Teens, adults, and everyone in between flock to social networking sites like new age flies to electronic feces. Sites such as Myspace and Facebook have grown exponentially since they have been created; gaining thousands of new users every day. Following cell phones and email, these websites were quickly becoming the next step to the future of social networking. This new technology has allowed people to make many new “friends” in a short amount of time, while also keeping in contact with old ones. However, social networking websites are slowly diminishing many vital aspects of today’s society, and its social skills. Most importantly, seemingly friendly websites like Twitter, and Friendster have built the foundation for the new age “cyber bully”, as well as creating many problems pertaining to privacy and personal security.
Let’s investigate the world of online social networking from the bottom up, following the unveiling of these websites through the eyes of a high school parent. The parent explores the idea with a panel of five and finds they are a means of personal expression and getting attention for students and parents alike. A student that was a part of this discussion adds that he prefers online social networking to face to face interaction because “it’s not as demanding,” and he has time to think in between responses. Researchers at the MacArthur foundation claim that children are protected and their personal information “is considered as off-limits to adults as a locked diary.” Though this article tells the audience about many positive aspects of online communication and social networking, they don’t leave out the fact that “parents have legitimate concerns when it comes to the dark side of online interaction, including bullying and cyber security issues. Many also worry their children don't fully grasp how the content they post online can be viewed by future employers.”
These websites are clearly a hit with the younger audience, as getting attention and personal expression are desired by growing teenagers. But the claim that children’s personal web pages are inaccessible by adults, predators, and bullies alike is a false sense of security. I know from personal experience that all members of Myspace have full control over their privacy settings. If a child chooses to, their personal information may be available to anyone who decides to browse it. Not only this, but messages may be sent to users even if their privacy settings are set to block out strangers. With positives come negatives, and its clear that within the millions of members on these websites, some users will use them as tools for mischief. It is now apparent that social networking sites are very popular with today’s generation, but could there be some dangers involved?
“One in five children falls victim to the cyber bullies” is a newspaper article that elaborates on the fact that online social networking is not always fun and games. A study was done by T-Mobile that “asked 3,000 11-16 year olds across the country if they had received bullying text messages and emails.” The results were unfortunate, showing that “Of those questioned, 46 per cent said the messages made them feel threatened and a further 44 per cent were embarrassed to have been victimised.” Verbal attacks from “hi-tech predators” didn’t just end at name calling. The article states that bullies have been known to go as far as posting degrading videos on public sites like YouTube, according to the YouGov poll. One might assume that this type of crude and demeaning behavior is aimed only towards younger victims. However, a different study also concluded that “one-fifth of all teachers north of the Border claimed they had suffered abuse from pupils via websites or mobile phones,” and “Some staff also reported that their faces had been superimposed onto pornographic images which were then posted on the internet.” These statistics go to show the new, horrible forms of social terrorism bullys are capable of due to the increasing popularity and constant use of social networking sites by people today. On the bright side, the findings in these studies have birthed a new internet and texting service called “TxtUp StandUp” which will allow for students or victims of online bullies to give and get advice through text messages or online.
The previous article reaffirmed some of my thoughts about online social networking while teaching me about other downfalls of them. We all hear about sexual predators that prey on young children through online chat rooms, however, it seems little attention has been paid to smaller scale issues such as online bullies which can also make a substantial negative impact on a person’s morale, reputation, and self image. The fact that twenty percent of children fall victim to this unethical behavior says a lot about the often unmentioned, darker aspects of online networking. If a student is bullied at school, he/she knows who is verbally attacking them, and can take the proper steps to stop the attacker from repeating that behavior. However, the security and anonymity available to anyone online can empower the bully, while weakening his targets ability to protect themselves from the verbal or visual attacks. Being bullied at school with the security of teachers around and the ability to get help from an authority almost right away seems like heaven compared to the possibility of seeing a demeaning video of oneself posted on Youtube by an anonymous account. I think that technology and social networking sites have simply given bullies another medium of picking on their peers.
