Sure, you have people getting "Jimmered" on facebook or people like Rebecca Black and the Star Wars kid dropping out of school. People laugh at these stories, roll their eyes and move on. It even spreads to celebrities, people we feel ask for public discord. It can be funny if they're willing to laugh at it, as is the case with this Jimmy Kimmel bit:
But how far is too far? When do we get involved? It's hard to say exactly because the internet has no limits, no control, no enforceable rules. But it is just a sign that we've allowed bullying to become everyday farce. LeAnn Rhimes was recently bullied into rehab, a story which even I roll my eyes at, thinking she's such a drama queen. But why is it fair for us to think anyone deserves a public belittlement? Just because we're not saying it to their face?
I think the internet allows for a sort of separation where perpetrators forget the bullied are human too. And once you see the nasty side of bullying--the side pushing young kids to kill themselves, the side where even posthumously their social feeds are inundated with hateful messages--you really just lose a whole lot of faith in humanity.
I think the article Joshua McKinney posted was especially interesting--about the idea of "trolling." Read it. It is both horrifying and amazing, the justifications and motivations behind these self-proclaimed internet trolls. The main perpetrator has no shame in what he does--attacking people on internet sites and communities he feels deserves a little backlash. He does it for the "lulz," the laughs and attention it gets. And he blames the bullied for his success, saying that he'll stop once they stop caring. At one point in the article, he says,
“I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Oh, God, please forgive me!’ so someone can feel better,” Fortuny said, his calm voice momentarily rising. The cat lay purring in his lap. “Am I the bad guy? Am I the big horrible person who shattered someone’s life with some information? No! This is life. Welcome to life. Everyone goes through it. I’ve been through horrible stuff, too.”
People are mean. They're brutal. Take a look at any YouTube comment section. There's no propriety and everyone's a critic. And it's begun to push beyond anonymous youtube comments and social commentary. Now, it's personal attacks and brutal bullying that follows you everywhere you go, anywhere you're connected. People are being bullied to suicide, and it's no longer a joke.
Phoebe Prince: 15 years old, an irish immigrant about to go to a dance with a senior boy, hangs herself after months of belligerent harrassment becomes too much.
Amanda Cummings: 15 years old, high school student who jumps in front of a bus after being bullied. Her memorial page is vandalized by cruel messages even after death.
Megan Meier: thirteen years old, killed herself when a myspace friend turned on her--turns out, it was a neighbor's mother posing as a young man to find out about her daughter
Hope Witsell: thirteen years old, bullied when nude photos went viral, hung herself.
These are some of the big names in the rising list of teen suicides. The one good thing? It finally has people talking. Something has to change. Someone has to take responsibility. Because cyber bullying is a serious issue masked by the semi-serious interest in trolling and anonymous derision. So when is too far too far? Probably now.
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