Bullies Hiding Behind the Social Media Screen

According to a Consumers Report 2011 study, 43% of teens aged 13 to 17 report that they have experienced some sort of cyber bullying in the previous year, and 34% of those who have had any engagement in cyber bullying have been both a cyber bully and been cyber bullied. It should be no surprise that 81% of students say that they think it is easier to bully and hide it from parents when using social media.

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It is clear that cyber bullying has become more and more of an issue over the past five years, and like most “older” individuals (i.e., over 25), I was clueless when my sixth grade students would mention social media sites and apps that were not Facebook and Twitter – I thought I was pretty up to date knowing those!

When it comes to children and their actions on social media sites, ignorance is not bliss. No parent, teacher, or administrator wants to be called on the carpet and questioned about cyber bullying, especially when they think that they are doing all they can by preventing their child from using Facebook.

So, in an effort to aid in our own understanding of these social media outlets, I have created a quick list of popular sites and apps that teens and preteens frequent. And while Facebook and Twitter are still seeing their fair share of cyber bullying, the following are gaining popularity quickly.

The site:  Ask.com

The Intended Use:  Intended as a place for curious people to ask questions and receive answers, Ask.com has a feature that allows people to connect to friends and family, ask questions, and post answers.

How it’s used to bully: Users can post questions such as “What do you think of Amy?” or “Do you think that Amy is weird/fat/ugly?” or  “Would you ever kiss Amy?” As you can imagine, these questions – that can be answered anonymously – allow users to be beyond cruel without their identity being known. The question is open to anyone in your network to answer, so the responses can go on and on…

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The App: Instagram

The Intended Use: A community of picture and – as of about a month ago – video sharing that allows users to add cool effects to photos and write a short caption about what you are seeing. Others in your network can comment on the photo or video.

How it’s used to bully: Many users post “selfies” or pictures they take of themselves that encourage comments galore. Again, profiles and names can be created and don’t necessarily identify the person making the comments.

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The App: Vine

The Intended Use:  Post quick, 6-second videos, that run on a loop once they are opened. I am really not exactly sure the purpose of such a short video, but it is amazing what users can create in that short about of time.

How it’s used to bully:  Many of my students who have had issues with Vine say it is because they were “dared” to do something and did not realize that they were being videotaped. The videos are posted, and once again encourage comments from relatively anonymous users. I had a student who was dared to slap herself across the face, and the continuous stream of face slapping was all the talk on Monday morning.

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The App: Snapchat

The Intended Use: Users take quick snapshots and write a blurb about it to send to friends. The “snap” part of the Snapchat app allows users to see the picture for only a short period of time (about 5 seconds once the message it opened) before it disappears completely.

How it’s used to bully:  Because the images and messages go away so quickly, this app might be the worst in terms of bullying because we have no proof once the image goes away. While there is a very discreet “save” option to store Snapchats, in such a short amount of time, most users don’t have enough time to consider saving before it disappears forever.

So Remember:

  1. Knowledge is power! Learn the sites and apps yourself.
  2. Ask your child if she has these apps or frequents these sites.
  3. Create your own account on these sites to keep an eye on the activity of your child, his friends and classmates. (Note: Many students don’t use all the protective blocks they can on these sites, so by simply typing in someone’s name, you may be able to view his activity.)
  4. Never be caught off guard – If there is an issue with your child on one of these sites, you don’t want to hear about it from someone else – another parent or the school principal.

-Kelly Casaccio and Amy Orlando, Co-Founder of Chummies, LLC

Check out our website mychummies.com.

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The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.

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