For most men bullying is something that is almost considered a norm. Bullying is seen as a way to express and create dominance over another individual so it is something that has been rather common among young men. Adding the internet and these social networking sites that are all of today’s craze just adds another weapon to these boy’s arsenal. With the added use of cell phones it can be done in a matter of seconds and will become visible to a wide array of the students peers. For young men I think cyberbullying is a problem that can go a little bit unnoticed as it takes confrontations off the playground and posts them on Facebook instead.
For girls bullying is not something that is usually seen in public as it is in boys. Girls generally bully by word of mouth and tend to start rumors and spread them throughout their friends who then pass it on to others. Now take this problem and add the internet and the problem again grows because they have a new way of starting a rumor by simply changing their status. Children now days can bully each other avoiding confrontation which allows for even the more timid of them to join in this problem. With the use of cyber space I think it has become more apparent as to how much bullying actually goes with girls as it does with boys.
Cyberbullying is a major issue in today’s society. Cyberbullying has been blamed for the suicide of many young men and women who are seen as different by their peers for a number of reasons including sexuality and for being overweight. The creation of the internet and social networking websites have added yet another way for today’s children, and even a few adults for that matter, to belittle and degrade one another. I don’t think that cyberbullying is a bigger problem for one gender, but I do believe that it is a tool that can be utilized by both males and females. As a percentage I think more girls use cyberbullying as a means to bully one another but with boys I think it is probably a smaller percentage seeing how they will still bully in places such as the park or at recess. In general I think boys and girls will utilize cyberbullying about the same so in that context I don’t think it’s a bigger problem for either, but a problem for both none the less.
Would adding a filter restricting the use of certain words help to control cyberbullying on websites such as Facebook and Twitter?
At what age should parents inform children of the danger and possible repercussions associated with cyberbullying?
First of all, I like the idea of filtering certain words, but believe it would be a restriction of free speech. Maybe they could highlight the word and say...do you really want to use this word?... :)
ReplyDeleteIn response to your second question, I think parents have the responsibility to educate their children about cyberbullying and its consequences. I believe the appropriate age would be when they begin to use technology such as phones and the internet. I'm sure parents can somehow monitor what their child is doing on phones/home computers, but whether a parent would like do that is up to each family. I think it's important to know that children are being prosecuted for cyberbullying that went further than they probably ever imagined!
I completely agree with your second paragraph. Avoiding confrontation will only make more people feel like they can bully someone. Parents should inform their children at age 14, when they start highschool. My kids won't have a facebook until then, because I hope they will actually be doing something with their lives rather than wasting time on the internet.
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