Don’t Tweet, Let’s Talk- Keeping the Art of Conversation Alive
The Effects of Modern Communication We live in a world where our society and culture dictates how we behave, what is appropriate or not, what we should or shouldn’t say in a conversation. This guideline or etiquette of sorts is suggested in Dorothy Nevill’s quote; “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” She explains that having a meaningful conversation runs deeper than “just saying the right thing” but, also knowing when to hold your tongue and not saying something impulsively that is inappropriate or hurtful. Humans are impulsive creatures and it’s this nature that Mark Twain
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When online, people tend to say things they would normally never say in a face-to-face conversation as they use their screens as a shield. The screen prompts people to forget the consequences associated with poor social etiquette. Unfortunately, it is misconception that if you can’t see the person they are not real so it is ok to be nasty. Cyberbullying is defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2014). Individuals that feel powerless in the real world feel powerful when behind the screen and it’s the victim of cyber bullying that feels powerless. In 2006, Megan Meier a thirteen year old, hung herself in her bedroom after repeatedly being bullied by her classmates. This is not an isolated incident of how cyber bullying has cost the life of an innocent victim. The statistics show that approximately 4,400 young adults commit suicide each year and at least 100 attempt to commit suicide as a result of cyber bullying. [2] So, what makes cyber bullying so dangerous? In a tradition bullying case, the victim can remove himself/herself from the situation and the bully can be shamed for his/hers behavior, but online the victim has no escape and the bully feels no …show more content…
Even mundane activities like drinking coffee is not enjoyed without unplugging. Technology may have brought us closer by keeping us “connected” but it is also responsible for the decline of face-to-face communication. Human interaction shouldn’t be replaced with technology. However, there is no arguing that technology has numerous advantages but, let’s not forget the disadvantages and work towards finding a balance between our real and virtual lives and let’s keep the art of conversation
With the use of the internet increasing, researchers are finding a higher amount of cyberbullying. According to Hinduja and Patchin, “There is no shortage of potential offenders or victims of cyberbullying because of the widespread availability of computers and the Internet in the developed world,” (Hinduja and Patchin, 132). Both the writers make a good point stating this fact. With the amount of technology that is available to students, on different devises, has allowed them to freely communicate. While this is not all bad, there are major downfalls, cyber bullying being a big one.
Are you familiar with the Tyler Clemti story? He was a normal student attending Rutgers University in New Jersey. Tyler, after learning that a video was streamed live on the internet committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. The video contained images of him and another male engaging in sexual relations. This is just one of the many horrific stories that you hear that comes from Cyber bullying. The older generation considered bullying when one was pushed, hit, taunted, and name called. With the technology that we have readily available today, bullying has made its way into the media that we have come to know as Cyber Bullying. Today’s society has found an avenue that tunnels angry and miserable people to hurt unsuspecting victims.
As a recently recognized form of bullying, cyber bullying also referred to as electronic or Internet bullying, is defined as “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others” (Belsey, n.d., p. 8; Bonanno & Hymel, 2013). Cyber bullying is characterized by intimidation, harassment, victimization, and aggression toward others that occurs through email, chat rooms, instant messages, webs...
Bullying has been around forever, however with today’s technology bullying has become easier than ever. It is easier to bully in cyberspace than it is to bully face to face. With cyberbullying a bully can pick on people with much less risk of being caught. Bullies are natural instigators and in cyberspace bullies can recruit the participation of additional students who may be unwilling to bully in the real world. Cyberbullying is any harassment that occurs over the Internet. Vicious discussion posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web sites, and cruel email messages are all ways of cyber bullying. Cyberbullying can be more serious than conventional bullying. At least with conventional bullying, the victim is left alone on evenings and weekends. Many people may think that cyberbullying is not a problem in life; well, think again, it can change a victim’s life forever by just one offensive comment about them. It will make the victim want to commit suicide, drop out of school, and suffer from self-esteem issues like depression and anxiety. We must fight for what is right, the sooner the better. The movement into the digital age has change the behaviors and interactions of minors and it is time our culture to rethink its relationship with the Web and social networking.
