Archive for year: 2015

I don’ t watch as much news as I used to many years ago so I haven’t heard of many young people committing suicide or any of the cases that was mentioned in this chapter. I haven’t even heard of the TV show “To Catch a Predator” but I like how people are watching it and it’s spreading awareness to these things that are happening. Hopefully some of the potential predators may change their minds as well about doing anything with young kids online if they are watching. Not only was that sad to read about, but also how cyberbullying is causing these teens/children to comment suicide. When I first started using social media in middle school I could see how most people would like to share more negative comments than positive. I think it’s because they think they are saying these things in a joking matter but over text through a screen the person that is reading the joking comment may take it as being a serious thing being said. I also think that it’s bad enough that students have to be bullied at school but then in this newer generation of growing up with media the bullying is being carried on to their home where they reconnect with these people that have nothing positive to say to them. I remember watching a documentary on Netflix a few years ago about cyberbullying or just bullying in general and I feel that people are trying to help but not enough people are caring about what is going on to help young people stop bullying each other. It’s like people care for a while but then they forget all about the problem.

Chapter 3 “Does Social Networking Kill?”

This chapter was a sad but also an interesting read. The chapter began talking about how new media is the current fear that can possibly alter our moral/cultural beliefs. Then the chapter went into the specifics on cyberbullying. The chapter spoke about how online media makes it difficult for children to be protected, and for parents to be able to protect their kids. I agree that it is a difficult threat to overcome however I also believe that if parents educate their children on the dangers and how to avoid them at an early age it could make a difference. Trying to tackle a problem as it is happing is much more difficult than if the problem was prepared for in advance. People don’t need to be terrified about the internet but they need to be smart about it and know that anything and everything that is put out there is really no longer private at all. However the book explains how with cyberbullying “the messages don’t die” and those individuals are often bullied offline and online, which poses the issue that not everything can be prepared for. Also people respond differently to sensitive topics or the feeling of no control over their environment. Not many people understand others sensitivity levels until the damage is irreversible. One part of the article that caught my eye was on pg. 50 it said that “internet addiction is a new form of mental illness.” This is something that I thought people kind of just made up as a term for people who couldn’t put their phone down or leave the computer, so it was interesting to see it used as an actual term. The part of the article by far that surprised me the most was that teens are the least likely age group to get cyberbullied/commit suicide and that number hasn’t increased. I had to re-read the line that said the ages between 45-54 where the most likely victims of suicide. The chapter also concludes that the issue of social networking really isn’t as bad as people portray it to be. This doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem. The internet has both pros and cons to it but when anyone focuses so much on just the extreme cases it is easy to believe there is a horrifying internet epidemic. People also need to be more sensitive overall and look at the possible consequences of their actions as someone’s life could really be on the line, all because of something someone thought of as a “joke”.

Reading chapter four was a bit intense. Karen touched a very sensitive issue for a lot of individuals in cyberbullying. In chapter four, Karen elaborates on two central fears within media. One is cyberbullying, and the other is online predators. Moreover, the central fear that caught my attention was cyberbullying. The thought that an action such as cyberbullying can push one to their limits and end their life is saddening.

Reading the story about Clement and Ravi was not pleasant. The fact that Ravi exposed Clement’s privacy by setting a webcam, recording his encounters, and exposing his actions was cruel and demoralizing for Clement. This incident provoked Clement to commit suicide and take his own life.

This week was interesting because i can relate it to this chapter. I never experienced cyberbullying personally, but this past week was surreal. I was informed by one of the teens from work that her classmate took his life due to cyberbullying. His classmates were making fun of his homophobia which triggered his action of suicide. Additionally, this morning i was informed by my classmate that her roommate was on the verge of committing suicide last night. Due to stress levels being high, work being overwhelming, and being a student took a toll on her. Thankfully, she’s okay and well.

Lastly, cyberbullying is a very serious issue we need to take serious and into consideration of others. One little comment may trigger the other individual to erratic behavior, and may lead to something tragic.

…a range of annoying and potential menacing online activities- such as receiving threatening messages; having their private emails or text messages forwarded without consent;having an embarrassing picture posted without permission; or having rumors about them spread online.”

For me this article touches me in a different way. When I was younger I was a victim of cyber bulling, my former best friend kept posting on my Myspace page how big of a slut I was and how horrible of a person I was.  And yet no matter how many times I’d erase the comment or blocked him he somehow would plaster it all over his page and made my senior year a big mess. Though I wasn’t suicidal I can relate to the text very easily. It does effect your mentality when someone is slandering you on social media; kids are caring more and more what people think of them on social media because it’s become their world.   This quote above really reiterates what I feel about the different signs of cyber bulling.  I can remember a movie called Cyber-bully; It’s a  really good movie that clearly shows how the effect it can have on a teenager. It’s a scary reality that we all need to kinda be open up to.