By Jeffrey R. Young
Dean Terry has 400 friends on Facebook, but he wants some virtual enemies.
Mr. Terry, who is director of the emerging-media program at the University of Texas at Dallas, says a major flaw of the popular social network is that it’s all sunshine and no rain: The service encourages users to press the “like” button, but offers no way to signal which ideas, products, or people they disagree with. And “friend” is about the only kind of connection you can declare.
Real-world relationships are more complicated than that, so social networks should be too, the scholar argues. He’s not alone—more than three million people have voted for a “dislike” feature on an online petition on Facebook.
MANY anti-bullying programs do not work as schools need to focus on the bystanders not just the troublemakers, a visiting US expert says.
..Professor Stuart Twemlow, a consultant to the FBI after the Columbine school massacre, said the problem must be seen as symptomatic of “toxic group dynamics” not just caused by individuals.
Prof Twemlow, who is addressing a public lecture in Melbourne tonight, said students who witness bullying need to be educated in how to help stamp it out.
“To properly deal with bullying, we need to understand the power dynamics between the bully, the victim and the bystanders,” said Prof Twemlow.
“Bullies only do what bystanders let them do. In order to reduce bullying we need to encourage bystanders to become ‘upstanders’ – that is to take an active role in stopping bullying or assisting victims to exit bullying situations.”
ARLINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder restated the Obama administration’s commitment to aggressively using the law to protect citizens, especially students, from discrimination and hate-fueled violence at a conference Tuesday at the University of Texas at Arlington.
The first-ever White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities included panel discussions on law enforcement and school resources that target hate crimes and bullying against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Lawmakers in at least five states aim to stiffen or enact cyberbullying laws as national concern grows over electronic harassment and its deadly consequences.
The states — Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine and New York— want to put penalties on the books for the types of digital bullying that led students in several states to commit suicide. Among the victims was Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman who jumped to his death in 2010 after his roommate used a webcam to spy on his gay encounter. The roommate, Dharun Ravi, was convicted Friday on 15 counts in a case that drew national attention.
Boston – The Massachusetts Healthy Workplace Advocates announced March 5 that the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill – Senate Bill 916 and House Bill 2310 – has progressed from the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development and is due to go next to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation is teaming up with Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society to further academic research into both cyberbullying and real-life bullying amongst youths, and to ultimately empower a kinder and more accepting youth culture.
FORT LUPTON – When Sandra Myre felt she couldn’t turn to anyone else, she turned to social media. She says her daughter is the victim of a bully and the school is does nothing about it.
“I’m gonna ask for some help. This is my daughter,” said Myre while holding a picture of her daughter Brittany at the beginning of the video posted on YouTube. “My daughter’s being bullied and harassed and she’s been physically attacked twice by the same child.”
Myre has since pulled her daughter Brittany out of Fort Lupton Middle School. She says the school was non-responsive after Brittany was bitten by the girl in September, attacked electronically on Facebook, and attacked physically in the halls a few weeks ago.
When it comes to social media privacy, there is some good news from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. It shows that Americans are increasingly thinking about their own privacy and reputation management. Which, at the end of the day, is the most protective factor of all.
A new report, Privacy management on social media sites, found that people were more likely to use basic privacy features in 2011 than they were in 2009. The study also found that only 2% of adult Facebook users felt that it’s “very difficult” to use privacy controls. Forty nine percent say that it’s “not difficult at all,” though 48% said they experienced some level of difficulty.
In a landmark court decision, Hildegard Superina from Rijeka (Primorje-Gorski Kotar county) has been awarded 4,000 Euros in what is believed to be one of the first workplace harassment cases to be brought before the courts in Croatia.
Last week, the University of Minnesota battled a former student over Facebook, student conduct and the First Amendment. But the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling will affect more than just the school and Amanda Tatro.
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