When it comes to cyber-bullying I’ve heard two sides to this, 1) That it is a national crisis and that it is awful & 2) that it doesn’t really matter, kids are unaffected by it and it’s not any different from real bullying. I’d have to say that cyber-bullying doesn’t really fit under either of these umbrellas. I think that the term “cyber-bullying” is a bit too inclusive in some areas and not as inclusive as it should be in others. For example, I don’t think that anytime someone is talked down to on Facebook they take it personally and are deeply wounded by that one sentence typed to them. At the same time, online games such as found on XBOX live where people are continuously speaking hurtful words to each other can have negative effects.
I’ve had people call me names in comments or in chat rooms, it may hurt at first but then I forget about it later. But at the same time if someone I didn’t know in real life called me a name or made fun of me it wouldn’t really matter that much either. People who I don’t know usually don’t impact me, that’s just my personality, I can evade those hurtful judgments because I know they don’t really know me. But someone I know and knows me is in a good position to put me down and really cause some harm. This also goes for online. So I think this is where people can get too sensitive with what cyber-bullying does. Sure you have people who feel comfortable saying whatever they want because they can hide behind a fake username and a keyboard, but most people (studies show) aren’t effected by that. I think that cyber-bullying and real life bullying work in similar fashions. (This obviously excludes physical harm being done, I don’t know of a parallel for this on the internet).
When it comes to online video games where there is a headset and players can converse directly to one another, I think this has potential for doing emotional damage. Sure if I don’t know someone and they call me a name, like I said, it might hurt at first but I’ll get over it. But if different people called me names throughout my day walking across campus, I would start to be effected by that as I’m sure anyone would. This is what I feel is the difference in online video games. People constantly feel the need to talk down to other people, it’s this perpetuation that I feel makes the real difference in the effects of cyber-bullying.
Cyber-bullying, like the internet, is always changing. There are new additions to it everyday just like some other corners of the internet become obsolete everyday. I think it’s important for people to realize how personal things can be taken even if you aren’t saying them to their face. I don’t condone of any sort of cyber-bullying whether its a one time shot at somebody or if it’s a perpetual verbal beat down of others. I think the internet is a great tool to have and can provide loads of entertainment, it always saddens me when people take advantage of its anonymity.
Anonymity is the biggest reason why I think cyber bullying exists. People kind of hide behind usernames and keyboards and just go all out, much like you said, which really says something about our society as a whole. If we could get away with it, would we do it? That's what cyber bullying boils down to me. Oh and the whole angry gaming thing has just become so stereotypical of our culture that sometimes I feel people use it as a vehicle to fit in with friends. Anyways, that's off topic. Good read and great points.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that bullying can cause more harm when the person knows you than when it’s just a random person that is trying to cause you harm. I also think that, in some situations, cyber bullying from a random person can also be equally as effective as bullying from a person who knows you if the bullying touches on certain insecurities or struggles that you may have/ face. For example, if I was gay, and it was a sensitive issue for me, I would probably still find it as harmful if a random person cyber bullied me on my sexual preference. I have never taught of cyber bullying, or even bullying in general, in these terms before.
ReplyDeleteI Definitely agree with what you are saying. I have not thought about bullying in these terms before and being a victim as well to people saying mean things out of no where doesn't really phase me either because I know later, I'll forget about it. Yet, that is not the case for all and people should be more considerate of that.
ReplyDeleteWith stuff like Xbox Live, I've found sexual harassment to be more of an issue than cyber bullying. Talking crap to your opponents or even your team members is just kind of part of gaming culture, and it always has been. The fact that gaming culture is so predominately male (and predominately young) makes it a really inhospitable place for female gamers.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think your definition of cyber bullying is a bit off. No one's suggesting that someone saying something rude to you online is cyber bullying and is a really big issue; that stuff happens on and off the net all of the time. "Cyberbullying" is a really misleading word because it makes it seem like kids are just being taunted or picked on, when in reality, at least with the cases that make the news, it's significantly worse. Amanda Todd is probably the most recent case (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/amanda-todd-suicide-bullying_n_1959909.html) and she wound up killing herself because an internet stalker would send topless photos of her to all of her schoolmates at any school that she transferred to. Then there's the gay college freshman whose roommate left a webcam on in their dorm and broadcasted to the whole school the boy being intimate with someone else. He killed himself too. That sort of stuff isn't just "bullying," it's abject harassment.
I can see where both of y'all are coming from, and I think it is kind of from two different outlooks. I think that was his point- that cyber bullying is too inclusive in some ways but not inclusive in others. When it comes down to it, the problem is that cyber bullying is very subjective. Someone could take every word others say seriously or nothing at all, but the comments others make on the internet will elicit some sort of response no matter what. I think the problem is that it is really hard to govern online sources because there are endless amounts of websites and how would they be governed anyway? Unfortunately, I don't see this problem stopping any time soon unless people just start being nicer in general. :)
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