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.