Obviously, cyber bullying is a problem among adolescents. Because of technology, false, defaming, private, degrading, or embarrassing information about an individual can spread throughout an entire town in a matter of minutes. Not only does technology allow information to spread rapidly, it also provides a cloak of anonymity or at least the illusion of separation so that common courtesies and civility are abandoned. The difficulty in stopping cyber bullying lies in the futility of telling teenagers to do or not to do something. As educators and parents know, telling adolescents things affects this age group very little. In order to initiate understanding, students have to care about what they are learning. They should be introduced to an idea, shown how the idea is relevant to their lives and the real world, and be inspired to have some type of affective response. I think that the PSA "Cyberbullying- Talent Show" by the Ad Council and Take a Bite out of Crime is a nice introduction to cyber bullying and can serve as a gateway (I used it as an anticipatory set in my lesson plan last week) to getting students to care about the effects of cyber bullying as a real life social problem.
The video depicts a school talent show at which a female student gets on stage and calmly and confidently degrades another student who is in the audience, mortified. The speaker says cruel and hurtful things while the victim watches in shock and sadness, which makes the viewer feel sympathy toward the victim and anger toward the speaker. The viewer is inclined to view the bully as "the bad guy," not someone to emulate. Simultaneously, we want to take some action to protect the victim, because we feel sad for her. The message at the end of the video is, "if you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it online." This poignant message may state the obvious, but its beauty lies in its simplicity. It takes the traditional rules of civility and common courtesy that everyone knows and applies them to the contemporary virtual world. In a way, it connects the dots between the "real' world and the online world for those who have been unable to connect them themselves. Also, since being "two-faced," "phony," or "fake" is considered uncool, saying something online that one would not say to another person's face is portrayed as such, which will resonate with adolescents. Instead of making a general claim or presenting viewers with a problem without telling them what they can actually do about the problem, the video gives some clear, simple instructions as the end: "Delete cyber bullying. Don't write it. Don't forward it." These are effective measures that kids can take that will reduce cyber bullying.
Of course, cyber bullying is not the fault of technology, but of its irresponsible use. Technology is not the problem, an ignorance of the social courtesies of the virtual world is. By teaching about contemporary social responsibility, we can make cyber bullying something that is unpopular, frowned upon, disdained, and ignored. If it becomes "uncool," it cannot thrive in the adolescent world.
The video depicts a school talent show at which a female student gets on stage and calmly and confidently degrades another student who is in the audience, mortified. The speaker says cruel and hurtful things while the victim watches in shock and sadness, which makes the viewer feel sympathy toward the victim and anger toward the speaker. The viewer is inclined to view the bully as "the bad guy," not someone to emulate. Simultaneously, we want to take some action to protect the victim, because we feel sad for her. The message at the end of the video is, "if you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it online." This poignant message may state the obvious, but its beauty lies in its simplicity. It takes the traditional rules of civility and common courtesy that everyone knows and applies them to the contemporary virtual world. In a way, it connects the dots between the "real' world and the online world for those who have been unable to connect them themselves. Also, since being "two-faced," "phony," or "fake" is considered uncool, saying something online that one would not say to another person's face is portrayed as such, which will resonate with adolescents. Instead of making a general claim or presenting viewers with a problem without telling them what they can actually do about the problem, the video gives some clear, simple instructions as the end: "Delete cyber bullying. Don't write it. Don't forward it." These are effective measures that kids can take that will reduce cyber bullying.
Of course, cyber bullying is not the fault of technology, but of its irresponsible use. Technology is not the problem, an ignorance of the social courtesies of the virtual world is. By teaching about contemporary social responsibility, we can make cyber bullying something that is unpopular, frowned upon, disdained, and ignored. If it becomes "uncool," it cannot thrive in the adolescent world.
No comments:
Post a Comment