Open Post #5: Bullying and the Internet: A Love- Hate Relationship

Bullying and the Internet: A Love- Hate Relationship 

Danah Boyd’s argument in her article “Bullying Has Little Resonance with Teenagers” is valid and logical about the difficulty of teaching children about the bullying pandemic. She notes that we live in a society that stigmatizes bullying, and yet at the same time, contributes to its escalation. Boyd gives examples from popular culture, such as, the song “Dead and Gone” by T.I.,“Love the Way you Lie” by Rihanna and the television show “Jersey Shore” as illustrations of the media’s encouragement and advocacy for drama and fights between friends, family and peers. Children and teenagers grow up believing that verbal and physical abuse are a normal part of relationships, and that issues between people can be solved through violence and cruelty. The new obsession of the celebrity culture and the prevalence of technology does play a significant role in the rise of bullying, in particular, cyber-bullying. 

The Internet and social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, make it easier for  teenagers to bully and intimidate others by publicly humiliating and degrading them for the whole world to see. Technology enabled  the new form of bullying - cyber bullying-  into one that is apparent on a much larger scale, and therefore, more traumatic and upsetting to the victims. Boyd’s views on the war against cyber-bullying don’t seem all that promising and hopeful. She believes talking about this issue isn’t going to help, rather “we need interventions that focus on building empathy, identifying escalation, and techniques for stopping the cycles of abuse.” While her suggestions are convincing and reasonable, there are no easy ways to go about preventing bullying, instead, we should focus on helping the victims of bullying and provide them with the tools to overcome the pain and suffering they experience. 

While there are thousands of organizations and businesses that are dedicated to help the victims of bullying, there is one in particular that I believe can really make a difference. The new “It Gets Better Project” is a new online campaign that began in 2010 in response to the recent suicides of gay teens who were bullied and persecuted for their sexual orientation. This project works by uploading videos of adults of all different backgrounds, races and ethnicities to convey the message that life gets better in time. Celebrities, politicians and regular laypeople tell their personal story and promise their audiences that it gets better. 

I have very strong faith and confidence in this campaign, because the best and most powerful way to reach victims of bullying is to identify with them and convince them that their lives will improve and that they can overcome their current troubles. In this case, the prevalence of technology and the Internet can be used as an advantage to reach more people in the most efficient and effective way possible.  

Social Media in the News - Open Post #4

Social Media in the News

Social media has never been more popular or more marketable than it is these days. There are people, companies and an entire industry that it strictly devoted to expanding and improving social media communications, technologies and products. And as with every other successful commodity, there is always someone to point out the negative consequences of what everyone is doing. Recently, a new study has been published that claimed that teens who text 120 times a day or more are also “more likely to have sex, binge drink, use drugs, or get into fights.” These results were based on a Survey done in a High School in Cleveland that found a strong correlation between students who are deeply immersed in technology and in high-risk behaviors. 

It is understandable that researchers would want to examine the negative effects of social media on the public, especially children and adolescents, but is it really necessary to claim technology will lead to promiscuity and substance abuse? 

These days, social media is a ubiquitous and an inescapable part of our society. It is the younger generation that is expected to take social media (as it is today) only make it bigger and better in the future. I realize that some people might not understand and disapprove of this technological move forward, but why are scientists trying to scare teens (and their parents) from it? As far as scientific research, there are plenty more causes for drug and alcohol abuse and sexual promiscuity among teens, that are far more significant than “hyper-texting” and “hyper-networking”. 

As with most common trends, it is best to follow the rule of “too much of a good thing is a bad thing.” That is, when social-media is used correctly and for the right reasons, it shouldn’t lead to poor health behaviors. However, I do believe that technology could in fact become dangerous, if parents don’t teach their children to use social media properly.  

The Other Side of Social-Networking: Open Post

As the popularity of technology and the Internet continues to grow, more and more people are joining the social media bandwagon. These days, very young children learn to navigate their ways online and make personal accounts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. To most people these social-networking sites seems to be an uncomplicated and accessible way to communicate, keep in touch, and to share information with friends, family and peers. There is a sense of privacy on these sites that we choose and determine for how much of our profiles and personal details others can see. However, there is another side to social- networking that many people fail to consider.  

Currently, almost all high-school and college students use social websites such as Facebook and Twitter to narrate their personal lives and share stories and photos with their friends and peers. It is very common for many students to post photos from parties and social gatherings that involve alcohol and other offensive things. People tend to share very personal stories about themselves that often times give away too much information for other people to see. And while it all seems to be harmless and in good humor, there is one important point that many young adults fail to take into consideration. This important point is that many of their future employers and supervisors might stumble upon their Facebook page and see some of the offensive and derogatory photos or posts that will discourage them from hiring these students. It only makes sense that any employer who wants to hire a new employee, will want to have a small background check on who hey are considering for the job. These days, the easiest way to examine anyone on a personal level is through their personal facebook profile. 

