Cyberbullying
According to
Bynum’s (2015) article, Computer and
Information Ethics, that refers to a kind of professional ethics in which
computer professionals apply codes of ethics and standards of good practices
within their profession. However, does
this apply children especially if their intentions go awry and they decide to
use technology to degrade and bully other students? This is the case with cyberbullying that
shares some basic elements with traditional bullying in that it is about relationships,
power, and control where bullies attempt to establish illegitimate power and
control over their victims according to, Erb (2006). The thing that sets cyberbullying apart from
traditional bullying, more than just the use of technology, is the anonymity of
the person or persons posting the comment(s) and the much larger audience that
can see the posting or message. In
addition, the cyberbullying can take place 24/7 and it is outside the legal
realm of schools (when done outside school grounds), yet, can impair student
academic performance.
Cyberbullying
can take the form in the following 7 ways as suggested by Willard (2005);
Other such virtual venues can be created such as
voting or polling booths where webpages can be created and students can vote
for the “ugliest” ,” “fattest,” or “dumbest” boy and girl in the school, having
devastating consequences on the hapless students that are included in the
contest. Equally disturbing is the fact
that each example of the cyberbullying presented can take place under adult
supervision without them even knowing.
Although Keith and Martin (2005) suggest that it is the responsibility
of parents to monitor their children’s computer use, they admit that this can
be tricky. Acknowledging that adults
often use technology as practical tools, their children may view it as more of
a way to communicate with peer groups.
With the various modes of communication, a child can be completing
homework on one screen and switch to another and engage in bullying activities
without the parents even knowing, or on a different electronic device.
Next, is a
brief look from statistical information collected from Hinduja and Patchin
(2015) depicting the different forms of cyberbullying that takes place in one middle
school in the Midwest. Not only does the
bar graph show the percentage of the kids that have suffered from
cyberbullying, but even more surprising, was the different forms of bullying that
took place online from “hateful” comments to impersonating another to inflict
humiliation.
Because of the increased access to technology and the
understanding that students can remain anonymous, things that many would not
say face-to-face can now be communicated without being identified, increasing
the amount of bullying that takes place at school can now follow student’s home
around the clock.
So, with the complexion
of school bullying changing due to technological advances, a student can now be
bullied around the clock. Therefore,
schools have instituted student education programs, developed anti-bullying
school board policies (both infraction and discipline), provided parent
education, established relationship with local police departments, encouraged
students to report cyberbullying, and all this must be done while walking a
tightrope to protect students affected by cyberbullying without trampling on
the free speech rights of bullies (Beale & Hall, 2007). In addition, many states have been forced to
adopt anti-bullying laws when the results of the bullying leads to much more
serious results. For example, in
Massachusetts the suicide of 15-year old Phoebe Prince after months of bullying
from schoolmates prompted swift reform of the Massachusetts bullying law (Kueny
& Zirkel, 2012). The paradigm then
that exists is what can schools do? What
should states do? The reality is that
anti-bullying laws have increased in recent years, however, they generally lack
sanctions or incentives, thus leaving implementation and enforcement in
question. Only four states-Deleware,
Florida, Georgia, and Utah-specify possible consequences (Kueny & Zirkel,
2012). As an educator I see the reality
of cyberbullying outside the grasp of school personnel and outside the realm of
parents unless they are monitoring their child’s activities on a screen
24/7. Furthermore, the ability to track
the instigator or bully will continue to be a challenge, putting further strain
on a school that has the immediate challenge of educating kids, let alone dealing
with bullying on their own campuses.
References
Beale, A. V.,
& Hall, K. R. (2007). Cyberbullying: what school administrators
(and parents) can do. The Clearing House, 81(1), 8-12.
Erb, T. (2006). Cyberbullying: A growth threat to
young adolescent well-being. Middle School
Journal, 21-22.
Hinduja, S.,
& Patchin, J. W. (2015, February). Cyberbullying victimaization.
Retrieved from http://cyberbullying.org/2015-data/
Keith, S.,
& Martin, M. E. (2005). Cyber-bullying: creating a culture of
respect in a cyber world. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 13(4),
224-228.
Kueny, M. T.,
& Zirkel, P. A. (2012). An analysis of school anti-bullying laws
in the United States. Middle School Journal, 43(4), 22-31.
Willard, N.
(2005). An educator's guide to cyberbullying and cyberthreats. Retrieved from http://csriu.org/cyberbullying/pdf
Chris: as a high school teacher, I was immediately drawn to your post. Just a few weeks ago, we had a cyberbullying event at my school. A male student, mad at a female student for not showing interest in him, sent her some intimidating text messages, of which she shared with her mother. He was promptly suspended from school and say before a disciplinary board. One of the most dangerous elements of cyberbullying, as illustrated by this case, was that the young man did not initially see it as bullying; he said that the ‘cyber’ element of the engagement felt disconnected and impersonal, and that text messages “didn’t really count” when interacting with sometime. After all, he reasoned, people send the heart emoji all the time, but that doesn’t mean they actually love each other. His logic, although flawed, is illustrative of the nasty, emerging nature of cyberbullying… that ironically, being networked can make the bullying act feel disconnected and impersonal. I can see this play out in the mind of the teenager. Albeit wrong, it does take an act of misplaced courage, swagger, and intimacy to bully someone to their face. This, I imagine, is why crimes of stabbing are often very personal, whereas gunshot crimes do not necessary have to be… you must be up close and personal to (traditionally) bully someone. Now, you do not need to be, and that distance serves as an impersonal between the bully and the victim.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much of the impersonal nature of cyberbullying comes from the examples teenagers see from those they raise up on pedestals. How often do we see athletes and celebrities quickly tweet out something nasty and inappropriate, delete the tweet, and then be forgiven by society because those tweets became out-of-sight, out-of-mind? Athletes feud over twitter all the time, only to chalk it up to “competitive sports banter.” Or the Twitter feud between (insert pop singer’s name here)… Taylor Swift, Katie Perry, Nicki Minaj, etc. Young teenagers see this as acceptable behavior because their ‘stars’ behave this way. Then, often with poor decision-making skills, sent similar texts/emails/tweets, etc to whomever. This is not to excuse their behavior, but in a way recognize the fragile, conditioned nature of their behavior, and how impressionable they are. No excuse of their bullying, but no excuse for those celebrities, stars, or athletes either.
