http://www.telegram.com/article/20090115/NEWS/901150734/1116
http://www.darkreading.com/security/privacy/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212900579
Cyber-bullying is defined as repeatedly making fun of another person online or through text messages and emails. Over the past couple of years, cyber-bullying instances have risen. With the media recently focused on the suicide of Megan Meier, I began to do my own research about cyber-bullying. After reading story after story, there was just one question that seemed to stick in my head? What were these parents teaching their children?
Granted, It's wrong to deliberately single out one child and pick on them, but I'm pretty sure we have all experienced at one point in our lives some type of bullying. There is an old adage that says, "I am rubber and you are glue, whatever you say bounces right off of me and sticks back to you." At some point you have to look back at the parents and wonder what did they teach their children?
Cyber-bullying like all bullying is wrong and pointless but my mother always told me whatever doesn't kill you make you stronger. While we are greiving for the thousands of kids who have lost their lives to cyber-bullying, we also should be looking at the parent's parental skills. The basic fundamentals of social interactions we learn from our parents and our family. In order to be that greatly affected, there was some fundamental that wasn't being taught at home--Self-esteem.
Should the parents be accountable for their childrens actions on both ends of the spectrum? Is cyber-bullying just overated? Should there be a different punishment for adults who harrass children and children who harrass children? Is there any effective way to implement cyber-bullying protection?
Cyber-bullying has drastically increased in the past few years. I am personally thankful I did not have a cell phone or MySpace when I was 12 or 13. Life just seems so much more dramatic with the use of technology. Before having a cell phone at the age of 12 was the norm there was less time to spend gossiping. I do not think the parents are to blame for cyber-bullying, but they defiantly play a major rule in the child’s actions. Parents should not allow their children to sit and stare at the computer or phone all day. Other than after school activities, I feel like kids interact less. Before things like myspace, facebook, playstations, and everything else that is so easily distracting, kids actually played outside.
ReplyDeleteCyber-bullying is not over-rated and parents need to be aware of this. This type of bullying is dangerous because the culprit is not able to see the direct affect they have on the victim. Most of the kids who would never interact with this type of behavior are doing so now. The children do not have to be scared about confronting someone in person, because it is so much easier to do it on something like Myspace.
I think an effective way to put an end to cyber-bullying is to have the parents realize what the source is. Most children do not tell their parents they are being bullied, or anything that is going on in their lives. If parents monitor the interactions their children are participating in such as Myspace and texting children would be less likely to be involved in this behavior.
Before reading this post, I had never heard of Cyber-bullying, and after reading the post I think that the problem is not with the parents but with the child. Yes, every child is bullied at some point in there life, but most of this bullying probably takes place at school. School is something that a child is required to go to, so the child in some way has no choice but to face the bullying until it is put to rest. In other words, the bullying is out of their control, but with cyber-bullying, the children are choosing to get on their computers of mobile device. If someone is bothering you on Myspace, then simply remove yourself from the problem and stop getting on. It should be human nature to want to discontinue something that is so hurtful and in your control. This problem could be traced to the parents, but ultimately, I think the child is responsible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew and I think that if the bullying is so bad then the child should just opt to not be on the computer. But when you think about it that really isn't fair at all to that person. Even though we might not like to admit it, computers are a huge part of our lives and most of us wouldn't be able to survive without them. That being said, its totally ridiculous for someone not to able to use a computer because they are getting teased and picked on. I think this problem does boil down directly to the parents. Children should be monitored on the computer until they are old enough to take responsibility for what they are doing on it. If a parent was around to see what was going on most children wouldn't have the nerve to still bother and pick on other kids. Also, if this was happening to your child you could get involved and maybe contact the parents to try to find a solution.
ReplyDeleteI think that parents should be accountable for both ends of the spectrum. If a child is being bullied on the internet, the parent should be fully aware and proceed to take the action that is needed to protect his/her child. If a child is the initiator of the bullying that’s taking place, that parent should also step in and control the situation. Cyber-bullying is definitely not overrated, in fact, its reality. Parents whose children are being victimized by cyber-bullying are probably over looking what’s going on in their own house hold. It’s the parents’ responsibility to be fully aware what is taking place in their children’s lives. I do not think that there is a sure way to tolerate cyber-bullying. However, I do believe that parents should monitor their children’s use of technology.