I believe it is extremely important for both high-school and college students to remember that the things they post and share on social-networking websites, or anywhere else on the Internet could somehow be used against them. Young people often forget or fail to evaluate the consequences of their actions and choices. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other similar sites make it very easy for anyone to over-share personal information online that will not help them in the future. 

No Privacy - Open Post #2

The Wall Street Journal recent article about Facebook’s breach of privacy claims that “many of the popular applications on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information...to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.” This information was found in a Wall Street investigation that proves that Facebook is violating it’s privacy rules and is providing personal details about the site’s users.

According to the additional research I’ve done on this new finding, reveals that this concern isn’t solely linked to Facebook, and in fact, it’s a web-wide problem.  As stated by techcrunch.com, “if we do stuff online, people are tracking it and putting it into a database and trying to sell you stuff based on that.” It is perhaps not as serious and consequential as The Wall Street Journal article would like us to believe. Furthermore, it is important to note that “the Wall Street Journal’s sister company and Facebook competitor is Myspace” so there may be ulterior motives hidden in the accusatory allegations.

Whether these accusations can be considered serious or not, the New York Times had already reported that Facbook vows to fix  this flaw in data protection. In a statement, "Facebook said that while it would be a challenge to do so, it planned to introduce "new technical systems that will dramatically limit the sharing of users IDs," and would continue to enforce its policies..."

The truth about how much of our personal information is shared between websites that we are unaware of, is not entirely clear. The details we share on Facebook with our friends and peers that appear to be secure and private, seems to leak to various third parties online, such as advertising sites and tracking companies. However, the tendency for information to be passed around on the web is also an issue with search engines and e-mail accounts. It isn’t surprising that this may cause many people to worry and be concerned about their privacy and personal information and therefore be reluctant to use sites that cannot be trusted.  Nevertheless, this trend of sharing information can also be seen as a positive and useful movement. Maybe, having certain websites categorize, personalize and customize our searches and features can be convenient and favorable. It is important to keep in mind that there are businesses and enterprises out there that can use our personal information and help manage our interests and preferences.

Social Bookmarking Soulmate

My “Social Bookmarking Soulmate”:  Jennifer M. Jones.
(http://www.citeulike.org/user/jennifermjones)

According to Jennifer Jones’s profile on citeulike.com, she is a PhD student in the department of Media and Communications at the university of Leicester in England. Jennifer’s bookmarking topics include tags such as: media, technologies, social, twitter, education, culture, and control. She currently has fourteen articles in her library, all related to social media and cyber communities. Although Jennifer’s bookmarked- articles and tags are organized and relevant, she doesn’t add personal comments or has a great variety in her library. 

I found an interesting link to a study through Jennifer Jones’s profile, that was published in 2009 by Neil Selwyn in the Learning, Media and Technology Journal called “Faceworking: Exploring Students’ Education-Related Use of Facebook”. This research was conducted in a UK university and analyzed the relationship between students’ activity on the social-networking site, Facebook, and their engagement with traditional educational activities. The results of the study concluded that despite the criticism and common fear that social networking compromises learning in school, a significant number of students claimed that Facebook plays an important role in their self-identification as students, as well as it appears to provide a ready space where studying and learning can be shared between students. 

Another interesting link I found through Jennifer’s profile connected me to a book about how technology affects society called “Virtual Culture: Identity and Communication in Cybersociety”. This book is a collection of essays that discuss issues associated with virtual cultures that participate in “cyberhate”; a term used to describe offensive and hateful discourse that occurs online. The book discusses the negative effects of “cyberhate” on issues such as: homosexuality, religion and race. In addition, the authors also consider the new useful and productive opportunities that the internet offers, such as worldwide communication, and international awareness for social and political change. Even though this book was written in 1997 and many adjustments have changed the internet since then, I found it very alarming that “cyberhate” remains to be a serious existing problem that hasn’t been resolved or fixed to this day.  

Jennifer Jones’s profile and library of articles could be useful and helpful for anyone who is interested in the effects of social media and technology on society and important social issues. Her collection of sources include both current studies as well as other academic works that dates farther back. Overall, Jennifer accumulated an interesting selection of links to different studies, articles and research. 

Comments

These are two examples of comments I left on two social media websites. 

