Due to the tremendous increase in technology, cyber bullying is growing at an alarming rate. Just recently my 9 year old daughter had a problem involving cyber bullying. At her school, students as young as fourth grade are issued an email account (Gaggle). The students receive an information quiz, sign a computer form and then are free to chat with the world. Although monitored for explicit word usage, a classmate was able to send a harsh message to another student. Because she didn’t use profanity or words such as “sex”, it was not caught. The next day the receiver of the inappropriate message was hurt to find out that other students at the school knew about the message and were gossiping. This drama only lasted for one week but occasionally students revisited the incident. As a parent and an educator, I realized just how serious cyber bullying can be.
In my opinion, cyber bullying is worse than school yard bullying. It involves a wider audience, travels faster than word of mouth, and can even involve harmful pictures leading to cyber blackmail. Cyber bullying allows comments to be posted and sent not only to the victim, but to other people within seconds! And because the internet is always accessible people can be constantly victimized. This is especially true since it is nearly impossible to retrieve things unleashed into cyber-space causing far greater harm than incidents of school-yard bullying.
In order to eliminate this detrimental offense, all schools should be required to update internet policies to include punishment for cyber bullying. It will be necessary to invest in software to detect harassment, and to educate students on the effects of cyber bullying. Schools and society must recognize this issue as a serious problem since the emotional damage can be life altering.
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ReplyDeleteTiffany,
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me to think of a 9 year old having encounters with cyber bullying. To think of myself as a 9 year old, the Internet was something I had no understanding of and was something so distant to me, it wasn’t at my fingertips to use or even in my mind for in the future.
A story like your daughters makes teachers and parents aware of the need to spread awareness of cyber bullying and the impact it has on people. The information on the Internet can be accessed by millions of people and has the possibility of getting into the wrong hands. Information and pictures can also be altered without the owner’s knowledge. Which can raise a whole other set of issues.
I agree with you that schools need to stay on top of software and policies for punishments for acts of bullying.
Jennifer
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I reviewed the Michigan laws and found that we currently do not have any 'bullying' law current (let alone one that addresses cyberbullying). However there is a 'bullying law' pending. I agree that there should be a national guideline with programs that are known to statistically work. The country and the states should outline and implement these much needed plans and programs before further mandates are made for educational technology. Statistics show that anti-cyberbullying programs work where they are implemented.
You brought up a lot of excellent points, especially the fact that the information could remain in 'cyber space' forever. I have heard where employers were searching online for older information, blogs, etc... that a potential employee might have made (or perhaps someone else made it about them) and using that information to make crucial decisions regarding employment and potential promotions. I even recall a legal case where a girl who was 15 years old was raped. When she went to court, they proved that on her 'My Space' profile, she said that she was older than she was i.e 19 years old. The judge through the case out stating the girl was a proven liar and therefore could not be believed. Our educators and our children need more education regarding 'cyber space'.