Recently I have heard two unrelated news clips on different aspects of cyber bullying. Daniel Radcliffe, in a recent interview, expressed concern for the popularity of social networking sites. His opinion is that, because of the 24/7 nature of the internet, high school students who are being bullied cannot get away from it and it is leading to an increase in teen suicide.
A rising phenomena in adolescent girls has been to post their picture with the question "Am I pretty or Ugly". Some of these pictures have more than a million hits. As you might imagine, the answers range from obscene to evil.
Although not late breaking news stories, they really started me thinking. What do we as educators, as parents, as members of society do to stop this negative effect of the new media age?
Some ideas for good citizenship are noted in this article from Mind Shift. Also, I recommend the website, Define the Line, by researchers at McGill University; a site which, according to Mind Shift, "was recently awarded a digital citizenship grant by Facebook to help further its work in creating materials to open dialogue about finding the line where joking crosses into negative or criminal behavior. The site includes videos and scenarios designed to enhance discussion of real-world digital topics."
(both news segments were on CKNW News 1130)
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