“Cyberbullying is different from traditional bullying because people can use the disguise of “anonymity” to harass their victims. One needs only a valid e-mail address to create or participate in groups online, so it is very easy set up “fake” accounts and bully anonymously. Because anonymous comments and actions aren’t connected to the individuals doing the bullying, they are free to do as they please without repercussions. Similarly, cyberbullies often choose to target victims who live far away. They do this because there is a much smaller chance that the victim will be able to hold them
There are numerous types of bullying, whether it be the traditional physical bullying, verbal bullying, sexual bullying, or even the indirect type of bullying where someone damages your belongings. Today there is a new bullying epidemic called cyberbullying, which according to Smith (2008), is described to be an aggressive and intentional act of bullying carried out by one or more individuals. It is generally carried out in some sort of electronic devise, such as a phone or a computer. The bully will usually use Facebook, text messages, or even private e-mail’s to repeatedly torment their victim. When being cyberbullied, a victim cannot easily defend themselves due to the fact that he or she is not face-to-face with the perpetrator.
Cyberbullying is “the deliberate and repeated harm inflicted through the use of cell phones/smartphones, computers/tablets, and other electronic devices (including Wi-Fi gaming devices)” (Lohmann). It began to emerge when technology became more accessible, and it continues to become a bigger problem as technology expands. Cyberbullies are intentionally hurting their victims, and know that they are doing so. Cyberbullying has harmed all of its victims either mentally, physically, or both. The Centers for Disease Control has even gone as far as labeling it an ‘emerging public-health problem’ (Billitteri). This isn’t hard to argue with considering how many deaths it has caused. In schools, many people are affected by this whether they are the one doing the bullying, or the one suffering from it. “The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey finds that 16% of high school students (grades 9-12) were electronically bullied in the past year” (“What Is Cyberbullying”). These were just the people willing to speak up about it. In high school many people are more afraid of the effect that bullying someone can have on them. Whereas, people in middle and elementary school often are more careless, and do not see how badly they can be effected when cyberbullying someone. One study found that 42% of fourth to eighth grade students have admitted to saying something mean or heartful online (“Orie make cyberbullying”). This is almost half of the students saying that they have been bullies. This could mean that an even higher percentage of students were the victims of this. Cyberbullying affects almost half of the teens in the United States. Its scope, outcome, and lack of preventions all show that it is a far worse form of bullying than physica...
It was only a couple decades ago when the idea of bullying implied physical and verbal harassments done in the person. Times have changed and so did the means of bullying. Nowadays, the bullying not only manifests itself through physical and verbal interaction but also the through online virtual harassments known as Cyrberbullying. To elaborate, the concept of cyerbullying is the aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself. (Cheng 2012) Indeed, the internet and social media has both pros and cons. Ease of communication and access to information and knowledge are certainly a few of the advantageous biproducts of being exposed to these. However, since the internet and social media is an amoral entity, while it can be used to aid and help students excel academically, it can also be used to harm them. Arguably, since it is significantly easier communicate one’s feelings and sentiments through the web, these entails an easier way to express hateful and hurtful sentiments to other people. Leaking inappropriate pictures of other people or communicating calls for violence towards a specific
Majority of the public tend to ignore the fact that it is different to chat online and to talk personally. The main negative impact social media brings is that facial expressions and body languages were not available while chatting through it, therefore, ‘people don't see the impact of what they write,’says Beth Yoho,( cited in Tarshis 2011, p16). This is why most people are more expressive online. Although it sounded like a good thing, more than often this result in them abusing the power and over time transformed them into cyber bullies. According to Tarshis (2011,p19), lots of kids act differently on facebook than they do in person because the person they are referring to was not right there. The emergence of cyber bullying is due to the assumption of the bullies that they have the rights to do misdeeds without the acknowledgement of the third parties. Unlike face-to-face or physical bullying that requires strength, cyber bullying can only be done by a few simple keystrokes. Hence, cyber bullying is undoubtedly a simple action. Research states that cyber bullying in long term result in the victims having a ‘....a positive correlation with drug and alcohol abuse, were more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, and have lower
...e cyber bullying as a viable option for revenge. They also may feel more comfortable communicating online than in person to, once again, be hidden behind a screen as protection. Fourth, when a person is bullying via technology they cannot see the pain they are inflicting on the victim, resulting in a lack of empathy for them. Eventually it becomes routine to them and it becomes a more often occurrence. Last, when online the cyber bully is online they can create their own personality or “avatar”, so to speak. By doing this the bully may feel less responsible for the bullying because they have created this different person or “avatar.”
