a result, the responsibility falls on parents and in certain instances, the teachers. As Amanda discussed earlier in her post, parents must teach children how to use the social networking sites Parents should explain to their children that they need to approach their parents when they are being constantly bullied or stalked by strangers or other children. In addition, schools should have a caveat where they may punish students if they are harassing other students from the school. I do not know the full story but certain disciplinary actions were taken against certain students at my high school for "trask-talking" with students from another school.
Nonetheless, it is up to children to admit to the harassment they have experienced on the web.
As a result, the responsibility falls on parents and in certain instances, the teachers. As Amanda discussed earlier in her post, parents must teach children how to use the social networking sites Parents should explain to their children that they need to approach their parents when they are being constantly bullied or stalked by strangers or other children. In addition, schools should have a caveat where they may punish students if they are harassing other students from the school. I do not know the full story but certain disciplinary actions were taken against certain students at my high school for "trask-talking" with students from another school.
Nonetheless, it is up to children to admit to the harassment they have experienced on the web.
Friday, April 9, 2010
New New Media: The Cyberspace Circus
Professor Levinson makes many good points in Chapter 11, "The Dark Side of New New Media," even though it was pretty obvious that he fundamentally thinks the positive aspects of new new media outweigh the negative ones. I found his knife and pillow analogy to be very enlightening and wholeheartedly agree that anything humans get their hands on can be used for both good and evil, that the ultimate responsibility lies in the being utilizing the media at hand.
I've expressed my concerns with youth and social media before on here, so I won't repeat myself too much, but I do think that this chapter accurately highlights and affirms my concerns- that who is behind the new media dictates how Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube etc.. are used. Some of the youth today, understandably, lack sound judgment/reasoning skills and ultimately make poor decisions on the sites, decisions that harm both their peers and their personal futures. Growing up, you are taught manners- like not to swear and how to be polite- but these manners have historically been taught to apply strictly to the physical world (saying thank you if someone's parents drive you home, chewing with your mouth closed). Until recently, kids were not taught "technological manners" and since they have not been explicitly told to extend their "real world" manners to cyberspace, it is largely a circus of inappropriateness, full of cyberbulling, gossiping, cursing and explicit photos.
I personally think there are so many benefits to new new media, that it has truly revolutionized the way we communicate and express ourselves and really enjoy it. However, I think kids need to be taught how to use it responsibly. I also think adults need to step back and take a break from it every now and then. Our guest speaker Sarah mentioned her "social media fast" a few weeks back and I know of many other people who have given up Facebook for various periods of time (including myself every finals week for the past three years). I think these "fasts" are refreshing, allow for new found productivity and force you to interact through "old" communication channels, channels that are just as meaningful.
I've expressed my concerns with youth and social media before on here, so I won't repeat myself too much, but I do think that this chapter accurately highlights and affirms my concerns- that who is behind the new media dictates how Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube etc.. are used. Some of the youth today, understandably, lack sound judgment/reasoning skills and ultimately make poor decisions on the sites, decisions that harm both their peers and their personal futures. Growing up, you are taught manners- like not to swear and how to be polite- but these manners have historically been taught to apply strictly to the physical world (saying thank you if someone's parents drive you home, chewing with your mouth closed). Until recently, kids were not taught "technological manners" and since they have not been explicitly told to extend their "real world" manners to cyberspace, it is largely a circus of inappropriateness, full of cyberbulling, gossiping, cursing and explicit photos.
I personally think there are so many benefits to new new media, that it has truly revolutionized the way we communicate and express ourselves and really enjoy it. However, I think kids need to be taught how to use it responsibly. I also think adults need to step back and take a break from it every now and then. Our guest speaker Sarah mentioned her "social media fast" a few weeks back and I know of many other people who have given up Facebook for various periods of time (including myself every finals week for the past three years). I think these "fasts" are refreshing, allow for new found productivity and force you to interact through "old" communication channels, channels that are just as meaningful.
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