Cyber-Bullying, finally something being done?
Friday, November 20th, 2009I decided I wanted to know a little more about this little known subject and then in turn share my findings with the masses. Firstly I thought that if you’re logging onto social networking and seeing offensive material why not just stop using those sites? But with that being a somewhat narrow minded opinion (bolstered by the frowns and comments from the guys in the office) I needed to dig deeper…
Wikipedia seem to have a good description of what it is; “…when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person…” ok, that’s clear cut but there’s also Cyber-stalking which is the same thing only in adults so its specific to age too, nought beyond teenagers it seems.
So what has been happening? What is so bad that it’s making some children incredibly depressed and some even suicidal? I’m certainly not going to rake at old wounds so to speak as I wouldn’t want to recount bad memories for people but this is certainly a growing concern. It boils down to spiteful teenagers picking on other teenagers usually in groups – something that’s been going on in playgrounds for decades – but now bullying has turned ‘virtual’. I know that BEBO are taking steps with its new ‘Panic Button’ but could we not show our children how to ‘Print Screen’ so as to gather evidence on the offenders? Surely presenting a small stack of screen grabs with the names or even pictures of the offenders to police would be enough to warrant a visit to see that child’s parents? Some may argue that this would only make things worse but if you feel so depressed as to being near suicide then it couldn’t really be any worse.
I still feel that if parents were made aware of what their children were actually doing online instead of just answering ‘yes’ when asked ‘can I go on the computer please’ this would be more of a step in the right direction. The internet is a VERY powerful medium; if parents fail to put any restrictions in place on the computer then their kids have access to ANYTHING! I’ve had the internet for many years now and I can safely say I’ve seen things I wish I hadn’t, often sent via Email from friends or colleagues, some funny some completely unfunny – some downright disgusting to be honest. Operating systems are now implementing more parental controls to allow parents more control but do parents know or are indeed aware that this exists? Perhaps a campaign to all desktop/laptop manufacturers to include a guide to setting up parental controls bundled with all hardware would be sufficient. The excuse ‘Computers scare me’ from parents needs to be a thing of the past.
