Monday, March 19, 2007
Cyber-Bulling
By Logan Triglia
The rite of passage known as high school leaves no one unscathed. The clearly defined cliques and student organizations leave no room for floaters or those who like to mingle with different groups.
It used to be that elementary and middle schools were the calm before the storm, the place where kids could be kids. Where the cheerleader and the skater could be friends. But today with kids as young as 12 using social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook, the medium to criticize fellow students from the safety of their own home has grown exponentially.
The most recent public backlash against cyber-bullying came after a 14-year-old from Novato had to change schools after a website posted on Myspace deemed her a “homo” and “bitch.” According to sfgate.com, more than 4 in 10 teens have been on the receiving end of taunts and threats through different forms of media.
Although this phenomenon of cyber-bullying is taking off thanks to social networking sites that leave people vulnerable and bullies more likely to spew venom from the safety of their own home, it happened to me through the same medium in the pre-historic, pre-Myspace days of the year 2000.
I went to high school in white-collar town with a population under 30,000. About midway through my high school years my town joined a group of other small towns and created a community website. Today BeniciaNews.com is mostly ads and citizen journalism. It used to feature breaking news, a teenage column and most importantly, a community forum where anyone could register using any name and post comments.
This infamous message board became the sounding board for Benicia’s youth. A forum intended for community input and conversation about local politics turned into a place where middle and high school students posted threads about their peers and invited everyone else to join in and post their opinions as well. Of course this turned in to a huge dog pile on the person with a few scattered posts of defense from their friends. All anonymously. When my turn came for the roast there was a blend of good and bad. The good were flattering, the bad were superficial, but it spread beyond the forum. I had people urinate in my yard, break glass beer bottles in my driveway and street, spread peanut butter all over my garage doors.
Cyber-bullying is not a new thing. It is being taken to new heights through new mediums as with every other single thing in our culture, but ultimately the blame rests on the parents.
The rite of passage known as high school leaves no one unscathed. The clearly defined cliques and student organizations leave no room for floaters or those who like to mingle with different groups.
It used to be that elementary and middle schools were the calm before the storm, the place where kids could be kids. Where the cheerleader and the skater could be friends. But today with kids as young as 12 using social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook, the medium to criticize fellow students from the safety of their own home has grown exponentially.
The most recent public backlash against cyber-bullying came after a 14-year-old from Novato had to change schools after a website posted on Myspace deemed her a “homo” and “bitch.” According to sfgate.com, more than 4 in 10 teens have been on the receiving end of taunts and threats through different forms of media.
Although this phenomenon of cyber-bullying is taking off thanks to social networking sites that leave people vulnerable and bullies more likely to spew venom from the safety of their own home, it happened to me through the same medium in the pre-historic, pre-Myspace days of the year 2000.
I went to high school in white-collar town with a population under 30,000. About midway through my high school years my town joined a group of other small towns and created a community website. Today BeniciaNews.com is mostly ads and citizen journalism. It used to feature breaking news, a teenage column and most importantly, a community forum where anyone could register using any name and post comments.
This infamous message board became the sounding board for Benicia’s youth. A forum intended for community input and conversation about local politics turned into a place where middle and high school students posted threads about their peers and invited everyone else to join in and post their opinions as well. Of course this turned in to a huge dog pile on the person with a few scattered posts of defense from their friends. All anonymously. When my turn came for the roast there was a blend of good and bad. The good were flattering, the bad were superficial, but it spread beyond the forum. I had people urinate in my yard, break glass beer bottles in my driveway and street, spread peanut butter all over my garage doors.
Cyber-bullying is not a new thing. It is being taken to new heights through new mediums as with every other single thing in our culture, but ultimately the blame rests on the parents.
# posted by [X]press Staff @ 6:53 PM 