The article, “With friends like these . . .,” deals with common online situations and how they should be handled appropriately on the web, and sometimes in real life. The first situation poses the hypothetical situation of one’s boss wanting to add them on Facebook. Two experts, “Anna Post, the great-great-granddaughter of manners guru Emily Post, is an author and associate with the Emily Post Institute, she specializes in 21st-century etiquette,” and Connie Reece, “one of 25 recent American-Statesman Texas Social Media Award Winners, is the founder of Every Dot Connects, an Austin social media company,” give their advice on how to act in these often tricky situations. “Connie Reece: If you're uncomfortable with it, don't add him. If he brings it to your attention, reply that you use that network solely for personal, not professional, relationships. Remember that if your Twitter account is public, your boss can follow and read your "tweets" without your reciprocating. Think twice before venting about work; once you hit "send," you can't take your words back. On Facebook, you can sort friends into groups that you create, and you can set privacy controls accordingly.” Another situation mentioned in the article talks about friends posting unflattering photos of one in a group. The expertise given from Anna and Connie advises that you politely ask your friend to take the photo down if it makes you uncomfortable or is considered cyber-bullying. Connie also adds, “if you were having a bad hair day or your smile was encased in three yards of metal, then suck it up. We all looked like dorks in high school.”
“Suck it up” sounds like some harsh advice coming from an owner of an Austin social media company. The problem here is, a victim of cyber-bullying has essentially no control over what crude comments, pictures, or videos are posted on the web concerning them. Sure, a good friend will have no problem deleting a bad picture of you from their Facebook photo album, but a bully will be filled with glee as their victim hopelessly begs them to delete a demeaning or private picture posted to Myspace or Facebook from a quickly composed, new, and anonymous account. Reconsider the first situation stated in the previous article. Hypothetically speaking, a college student’s boss added him/her on Facebook, only to find incriminating photos of that individual at a party, surrounded by other students drinking. The boss might fire his employee for the acts he engaged in while off duty; these acts would have otherwise never been considered had the boss and employee not been friends on an online social networking site. Keeping in touch with old friends is great, but once text or visual media posted online interferes with someone’s real personal or professional life, a line is being crossed.
Online social networking sites do offer a chance for people to make new connections, and maintain current ones, but the negative aspects outweigh the positive in a few important areas. Through my research, I have concluded that parents of the younger users of social networking websites should closely monitor their children’s use and conduct online. Important private information may be used against a user; they are prone to verbal or visual attacks by cyber bullies, and the use of the website may interfere with the user’s security in real life.
Bibliography
Jane Simpson."One in five children falls victim to the cyber bullies [Scot Region]. " Mail on Sunday [London (UK)] 15 Mar. 2009,15. ProQuest Newsstand. ProQuest. KCLS, Federal Way, WA. 15 Mar. 2009
Omar L. Gallaga."With friends like these . . . " Austin American Statesman [Austin, Tex.] 14 Mar. 2009,F.1. ProQuest Newsstand. ProQuest. KCLS, Federal Way, WA. 16 Mar. 2009
Wailin Wong. . "Social media another facet of teens' lives. " Chicago Tribune [Chicago, Ill.] 12 Feb. 2009,1.25. Chicago Tribune. ProQuest. KCLS, Federal Way, WA. 10 Mar. 2009
You've mischaracterized my "suck it up" comment as harsh by taking it out of context. The first part of my answer was this: "If the photo and comments could be considered cyber-bullying, speak out." The interviewer's original question to me was also abridged in the final published edition. As posed, the question included this: "Should you ask them to take down the photo, even if others have already posted positive comments about it?"
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing in the question that even hinted at cyber-bullying, yet I included it in my answer because I recognize the very real threat of cyber-bullying. On the other hand, a lot of people post old, awkward photos of people that are just that, awkward. No bullying involved.