ReplyDeleteI think that placing the blame totally on the parent(s) is unfair. True, a child does begin to learn the "basics of fundamental interaction" at home but it does not stop there. The truth is that children spend more time at school amongst their peers than they do at home with their parents. So while a parent should without a doubt know what's going on with their children at home the reality is that a lot of kids are not talking to their parents about what is going on at school. In this regard I believe that it is also the school's responsibility to implement anti-bullying programs. Maybe have an assembly once every 6-9 week period. Implement rules and regulations that punish students who harass others during school hours. Have PTA meetings serve a dual-purpose that include cyber-bullying behavior and how to recognize it. I believe that this needs to be a joint effort on the part of the parent, school and student. Yes, the parent should be proactive and take an interest in their child's everyday activity but that doesn't dispute the fact that these children are not talking. So how do we fix this? I think that the biggest problem arises with the generation gap. The new generation is a technologically advanced one and it may be difficult for parents to realize the extent of damage that cyber-bullying (which is clearly not overrated) can cause. I think that this is where programs such as the one in the article can help inform parents. And for Christ's sake, take the computers out of the children's room!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that parents should be left 100% accountable for their children’s actions when it comes to cyber-bullying. I’m not saying that the parents have nothing to do with their kid’s actions, or that they don’t have any influence on them whatsoever, but there also comes a time when a child starts to think for him/herself. The most a parent could do is teach their child right from wrong, and correct them whenever their child misbehaves. But when the parent isn’t looking, a child is capable of anything—especially if they know they won’t get caught. Cyberspace, I think, is the place where people feel like they can be anyone they want, hence sexual predators on the internet. Although the internet it is a resourceful place, it is also very dangerous. You never know who you may be looking at your profiles, etc. I do think that adults and children should have different punishments for cyber bullying. I think that adults should have a harsher punishment. This may come off as opinionated, but I don’t see how any hardworking adult even has time to “cyber-bully”. I know that getting on the internet to pick on helpless people would never even cross either of my parents’ minds. Parents should know better, set the examples for their kids, have lives. I really can’t think of any effective ways to get rid of cyber-bullying, except for monitoring your child’s actions on the computer, and preventing them to do certain things.
ReplyDeleteAt first when I read the title, I was kind of dumbfounded. I really didn't think that this sort of thing was that serious. I remember being in chat rooms and playing online games back when I was 10-14 years old, but I never got the feeling of being bullied. When I think about it it does bring up memories of how gossip and rumors can quickly be spread throughout. I can see how people would post gossip up to get back at a person and I remember this happening to several people that I know.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of these articles about kids nowadays being bullied I couldn't even imagine. with all the different Myspaces out there now i believe its easier than ever for people to do this. I think the only way to prevent this is to simply monitor the child's online activity, they make all kinds of parental controls for this sort of thing. Kids should not be able to access these sites until there parents believe they can deal with what is going on, on the internet.
I don't think that there is any other way other than restricting access to the internet that this can be avoided. There is a lot of good and a lot of bad on the internet and until kids understand to distinguish between the two they just shouldn't use it. I think we can all agree that a child mind can wander, and with the help of the internet it can wander even more, with parental supervision I think their minds can wander in the right direction.
I don't think that parents should be entirely accountable for the actions of their kids. Yes, they should constantly teach and enforce issues like this but they can only do so much when the effects of harrassment and peer-pressure become present in a child's life. Children should go to their parents with problems caused by cyber-bullying or any problems they are having for that matter. How can a parent try to fix something if they don't even know its happening? At this point, the parents could do things such as take their computer away and if the problem worsens, notify their school. I don't think that this problem will end anytime soon because once one gossip website is shut down possibly as a form of protection, another will immediately pop up. I believe that parents and children should have the same punishment in this type of issue. A child knows what they are doing when bullying in general, not just over the internet, and they know the effects they could possibly have over another individual and because of this they should be tried as an adult.
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