Cyberbullying Discussion

Technology is everywhere. There aren't too many places anymore where someone can't find Internet access. All a person needs is access and a computer or handheld device and the journey begins. Technology has it's faults: unreliability, anonyminity and instant access. A person can travel around the world in seconds without leaving their seat.

Technology also allows users an invisible stage. On line a person can be whom or what ever they want to be and no one is the wiser. There is no verification of who a person is, let alone what they portray themselves to be. For instance, I may be a 25 year old blonde hair, blue eyed Swedish gal named Martha. Those who know me know that's not true, but someone who doesn't, wouldn't know that my name isn't Martha or that I don't have blonde hair. The Internet allows users to behave differently because there isn't anyone monitoring the web. When the cat's away, the mice will play is a good adage for this. There are very few laws regarding cyberbullying, and because the legislation isn't there, bad things happen. 

Derogatory websites are difficult to have removed, because of the lack of monitoring. Webmasters or companies are less likely to intervene on a site unless someone literally threatens them with a lawsuit. There is something wrong with companies who would allow sites to go unmonitored or refuse to remove posts that are aggressive and threatening in manner. What is particularly disturbing is the article about the mother who, with the help of her daughter and friend, created a MySpace profile. They badgered that girl to the point that she took her own life. Thirteen years old and committed suicide. The second tragedy was that the mother didn't receive punishment because the laws haven't been created to deal with this new environment. So there is chaos in the streets.

Internet usage in my classroom would be monitored. The district has a great filtering system on the Internet access, but the usage still needs to be monitored. Children are more savvy these days and are able to find places to hide that they shouldn't be in.

It's amazing how people can attack someone else with just words on a screen and evoke such emotion and depression. Words are powerful, never so more than these days. It's unbelievable that the society that we live in still allows this sort of thing to continue. Children can be so mean but this is a new, more severe platform. It's more severe because of the anonymous stage the bullies hide on.

There are several websites that provide information about cyberbullying and cyberstalking.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/07/drew_court/
This site is about the mother, daughter and friend who created the MySpace page pretending to be a boy and tormented the girl until she committed suicide. The victim's family filed a civil lawsuit.

http://www.cyberbullying.org/
This organization explains what cyberbullying is and gives examples of technological media devices such as IMing and chat rooms. It also have preventative tips for parents on cyberbullying.

http://www.online-bully.com/index.html
This link is an advertisement for a software program that helps protect children when they are on the internet. It also shares ideas and information on cyberbullying.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-03-06-cover-cyberbullies_x.htm
This article discusses how bullies in the days of old, would pick on the small, fat, unattractive students on the playground. Now the internet is their playground, and they don't need to be the biggest or fastest. They can inflict hurt with the strokes of a keyboard.

http://www.athinline.org/
This is a site for children and teens to learn about what cyberstalking and cyberbullying is about. It has an interactive quiz that teens can take to rate their awareness of cyberbullying.

 http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/category/cyberbullying/
This article is about a girl who sent her boyfriend a "sext" and when they broke up a few weeks later, he sent the image out to his friends and the girl ended up committing suicide. Her parents filed a lawsuit against the boys.

http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying
This site provides facts about cyberbullying. It also discusses other types of violence and encourages its viewers to get involved to stop the violence.

http://www.cyberbullyingprevention.com/
This site has cyberbullying workshop information and examples for viewers to see.

http://middle-school-life.suite101.com/article.cfm/cyberbullying_prevention_tips
This article discusses how some parents found out about their children being bullied. One parent intercepted a phone call from a classmate. She called the phone number back and left a message on the child's voicemail that they needed to meet her, with their mother, in the principal's office in the morning.

http://www.ncpc.org/topics/cyberbullying
This website is the National Crime Prevention Council's page. It discusses cyberbullying and ways parents can detect that their child is being cyberbullied and prevention tips.

There are hundreds of websites on the web that give information about cyberbullying and cyberstalking. This is a growing form of crime with little recourse for victims. Lawmakers need to act to start regulating this technological world. The goodness that the web is supposed to provide has also provided a safe haven for bullies and criminals. Be safe.