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.