ECOMP 6012: The Bullied

A summary of chapter 3, "The Bullied," in the book: The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander by Barbara Coloroso for my Masters course on Cyberbullying. This presentation was a collaboration between myself and three of my course colleagues.

The Bullied

More PowerPoint presentations from Nick Shuman

ECOMP 6012: Who are the targets?

What makes someone a possible target to be bullied and/or cyberbullied?

ECOMP 6012: What Does The Research Tell Us?

Directions: Post a summary and general commentary on one academic source and one popular source on a topic of your choice relating to cyberbullying, Your popular and academic source should be on the same topic and focus on a group that is often targeted. 

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Academic: Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: The Role of Affective and Cognitive Empathy, and Gender

I was searching for information on Cyberbullying and Gender when I came across this academic article by Rebecca P. Ang and Dion H. Goh. While they do discuss the differences in gender an underlying theme emerged from their research: that of affective and cognitive empathy. As they look at how boys and girls were able to experience the emotions of others (affective) and also their ability to understand the emotions of others (cognitive) they noticed that these two variables did not behave the same between the two genders with respect to likelihood of perpetrating or being victims of cyberbullying. In their results, Ang and Goh stressed the need for students to undergo empathy training in addition to discussions about Internet etiquette and social behavior online. It would appear that the age old adage of taking the time to “walk in another man (or woman)’s shoes” hasn’t diminished in importance with the advent of the Internet. In fact, it may be more important now then ever considering how easy the Internet makes it for us to see others online as just a screen name, avatar, or profile picture instead of a real person.

[for access to the full article on EBSCO Host, click on Google Scholar Search, find the fifth item listed from the top, and click on the Full-Text @ My Library link.]

Popular: Empathy in the Information Age: Catalyst For Cyber-Bullying?

From Change.org, this article asks the question as to whether the Internet itself is a possible cause for anti-social behavior and the “diminishing a key component of our humanity: empathy.” The article continues by looking at how the Internet affects, for better or worse, the development of the human brain and in particular the anterior cingulate, a region believed to be where empathy and decision-making skills develop. Because the Internet makes it easier for us to dehumanize others based on interactions with usernames, avatars, and digital communication then we are also reducing our empathy “muscle” to spending out energy in other areas of the brain.

I think the big question being asked here is how do we use the Internet to communicate and interact while maintaining the part of ourselves that gives us our humanity, which used to be strengthened and honed through interactions made in-person? Is it simply a matter of taking the time to stop and remind ourselves that behind that words that make up that YouTube comment, tweet, or wall posting is another living, breathing, thinking human being with dreams, desires, and emotions not so dissimilar from our own?

ECOMP 6012: 5 Portraits Reflection

Assignment: Given the 5 portraits, what are the similarities or differences that you find in the 5 cases? What generalizations, if any can you make on cyberbullying based on these 5 cases?


5 Portraits:

• Megan Meier
• Ryan Halligan
• Phoebe Prince
• Tyler Clementi
• Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover

Reflection:

In reading these five portraits, it is easy to become discouraged and even angry when you see the similarities among them and ask, “Why couldn’t we see this coming?” Of course, each of the five portraits has their differences as well, but the same signs are present in each case, although they can often be elusive.

Cyberbullying is a complex issue, much more so than more traditional bullying because for one, it can easily extend beyond any one physical location like a school, playground, or hangout spot. And for every new advancement in technology, regardless of how good the original intentions were, there is the potential for it to be used to further advance the reach and damage that cyberbullying can cause. An example of this became apparent in my school with the introduction of Skype. We had thought of Skype as a great way for students to collaborate on group projects and communicate with experts outside of the classroom walls on topics they were learning about. We weren’t prepared for how easily this technology could be misused and abused to commit acts of cyberbullying.

One similarity I observed across the five portraits is that we as adults tend to fall into the trap of wrongly assuming that these teenagers and pre-teens think and rationalize the same way we do. As the complicated saga of Phoebe Prince illustrates, students say and do things without the benefit of fully understanding the consequences of their words, tones, and actions. Their perceptions are often one-sided and fail to acknowledge the possibility that what they’ve done could be interpreted differently from their original intensions.

Another similarity in the five cases is the role that we as adults play in these unfortunate circumstances. Let’s face it, it’s not easy for adults to gain access to the communication and culture that is student life. In many of the cases the student victim was strong in academics, into athletics and/or extra curricular activities, and a student who we would enjoy having in our classrooms. And yet behind these rosy pictures were stories unfolding that contained fear, despair, and hopelessness that would eventually conclude in a horrific event.

The mission that lies before us as educators is being able to identify the warning signs of bullying, and now cyberbullying, and developing an intervention strategy that involves the school, the home, and law enforcement.