Hi everyone! This week’s post will cover cyberbullying and the importance of teaching good digital citizenship, and being safe online. After watching the video Dark Cloud something that really stuck out to me was that when Brooke went to take her own life she realized that she made a mistake and got help. Although suicide is an extreme outcome of cyberbullying, some kids feel it is their only choice. As educators it will be our responsibility to make sure that our students know that there are people out there who want to help them, and listen to their stories. They need to know there is hope, even when they feel hopeless. Carol Todd lost her daughter to suicide, she says that if she knew and had the time before her daughter made her fatal choice she would tell her that “it's not the answer” and that “there’s hope out in this world”. The internet and social media are not going away, if anything their influence grows each day; therefore children need to be taught how to properly behave online.
Cyberbullying is becoming increasingly popular because it is much easier to say something to or about someone from behind a screen than it is in person. The bully has no connection to the victim and often does not face consequences. Jimmy Kimmel made an entire segment on his show called “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets”, people write mean things about celebrities we are supposed to find it funny. However it just illustrates the lack of accountability a person faces when they write on the internet, the segment almost encourages cyberbullying by giving it attention. I am sure that the person behind the twitter handle @****Burton1 would not say “Tom Hanks is so sweaty in TopGun, get a shower you smelly little dwarf” to him in person out on the street but has no issue putting it out on the internet for the world to see. I used this as an example because Tom Hanks was not even in the movie TopGun, the actor Tom Cruise plays the lead character. I find this to be important because it is an example of something mean and not true being said on the internet. “Obviously, cyberbullying is something to take seriously. At the same time, it's important to remember that, depending on their ages, kids are still developing skills like empathy, self-control, self-regulation, and how to communicate respectfully online. These situations can be learning opportunities for everyone involved” (Wilkey, 2019). The mean tweet is a prime example of cyberbullying, without any truth behind it. I think this tweet could be used to show kids that if someone says something about you that doesn't make it true.
As a coach of little girls I am constantly dealing with catty disagreements, and hurt feelings. After watching the video and reading the articles I have a few more tools in my tool belt for how to deal with bullying and cyberbullying. The biggest tool of them all is the ability to forge relationships and have conversations with my gymnasts and future students. I love being a person that they can turn to if they are being bullied, or just being the person that is reminding them that they are not alone and that someone cares about them. Cyberbullying is a real issue but we can prevent it by teaching the youth how to behave online.
References
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA). (2021, May 21). Tips for Teachers. StopBullying.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/tips-for-teachers
JimmyKimmelLive. (2021, December 13). Celebrities read mean tweets #13. YouTube. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f4oKjlLYK0
O., E. W. (2019, March 25). Teachers' essential guide to cyberbullying prevention. Common Sense Education. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-cyberbullying-prevention
telus. (2020, October 9). Telus | Dark Cloud: The high cost of cyberbullying. YouTube. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrnoElVEUTA
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