Cyber-Bullying & The War On Social Media Critics

Social media has drastically changed not only how we communicate with one another, it has also changed how the world operates.  Business is conducted through blogs, Twitter and Facebook.  Education is executed through Podcasts, Wikis and online training.  Online schools thrive on the existence of social media to connect students to essential and necessary resources. 

This past week, Anthony Orsini, the principle in New Jersey's Benjamin Franklin Middle School sent out an email to its parents, urging them to stop their children from using social media entirely.  Here is a portion of the message:
"Sit down with your child (and they are just children still) and tell them that they are not allowed to be a member of any social networking site. Today!  Let them know that you will at some point every week be checking their text messages online! You have the ability to do this through your cell phone provider." 

The reason for Orsini's message?   


"The threat to your son or daughter from online adult predators is insignificant compared to the damage that children at this age constantly and repeatedly do to one another through social networking sites or through text and picture messaging."

Cyber-bullying hardly existed pre-social media, yet it seems that the emotional state of our youth was still a concern even then.  After the initial surprise of a parent receiving this in their inbox, it shouldn't take long to the trained eye to recognize this as a knee-jerk reaction to the social trends of the day.  After all, how is this really different from the media's attempt to convince parents a few months ago that formspring.me was the cause of a young girl taking her own life (when her mother said it was not); that video games were the cause of all school violence in the mid 2000s; or even that the tragedy of Columbine was to be blamed on singer Marilyn Manson?  Love him or loathe him, Manson's quote from his VH1 interview after Columbine still resonates so strongly even in the context of today's attempt to control social media.  When asked what he would say to the students that conducted the incident, Manson replied: "I wouldn't say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did." 

Social media may in fact not be the cause of our youth's turmoil if these warning signs have been apparent before these "dangerous" websites.  To act on Orsini's thought process may be telling the students that social media is unimportant, that in order to live in today's world they need not interact with others online.  In fact, it's been noted that scare tactics do not work as the best education for online safety.  But just as social media can be detrimental to students' education if used in excess, it also can be extremely helpful if used properly.  Resources like Twiducate put a beneficial spin on social media, and these could be a wonderful preparation for students' future use of online social media outlets, such as Moodle and Blackboard.  

Even eschoolnews explains the benefits of students that are actively "seeking technology-based learning experiences outside of school... using Facebook and podcasts."  Articles similar to eschoolnews' are becoming prominent but merely just make it an official statement of what all of us are witnessing: a communication revolution.  So parents, when a call-to-arms crops up in the media or from critics that are against the imminent change, take the time and patience to really look at the facts.  Be honest with your children, communicate with them, and nurture a great relationship so that if any challenges arise because of a negative occurrence through social media, you may be able to work through them with the correct authorities to see it through.

And your thoughts?

*Update 6/10/10*  Facebook and National PTA team partner up to promote internet safety.