When online bullying goes too far..

In last semester's new media class we talked about the effects of cyber-bullying. The internet gives kids free reign to endlessly torment their peers without actually having to do it to their faces. The victims of cyber-bullying are often too embarrassed to tell an adult, or they just don't want to be picked on more. Kids bully each other in chat rooms, through websites where they can post anonymously, or within groups or face-book walls. Unlike face to face encounters, cyber-bullying has no boundaries. More recently in class we talked about how any photo, video or status that you put on the internet will be there forever, for anyone to see, no matter how embarrassing or unflattering it may be. People need to be more careful of what they put online because it could end up having terrible consequences.

For me personally, I didn't think cyberbullying existed in my generation. I thought that kind of teasing and gossiping stayed in high school and ended with high school. However, the recent and horribly tragic death of Rutger's student Tyler Clementi proved me wrong. This link from the new york times describes the lengths to which online bullying can push someone. It talks about something we've touched on in class, which is how online you can say anything, or be anybody and you can believe that there won't be in any consequences. (In my opinion, 18 is far too old to find "cyber-bullying" funny or even morally right) Why make fun of someone in person when you have the ability to humiliate them on a much larger scale? The author points out the fact often, the line between what is real and what is online is blurred. These kids acted online thinking that there would be no consequence for their behavior, because they were sitting safely behind a screen. Unfortunately, it takes something as horrendous and vicious as this case to get people to stop and think about cyber-bullying and the effects that it is having on the victims.

Lastly, I wanted to post this video An Important Message - From Ellen DeGeneres (Gay Suicide) made my Ellen DeGeneres that I have seen everywhere from Facebook to twitter to Youtube. Ellen spoke out on her show, but through the power of the internet, millions more were able to see her important message. As devastating as some of the effects of the internet can be, the widespread sharing of this hopeful video shows that the Internet can be as helpful as it is harmful.

In colle