1. http://www.pammarketingnut.com/2010/09/your-facebook-status-i-dont-care-what-you-had-for-lunch-or-do-i/

While the Facebook statistics are staggering at first glance, they slowly start to make sense when I evaluate how much time I tend to spend on the site everyday. Having said that, I am not one of those users who share personal information at all, and I think it’s pathetic when people share every minute of their lives with the entire world. I believe that when it comes to Facebook, there are two types of people:  the self-centered narcissitics and the secret snoopy individuals who spend their time reading about other people’s lives. The two groups are co-dependent and that’s why the Facebook community works so well for so many people. As for myself, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. While I find myself lured to the site on a daily basis, I also find myself complain about the information that my other friends post on there. I tried to deactivate my account countless times, but the temptation and curiosity are sometimes too much to resist. 

2. http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/01/twitter-promoted-trends/

This new step forward of moving “promoted trends” to the top of the list on Twitter only seems logical and inevitable. It was only a matter a time before twitter’s popularity will become so noticeable that people will start using it for their own purposes and try to make it a profit out of it. I remember when I first heard about Twitter it was considered rather pointless and a cheap exploitation of the ever-so popular Facebook, at the time. Now, with million of people and companies all “tweeting” for about their lives or products, why shouldn’t they use Twitter to benefit themselves. It’s understandable and acceptable that twitter along with many other social media websites will become a promotional tactic and a marketing strategy for those who can afford to promote their ads on the site. Whether it be, movies, TV shows, or other products, Twitter offers people and companies the opportunity to advertise their commodities as a “Promoted Trend” that will surely get noticed. 

Research Question & Background

There are countless of scientific researches that have been done on the issue of the effects of the media on children and young adults. More specifically, whether watching TV, surfing the internet and playing video games affects children’s attention span and cognitive skills. There are also many scholarly and academic articles that discuss this topic and claim that children, and even adults, reach their concentration threshold faster due to the constant use of technology and the media. 

Although these studies and scientific articles present valid arguments and concerns that seem to make sense, they only show correlations (mostly weak correlations) but no actual cause-and-effect relationships. Since these types or results are fairly typical and expected of these studies, correlations is all we can go by. 

A different correlation that has been studied even more intensely is the relationship between the media and violence in children. These studies show relatively strong evidence that violent television shows and violent video games do affect aggression and  violence in children and young teens. Since it is safe to assume that this correlation could perhaps point out to other effects technology might have on us, perhaps there are repercussions on our attention span and cognitive skills that we are not yet aware of. 

While the list of cognitive functions that are potentially affected by our perpetual attachment and devotion to media and technology might be exhaustive, I believe that there are two, specific skills that are more seriously degrading in young adults, such as myself these days. These two skills are grammar and vocabulary. Although, there is no definite evidence that correlates these two variables, I truly believe that the television shows and video games that are prevalent and popular today, affect our grammar skills and proficiency in vocabulary. 

It has been well-established that reading (books, newspapers, ect.) can help and improve concentration, vocabulary, memory, reasoning skills, grammar and verbal fluency (to name only a few). All these advantages to reading are especially influential in younger children, nevertheless, reading is beneficial and recommended for all ages.

Sadly, less and less children and teens choose to spend their free time reading, but instead prefer to watch television, play video-games and surf the internet. And since the media has become an inescapable part of our lifestyle, all of these options that substitute reading are readily available and accessible. As a consequence, over the past few years there has been a significant decline in students’ cognitive skills that are most likely a direct result of our proclivity to technology rather than to books and reading. 

This problem, although very serious, is not easy to solve. There isn’t any one in particular that could be blamed, and it is an undeniable fact that media and technology have become essential parts of our lives. The real issue that deserves more attention and consideration is whether the content of video-games and TV programs could somehow be modified and redesigned to be more educational and intellectual. Perhaps, if the time children and teenagers spent using technology could be made more useful, then it wouldn’t be considered a waste of time. 

Once I began to search online for studies on the topic of media, I realized that almost all of them concentrated on children and young adolescents. The focus on younger ages with this particular issue is understandable for many reasons. Children of this age group are in their prime of their development and it is much easier to control studies with teens than with adults. However, I began to ask myself whether college students (in their late teens and early 20s) will show similar results. And if college students were in fact as influenced by media as were younger children, in what ways do these negative effects present themselves? The two key questions that I’m interested in answering are: 

 1 .How many hours does the average college student spend using different forms of media (ie. watching television and films, surfing the internet, playing video games)? 

2. Is the content of these TV shows, films, websites and games educational? 

I think it is important to focus on the content that is delivered from these various media forms just as much as on the time students spend using them. I also decided that the best way to conduct this type of research would be via a survey online, preferably through Facebook. It would be interesting to find out whether the choices we make as young adults have the same influence on our lifestyle as those other studies and articles suggest have on us as children.