This is an article from ScienceDaily from the 22nd of February, 2010. The article claims that internet bullying is a growing problem among young people and around 10% of adolescents have experienced cyber bullying. This growing epidemic is cause for great concern as, in some ways, it is worse than conventional bullying where the victim experiences a break during the evenings and weekends. The victims of cyber bulling have no refuge as they can be harassed via the internet or by text, making them accessible at any time of the day. Ann Frisén, Professor of Psychology at the University of Gothenburg, conducted research on body image, identity development and different types of bullying among children and adolescents. She states that this growing epidemic is cause for great concern as, in some ways, it is worse than conventional bullying where the victim experiences a break during the evenings and weekends. The victims of cyber bulling have no refuge as they can be harassed via the internet or by text, making them accessible at any time of the day.
Cyberbullying is when someone uses new technologies such as the internet or mobile phones to harass another. People often use social networking sites, chat rooms or text to harass their victims. An example of this is the Facebook group ‘Vi som hatar Stina Johansson’ (Those of us who hate Stina Johansson). Online bullying can be very difficult to tackle as people can retain anonymity and often with groups such as this, only the moderator can delete it.
There is a clear connection between cyberbullying and school life as it usually calms down during summer. Very often, the victims are in the same school as the perpetrator. One can act anonymously online and therefore feel braver to express their true feelings towards another. With the use of the internet, weaker people can bully a stronger person, which is very uncommon in more conventional bullying. People often feel more confident behind the mask of an online persona which often results in trolling or flaming online which can develop into bullying.
Frisén also suggests ways in which cyberbullying can be tackled. She states that adults need to be more careful with what they put on the internet themselves, for example pictures as children are often inspired by what adults do. Parents should also show interest in their children’s internet activity and ask to see what sites their children use most often. However, parents should not ban their children from using any certain websites as this would encourage rebellion. Instead, parents should teach their children how to safely use the internet and how to act when they are there. ‘All school children in the UK are taught to “zip it, block it and flag it” – don’t share information, block contacts and tell an adult!’
I found this to be a useful article when researching cyberbullying. ScienceDaily give a clear and coherent description of what exactly cyberbullying is and what we can do to prevent it. Frisén also clearly describes her work. I think internet bullying is a very serious problem which needs to be tackled with a firm hand. Social networking sites should enforce a no tolerance policy to internet bullying and serious cases need to be taken up in court.
fascinating article we must discuss it in the next ict class x
ReplyDeletedid't realise the extent of cyberbullying, interesting article.
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will someone please think of the children!
ReplyDeleteNever knew it was to that extent, very interesting.
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