Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Digital Bullying, A Thin Line Between Harmless and Harmful

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/tech/web/online-bullying-poll/index.html?hpt=us_t4- READ THIS

As I was casually strolling the CNN website I cam across this article that I feel is very relevant to our age group. To summarize the articles says that more than half of teens and young adults have been harassed online.

"That's up from 50 percent in a similar 2009 survey.Some of the most common forms of harassment include posting something online that's not true, writing things online that are "mean" and sharing texts or other messages that were meant to stay private, according to the results."


1 out of every 3 students also said they had partaken in the act of "sexting" which is basically sending and receiving lewd texts and possibly nude images. Personally I dont see the issue of sexting as harmful as that of online bullying but it is a growing issue that a lot of parents are worried about.


MTV has started a campaign called "A Thin Line" to help address the issues of online bullying. They explain the campaign as one that " is built on the understanding that there's a 'thin line' between what may begin as a harmless joke and something that could end up having a serious impact on you or someone else," MTV writes on the campaign's website. "We know no generation has ever had to deal with this, so we want to partner with you to help figure it out." 


As someone who had suffered minor bullying in my middle school days I know what it feels like to be targeted online. It is a very hurtful feeling and one that can destroy ones confidence and self-esteem. Everyone handles bullying differently and we need to wake up and realize that sometimes a joke might be more than just a joke to someone else.

8 comments:

  1. Bullying is a major issue is our society, that is far too focused on supremacy and who could beat up who, in a literal and metaphorical sense.

    I share the same feeling that everyone needs to wake up and realize what exactly is going on. Back in high school, I found myself in a few situations where I had to refrain some of my "friends" from making drastic remarks that perhaps would have been harmful to those intended to receive it.

    Luckily on campus I have yet to come across a bullying incident. Not to underplay the subject, but I feel once people get to college, almost everyone is mature enough to accept people for who they are, or at least at Trinity.

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  2. I'm not surprised at all with the statistics that were given in this CNN article. I've seen many cases of online bullying through Facebook. I even think bullying has become more of an issue online, and less in the real world. With the internet, people are able to use hurtful language while feeling protected behind the computer screen. This gives people the confidence to say more than what they ever would in face to face interaction.

    I agree with RJ that since I've transitioned to college I've seen less bullying. But I also think that most freshman are going to enter college as friendly as possible in order to make friends. Once cliques are formed which they most likely will, I'm sure bullying continues to be prevalent.

    Lastly building off E-Moneys comment on "sexting", I agree that it should not be considered a main topic when talking about bullying. If your wise enough not to send naked pictures to others then you won't. Because nine times out of ten others will see them. Good judgement is the main point regarding that specific topic.

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  3. I really liked your post. Online bullying and harrasment is certainly a huge issue for our age group but especcially for highschoolers. Laws against bullying have become so much more strict because of the recent events over the past year. Especially the one where that girl committed suicide because she was being harrassed so much. Good post.

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  4. I agree with everyone that online bullying should stop, and more steps should be taken to address this. In this modern age, where everybody seems to be texting and facebooking all the time, it seems inevitable that online bullying occurs. Somebody always seems to be suffering from it nowadays. However, I believe that as our government catches up to the technology era, more legislation will be passed that will cut down online bullying. It was funny when in class, we discussed how facebook can track whatever websites its members go to, even when they aren't signed in to facebook. Someday facebook won't have access to this private information, and hopefully someday online bullying is more of a punishable offense.

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  5. I thought your post was really interesting and relevant to today's society because in the past few years many teenagers have been committing suicide due to bullying. About two years ago a girl who lived in a town 20 minutes from where I'm from killed herself because she was being viciously bullied at school and online. It was interesting to read about MTV trying to address the issue of bullying. I think their anti-bullying program will be influential because so many teenagers watch MTV, so hopefully the message will get across.

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  6. Okay. So looks like we like this topic. So Who is bringing updates to class tomorrow then? Pop Culture people? idk. Its fair game for anyone though.

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  7. E-Money, I feel that this was a very well written post and you clearly showed how you felt about the issue of bullying. You made it clear to the readers that bullying is a very prevalent issue in society today and is something we must act on. The most interesting part to me was the idea that MTV is starting "a thin line" campaign. As a generation,we have grown up with MTV and have learned a lot from the shows on there, so we value what they tell us. I really appreciate the effort they are putting into this. As for you getting bullied, you should give us the names of the kids that did that to you! :) Overall this was a well written post!

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  8. Ed, I think that you chose a highly relevant topic in today's society. Bullying, especially cyber-bullying, is such a big issue that needs to be addressed. It's good to know that well-known businesses such as MTV are starting campaigns against it. Your post also reminds me of a story I read about Lady GaGa asking President Obama to help stop bullying at a fundraiser a few days ago. She referred to the suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer and then insisted that bullying be considered a hate crime. I think that it's important that celebrities are getting involved in tackling this issue. I'm glad you wrote about this topic since it is often in the news!

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