A year ago this June a cell phone video
emerged on YouTube of some middle school kids brutally tormenting a bus monitor
named Karen Klein on the way to school.
The video gained national attention and over 32,000 people donated over
$700,000 to Klein. Had the bullying not
been caught on video, the kids would undoubtedly continued to torture the poor
woman, posing the question of how technology has affected bullying.
Growing up I was witness to all
sorts of bullying in elementary, middle, and high school. But cell phones and mainly cell phone video
cameras didn’t gain mainstream popularity until the later part of my high
school career. Now more than ever there
is a HUGE movement against bullying, with claims that it is at its worst. Documentaries are being made, organizations
are being established, and the general awareness for bullying has grown tenfold
since cell phone cameras have come around.
The
question is, has bullying gotten worse or is it just now getting exposed
because of the technology that allows kids to do so? I would argue that bullying has not gotten worse
and that it’s just perceived to have gotten worse because now so many videos
have surfaced of it. The world hasn’t
become a worse place; the media would just like us to believe it has. When I was growing up I saw all sorts of
cruel acts, but none were recorded on video for anyone to see. My grandfather has also told me stories about
bullies when he was growing up. In fact,
it could be argued that the archetypal bully is one created from old movies
that depict bullies such as A Christmas
Story, which recounts a man’s childhood in the 1940’s.
So now
there is this massive movement towards stopping bullying bullying because it’s
seen as such a growing issue. Not that
it’s a bad thing that people are trying to stop bullying, but it’s just a
result of technology being readily available to record it.
I think you are correct, that the pervasiveness of cell phones has shed light on a situation that was already happening, but it also seems like technology has added a new dimension to bullying. Kids used to be able to leave school and go home, but now abuse can follow them into their private life outside of school via social networks, texting, etc. The aspect of anonymity when making comments, sending messages, and posting videos is also kind of a game changer, in my view. Technology has increased awareness of bullying, but also venues for it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you. My parents also told me of bullies when they were in school. Bullying is something that has been around forever but now that everyone and their mom has a video camera in their cell phone these moments can be spread all over the internet. While bullying is nothing new I do think the new element of technology makes it a lot harder to live with. In the past kids would get bullied at school and come home and be done with it at least for a while. Nowadays with the internet bullies can follow the kid home. Kids can make Facebook pages, send mean emails, post pictures and post videos on Youtube. Kids who are hungry for views seek out these bullying moments in hopes of getting popular online. Once it is online the kid has to live with it for a long time. So in that respect bullying is worse. Along with the technology that makes bullying more open now there is more media attention toward people commit suicide as a result of bullying. People think that bullying is getting worse and making more kids want to hurt themselves but I don't think it's because of bullying. There are a lot of societal issues that are making teens more emotionally unstable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some technology such as cell phone with video recording has done a lot to expose bullying. In the same way the internet through social media has helped to expose bullying. However, I think that these technologies have done a lot to increase bullying. Cyberbullying has become the most prevalent form of bullying among kids nowadays. I think that social media has worsened bullying because it can allow bullies to be anonymous. Just log onto youtube and read the message boards. Bullying even continues to pervade on sites like Facebook that are not anonymous. I think that people are more likely to be cruel on the internet because there is more of a disconnect than in real life. I think that technology has worsened bullying because people less hesitant to be mean through their computers than when they are face to face.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that bullying is an old problem, not being witnessed more easily by means of the new technology available to us. While this technology has helped people like Klein recover from the cruel acts done to them, it has also paved new avenues for bullies. A new form of bullying, cyber bullying, has definitely picked up in recent years. With cyber bullying, people are able to attack their victims completely anonymously and without any tangible, real world consequences. Over time, this form of bullying has gained more awareness, but it is still a problem.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am appreciative for what technology has done for people like Klein, it is also important to be aware of the negative consequences it may have as well.
You all have made great points about cyber bullying… For some reason I didn’t even think about that (oops), and I would like to revise this post with some of my thoughts on cyber bullying. I would agree with you guys that it is probably the most common type of bullying these days, and obviously the result of expanding technology as well as the anonymity involved. When people can say things to others with complete anonymity they don’t have to suffer the repercussions of it, but it can be hugely detrimental to the person being bullied. There have been several cases of depression and even suicide as a result of cyber bullying and it is completely repugnant. So while technology such as cell phone cameras have decreased physical bullying and raised awareness all together, social media has provided an entirely new platform for a non-physical type of bullying that has never existed before.
ReplyDeleteIf we're going to try to alleviate the problem of cyberbullying, I think we need to push for cyber reforms. What I mean is to push social media websites to take this issue more seriously, even if it's as small as the "block/mark as spam" option on Facebook. Websites like "Blogger", "wordpress" and "yahoo", to name a few could hire more employees to act as "cyberpolice". The reason why so many people feel like it's okay to continue calling someone names online is that there are no consequences. It would be good to see one of these sites actually threat to suspend someone's account in the case that he or she continues to use social media in a way that aims to emotionally harm another. I know this may seem a little idealistic, but I really do believe it is possible for this issue to be dealt with on a more practical level.
ReplyDelete