Tag Archives: Cyberbullying

Cyber-bullying

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

With the good there’s always bad.I mention this because, social networks are intended to bring numerous social networks and communities together to share commonalities; however, most of the time these sites are misused.In this article, two teens created a false Facebook account and used it against a fellow classmate.

The victim’s father felt it was best for the teens to attend pretrial diversion programs.This program assists teens understand the harm and consequences of their actions, and punishment is assigned to them.

The girls said they targeted the victim because “nobody liked her.”Which is often times the main reason to be targeted.In addition to boost the opponents self esteem.

In this article teens are warned of websites that may affect them, mentally.It mentions a site called Formspring, which gives users the opportunity to ask fellow users questions, anonymously.According to parenting expert Michele Borba,

“Formspring is one of the new kinds of websites that looks like a social network that is popping up online for our daughters. It looks tame enough…but once they log on, what it actually encourages instead is to send vicious notes toward one another in an anonymous nature,” said Borba.

However, as I learned in another sociology course, as we use the streets of any city we cannot blame the street for misuse.We can blame the individuals who use it incorrectly.I feel this is the same for users of the internet.After Borba’s statement I feel she is trying to blame the website for the content which is visible to users.However, we must keep in mind these comments written by users can be positive, not only negative.

In addition to cyber-bullying, teens are bombarded with other types of information while using the web.For example,other sites that promote unhealthy lifestyles.The article gives it opinion on what should be done.Read below.

So how do parents keep their teens off these websites? Our experts offer this advice:

First, invest in parental control software; monitor your teen’s online history; do Google searches on their full names to see if anything comes up; and limit their time online.

“You need to step up to the plate. You need to monitor because we’re raising our children in a tough world,” said Borba.

Since we are adapting to technology and educational institutions use the internet in classroom settings and for take home assignments(for any subjects)would this be the solution to cyber-bullying for teen girls?Or is it important to know the factors behind the situation from both parties?

 

 

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Stereotypes and Social Media, pt. 2

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Andrew McKinney

In a previous post, I talked about the possibility of stereotypes fading away with the help of social media.  Ultimately, I argued that this was unlikely.  Well, here’s an article that bolsters my point.  The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a talk given by Lisa Nakamura at the South by Southwest Interactive conference that outlined several recent studies that have found new kinds of racism flourishing in global video game communities.

For instance, in China large numbers of users began earning a living playing Diablo 2, winning virtual weapons in the fantasy role-playing game and selling their online loot to people in the United States who did not have time to play as many hours to arm their characters. Many of the players chose to play as a female dwarf, a class in the game that can more easily win treasure on solo missions. And so other players began killing all dwarfs in the game, often adding anti-Chinese slurs in the chat section of the game as they did, says Ms. Nakamura.

The article goes on to point to the role of anonymity in the proliferation of racism on the Internet, a topic we’ve talked about in the course (especially in relation to cyberbullying).  However, can we really blame anonymity?  In the example that Nakamura gives, anonymity is important, but can we really guarantee that being able to see a profile picture of someone will make people less likely to be racist?  If there’s one thing that became apparent for me while reading your papers on your social media presence its that the vast majority of you have some doubts about whether or not the people you are interacting with online are really who they say they are.  Therefore, we only friend people we know in real life.  So, how does adding a profile picture and some personal information to a social interaction based solely on the Internet equal a lack of anonymity?

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Rutgers Freshman Commits Suicide

Posted on March 1, 2011 by laww

Upon our discussion in class today, as well as many of the readings we have stumbled upon in class, I automatically thought of the recent suicide of Rutgers freshman, Tyler Clementi.

For those who do not know the story, Tyler Clementi was a gay 18year old who had not announced his sexual orientation to his family.  Clementi invited another male over to his room where Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, set up a webcam and skype to watch and humiliate Climenti during the sexual acts he was engaging in.  He streamed the video to others through ichat and it is “unclear how many people saw the video.”  Ravi bragged on twitter about what he had done and on September 22, Climenti posted on facebook that he was jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

Lev Manovich’s article discusses the notion that you can never truly know how many people are accessing something on the internet at one time.  As our professor said, “it can be everyone, or no one.”

The internet is unfortunately used by many people to act deviantly due to the anonymity of it all.  Even though Ravi was clearly not anonymous, the consequences do not seem as great while on the internet.  Unfortunately, though social media was created with seemingly good intentions, it causes a great amount of distraught, with many teenagers being bullied and committing suicide because of it.  The question becomes, what can be done, if anything, to prevent this type of misuse?

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SOCIAL NOT FATAL!

Posted on February 25, 2011 by

“Amanda ******** is a B&%$#”

http://www.collegeacb.com/

As we discussed in class,Facebook users have a tendency of dehumanizing other users in order to gain self-confidence.Cyberbullying has become an ongoing issue in society.It has affected many individuals physically, mentally, and emotionally. Due to cyberbullying,many deaths have occurred.  For the most part, cyberbullying occurs from the actions of others on numerous social networking sites. I will focus on CollegeACB, formely known as Juicycampus.For those who are unaware of the site; it is a social site and peers are instructed to:

  1. Encourage users to post more positive and productive content.
  2. Allow users to highlight content they like.
  3. Give users the power to remove content they don’t like.
  4. Push the culture of the site in a more positive and productive direction.

Instead the opposite is portrayed on the website.

There are some differences between Facebook and CollegeACB.Facebook gives users the opportunity to create a profile and communicate with family, friends and potential friends. However CollegeACB, gives users the ability to post information about their fellow colleagues, whether negative or positive. After scrolling through the subtitles, negative/bashing occurs more often than positive thoughts. Websites like CollegeACB gives users the chance to “cyberbully” with no face to the comment, unless the post gets out of hand and is reported to the website’s owner.

Below I have copied a post from the website to demonstrate the cruelty of one user who accepts the negativity from other users:

“STOP POSTING ‘KIND’ THREADS! IT WILL BACKFIRE!

Posted 03/30/2010 02:38 AM | Last Reply 03/30/2010 02:38 AM

“Do you think that by trying to change the tone of this site it will be a good thing? No! If you write about anyone on this site, someone will guaranteed shit on them afterwards. Yes a girl committed suicide, but still by making these ‘favorite, nicest’ threads, you are going to have innocent good people being caught in the cross fire…”

This goes to show that social networking sites not only serve as a trigger to commit suicide, if not used in the right manner. However, the many users on these websites feel it’s best to bash as many individuals as possible. As he/she states, “STOP POSTING “KIND” THREADS IT WILL BACKFIRE”…In other words, why use a website, like CollegeACB in a pleasant manner, eventually negativity will occur from your post. Unfortunately, one female committed suicide after being cyberbullied and it will continue to happen if websites like CollegeACB exist. In this day and age we are so caught up in technology that face to face conversations, whether a regular conversation or disagreement can be resolved. Instead, anonymity plays key role in pointing out the bad and leaves the ugly with the control/power of words. The website should provide users with profile information to approach or report their aggressive opponents.

From my perspective, the loyalty of friendships and networking amongst humans weaken day by day. I often wonder what happen to the well valued friendships, formal meetings where individuals discuss commonalities and differences face to face. As oppose to, being bashed online which can have a psychological affect on the individual. (Remember all the members on specific sites are anonymous, it can be your best friend who has hatred towards your lifestyle.)

The advancement of technology leads to an increase of cyberbullying. Due to the actions of others, an individual can be affected, which may result in death.Change must occur in order for these websites to be a much safer environment.Unfortunately, some see otherwise.

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