Cyberbullying is ONE Ethical Issue in Technology

In todays society, social media has become an integrated part of most peoples lives. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets have become an information gathering hub for millions of people. In most cases, social media is a positive outlet for busy people to let their friends and family know of their lives. However, in some cases, social media has become an outlet of aggression, anger, harassment, and bullying. Social Media bullying has become a very serious issue for children, as well as adults.

Most adults over the age of 50 remember when computers were not commonly in homes. It’s only been since the 1980’s that computers became a household staple. And even then, communication technology did not catch up until the 90’s, when high speed internet became common. Social media began picking up in the early 2000’s with MySpace and FaceBook. Therefore, the laws concerning cyber-bullying are still relatively new, with new laws being written and rewritten constantly to catch up with all of the new issues that arise with cyber-bullying, cyber-stalking, hacking, and all of the other negative activities that come with online social media.

How to Recognize Social Media Bullying

As the rules and laws that govern social media are relatively new, many times it is up to the end-user (YOU) to recognize some of the forms of social media misuse and report it. Remember, it doesn’t have to break the law for it to become an issue. Here are some of the symptoms of social media abuse. This applies to adults as well as children:

Person sends inappropriate pictures or videos.
Person posts inappropriate, rude, or hostile comments on somebody else’s wall or news area.
Person constantly follows the victim from chat area to chat area for the purpose of harassment, despite being asked or even blocked.
Person uses photographs or video (typically from a phone) to the victim for the express purpose of creating distress.

A good rule of thumb is if it would offend the person face-to-face, it would offend them online. There are people who take advantage of the anonymity of an online existence to harass, distress, and taunt other people. There are far more criteria than shown above. If the person makes you uncomfortable, it is time to act.

What You Can Do With a Social Media Bully?

There are several things you can do regarding a social media bully. The person does not have to physically harm you to cause distress and disruption in your life. However, there are things that can be done:

All social media outlets have ways of reporting social media harassment. If you are being harassed by classmates, report it to the school. Schools are now obligated to act.
Use the available resources at the social media website to your advantage. Unfriend and block. If you are a child, tell your parents IMMEDIATELY.
Keep records. Take screenshots or pictures with your phone. Record the dates and times.
Do not respond to the person, no matter what. Responding to a bully is like sunshine to a bully.
Remove yourself from social media for a time. Shut down your accounts. Let your friends know. If you are a parent, go through all of your children’s social media accounts and systematically shut them down.

It does not have to be a serious problem for you to act, either as a parent or as a child. Small problems have a way of growing. Follow the five steps above and stay safe!