In her article “How the Internet Has Changed Bullying”, Maria Konnikova explained how bullying has reached technology, and in the workplaces of many adults. The Internet has made it harder to escape from bullying, and easier for bullies to escape from confronting their victims. Furthermore, the author stresses that cyberbullying not only targets high schoolers, but it’s affecting the lives of college students as well (Konnikova 1). Cyberbullying takes place in the Internet world where is easier for a bully to gossip and humiliate multiple of victims in a faster pace. The studies have shown that cyberbullying is making a greater impact in the victims’ and the bullies’ lives more than the traditional bullying and many people are not aware of it; therefore the schools, witnesses, and employers should work together to fight against cyberbullying and provide help to the victims and bullies.
Technology has given individuals the opportunity to change the game of bullying. Cyber-bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying as of today. The Internet has no boundaries so the public has access to endless and countless number of things. Cyber-bully is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (as a student) often done anonymously according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. While traditionally bullying and cyber-bullying are very comparable in forms of technique that also have many differences. Cyber-bullying gives the bully the benefit of hiding their identity behind a screen. This makes it easier to tear people down because they do not have to come in contact with anyone. It’s the easiest form of bullying. These can happen in text messages, chat rooms, email, websites, excluding people from certain online activities, digital photos, and social media. Cyber bullies have unlimited supplies of ways to hurt someone. It is difficult to conduct a study on cyber-bullying because the majority of people will not confess or admit to it. Instead, in the article “Cyber-bullying among adolescents: Measures in search of a construct.” Researchers sit and listen through the grapevine on what is going on inside of schools. They found out that cyber-bullying is more dealt with within adolescents than traditional interaction bullying. (Mehari, K. R., Farrell, A. D., & Le, A. H.) Cyber-bullying can cause more
Generations after generations teens have used the actions of bullying to hurt others they felt as a threat or to be in the “in crowd” of popularity. Traditional bullying was physical and thus confined to face-to-face contexts. However, with the development of widespread social interaction via social media websites, email, and text-messaging, teens have additional avenues of expression and, as a result, other means of bullying. Over time the bullying taking place using digital means has come to be known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has brought the evilness out of teen’s actions, words, and thoughts whether they were the bully or the victim. Equally important, the ending results of these actions, words and thoughts have brought death, limited yet undefined punishable consequences if pursued, and slowly progressing methods to control cyberbullying as a whole.
The online bully’s goal is to make their target feel weak; these online bullies can be referred to as a cyber bully. Cyber bullying is the exercise of using technology to embarrass, threaten, harass, or target another person; according to its definition it occurs among young people (New, 4). It is usually performed by a child’s peers and surprisingly occurs early as the second grade (Jacobs 1). Cyber bullying can even be unintentional, especially through the use of emails, IMs, and text messages because the tone of the sender may be hard to depict. However, recurring emails, online posts, and texts are hardly ever unintentional (124). As the number of youths increase that have the availability to technology, cyber bullying is likely to continue to rise and continue to take its toll on youth. Due to its excessive effect that it has on children today, Cyber bullying should be taken more seriously.
Stutzky suggests that cyber bullying is the use of modern communication technologies to embarrass, humiliate, threaten, or intimidate an individual in the attempt to gain power and control over them. Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. These days however, bullying isn’t just happening on the playground, it’s happening on the internet and mobile phones, making it possible to bully a child 24 hours a day. Cyber bullying follows children around the clock and into the safety of their own bedrooms. A recent survey by MindOh!, an educational company that follows youth trends, reported that nearly 80% of the 5,500 teens that were surveyed said that they had been exposed to cyber bullying. Cyber bullying affects the mental health of so many young adolescents around the world, and the issue is steadily increasing as more and more ways to bully are created.In extreme incidents, cyber bullying has led teenagers to suicide. Most victims, however, suffer shame, embarrassment, anger, depression and withdrawal. While technology continues to evolve, new means of communication enable today’s bullies to become more effective in terrorizing and tormenting their victims. The aim was to increase awareness and decrease the prevalence of cyber bullying- Year 9 at Meridan State College being the stakeholders (people involved).