Cheers! Creighton Helms
Nice post, and liked the followup by Creighton. More good information can be found at http://cyberbully.org/
ReplyDeleteI continue to be both amazed and disheartened by the proliferation of anonymous services like Yik Yak that seem to promote cyberbullying.
Hi Chris. What a great post! Cyberbullying is a real problem these days. As a father of a six year old girl, I am fearful of what she will encounter in the future, regarding hurtful posts from others that could be considered cyberbullying. It seems so much more complex than in the old days where a verbal interaction was the predominant context. However, I suspect that it might be easier to detect and address with social media since there is a footprint. However, I also realize that kids do not always tell adults what is going on in their lives, especially when they have problems, which is very concerning. In my view, being an involved parent when it comes to social media and online rules seems to be the best course of action, but again, this is something that I have not yet had to face with my child.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteWorking on these topics this week helped reveal more subjects that are involved in computer technology that some think. Ethics in social media, my topic, revealed some of the items that you mention in your post. Cyberbullying has so many extensions and can be seen as a true threat to anyone on the receiving end. Being at an age where I was able to be young and see all social media sites come to life, I know too well about how young people can abuse these items to harm others. Masquerading was something I was a victim of several times. Also, the constant stalking of salespeople was something I found to be very unethical when dealing when internet sales. As it relates to public access, what do you feel can occur to help prevent more people from having the ability to hurt others from the web? Thanks.
Jimmy
Chris,
ReplyDeleteLike Creighton, I am a high school teacher, and there have been so many incidents of cyberbullying in my short four year career, that I am beginning to feel disheartened about the topic. Just this academic year, I have students who have brought screen shots of intimidating conversations sent to them, and it shocks me how students I perceive to be well-mannered and kind in the classroom can spew such hatred toward their peers. You are right in remarking that cyberbullying is concerning because of the anonymity of texting, snapchatting, using Yik Yak, or any other form of social media. Children do not have to cope with the live reactions of those they are insulting. This is leading to a growing sense of apathy, in my opinion. As Creighton stated, students do not perceive bullying as such, and they feel a sort of detachment from their words. This is highly concerning, as it is indicative of a lack of personal responsibility. And what are we as educators supposed to do? What are parents supposed to do? I am somewhat encouraged by the widespread non-profits such as The Kind Campaign (https://www.kindcampaign.com/) whose approaches are preventative. However, I think we are dealing with a growing apathy and ethical indifference in this generation, and it penetrates a myriad of ethical issues, including many we are exploring in our class this week. I do not know how we fix this, but the issue is concerning and quite upsetting to me. All I can think is that we continue to try to prevent cyberbullying by attempting to educate our students and our children on empathy and care for their peers.
Thank you for sharing on this critical issue this week.
- Katie
Chris,
ReplyDeleteYour discussion post speaks volumes regarding cyber bullying. Although often unacknowledged by some, this form of harassment has become the new form of intimidation. Individuals (mostly adolescents) post vile comments, pictures, or material to social media websites, thus creating a hostile environment. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, this happens all too often in media platforms where the perpetrator is routinely, anonymous. Thus, providing an added level of victimization to the intended individual, as well as inculcating a fearful environment.
Consequently, did you know that adults also perform acts of cyber bullying on other adults? When this occurs it routinely entails persecuting others over religious, political, or deeply held beliefs, resulting in humiliation and torment for the victim. Thank you for the educational discussion post.
Kevin
As an educator this particular topic is concerning and as a mother, I luckily have not yet had to deal with it in my own home. I have two high school boys who are almost grown, but as my daughter is only six I wonder what she will face in the future. Will laws change to have more impact on perpetrators or hosting sites? Will future generations be safer or will laws for cyberbullying be ineffective like stalking laws were for such a long time and to a certain extent still are? Without 24/7 monitoring how will we put a stop to such activities? And having all online activity monitored sound a bit like invasion of privacy, so how do we balance protection with privacy? Realistically we cannot rely on parents to monitor their children all the time, if that was possible we would not have the teenage pregnancy statistics we do. Teaching our children to be upstanders for one another is our best hope. Our greatest natural resource is our children, and even though they are part of the problem they are our greatest hope for a solution. Creating empathy and courage in our children to reach out to others is not an easy task, but it is our best defense against the lack of empathy that the anonymity of the internet gives to some.
ReplyDelete