People cope in various ways to the "shame game" that tends to play out over the internet. Some people continue to feed the beast by clicking on the links, giving it likes, sharing, commenting, etc. In her TedTalk, Lewinsky (2015) brought up an interesting point I had never considered, which was money from advertisements. When it comes to online gossip, I thought I was doing good by not liking, sharing, or commenting. By simply clicking on those links, I am encouraging those type of posts by showing advertisers that these are the type of posts they should be investing in. As Hinduja and Patchin wrote, "inaction is action" therefore by not standing up for the person being victimized, I am contributing to the problem (2014, p. 112). There need to be laws and policies in place that protect citizens from an overzealous government demanding private data and information. In the case of Monica Lewinsky, the audio recordings should not have been allowed to freely circulate the media. If the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal broken on social media, the humiliation for Clinton, Lewinsky, and their families would have been much worse. The audio recordings of the phone calls would have been at everyone's finger tips along with pictures, memes, and comments. There are many great things that have come from social media, however we cannot ignore the ugly, hurtful side of it, which is its contribution for cyberbullying. Since our students are all exposed to social media, it is our duty as educators to keep them safe. Unfortunately, although there are laws in place, it feels as though they simply exist to use schools as a scapegoat. Essex notes that "it is the school's responsibility to ensure that students are protected when they report bullies" (2016, p. 109). I agree with this statement, but "ensuring that students are protected" leaves a very gray area for action. In Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying's chapter 5, there were many cases in which students were suspended for several days or expelled due to cyberbullying, the parents took it to court, the consequences given by the school were considered to violate the 1st amendment, the court ruled on the side of the student, and the school had to not only lift the consequences but also pay a lot of money to the family (Hinduja & Patchin, 2014, p.111-142). In such cases the schools failed to prove how cyberbullying was causing substantial disruption at school, which gives the impression that it really comes down to who has the best lawyer. Rather than spending all the schools' budget on hiring lawyers that will win court cases addressing cyberbullying, I would rather spend money hiring more school counselors. I would want to see school counselors relieved of their many duties, and just be able to focus on counseling students and staff members. The ratio would be 1 counselor for every 50 people of campus. I would also introduce a required social and emotional learning class taught by the counselors. Koyzcan's TedTalk was something relatable, nothing out of the ordinary, which was what made it more frightening. Things we dismiss as harmless fun or kids being kids could be the demons that are pushing people to end their lives. For now, I commit to using discussion board posts on Schoology with my students to model and help them practice healthy online communication with peers. Resources: Essex, N. L. (2016). School law and the public school: A practical guide for educational leaders. (6th ed.) (pp. 107-110). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Essex_Bullying.pdf Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin$h. T. (2015, March 20). The price of shame | Monica Lewinsky. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8y0WLm78U T. (2013, March 08). "To This Day" ... for the bullied and beautiful | Shane Koyczan. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4
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