Cyber Bullying: Tribute to Amanda Todd

Her Name: Amanda Todd

Status: Dead

A young, beautiful girl pushed so far to the edge by cyber bullies that she attempts to commit suicide twice. Her anxiety so bad, she no longer wanted to go to school. But what’s worse, her third attempt was successful, she hung herself... she was 15.

Today a focus on cyber bullying:

Cyber bullying is by far the worst element of social media, while 'traditional' bullying is also cruel and devastating, the Internet has allowed for anonymity. It also provides these bullies with courage, as they are not face-to-face. These bullies attack their victims through social media outlets without having to confront them, and it gives them the opportunity to sit and consider what they are going to say. It is relentless! 

I was lucky, I can confidently say I was never a bully at school nor was I the victim of it. Although I will admit, when I witnessed someone being bullied I would never speak up, does that make me a bad person? It worries me that I will bring children into an even further technologically advanced world and that they could potentially be subjected to this hate crime. Children are now being punished in court (Mail Online, 2012), but the reality is, does anybody want to see these children be placed in jail or is the death of another human being enough to teach a lesson? Where do the courts draw the line? As a mother, would you want the children jailed? (Rivnerivne, 2011)

Rheingold believes Technology is allowing us to take a communal approach to solving society's problems. Yet in this case technology is creating the problem, and allowing 'hate' groups to amalgamate. Even with people like Amanda Todd speaking out, it seems people only have more hurtful things to say. Comments from the video above included "Anon153: Wish she died the first time round", "Soulbeat19: bet she didn’t show her face cause she’s an ugly whore. WHORE", another hater posted a picture of a bottle of bleach and the caption “it’s to die for”, referencing an earlier suicide attempt (Ryall, 2012). So while Rheingold may believe that virtual communities are benefitting society, it seems that even those attempting to stand up for their victims are receiving hateful comments from anonymous Internet users. 

The future for cyber bullying seems never ending! Until governments make clear laws, and people are held accountable for their actions, teenagers and adults a like will continue to torment. Until anonymity is taken away and the vulnerable become strong, cyberbullying will continue. But while there are weak people, there are bullies to torment them; and while there is technology, there are sites to facilitate the harassment.

May I just say, lets hope they have made a law by the time my children enter school, my heart goes out to the parents who have suffered and are left feeling hopeless, just as Amanda Todd's are.

References:

Chai Videos (2012) Amanda Todd's Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicide, Self Harm. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej7afkypUsc [Accessed: 11 February 2013].

Mail Online (2012) Victory over cyber bullies: Legal first as High Court orders Facebook to reveal trolls who tormented mother for defending X Factor star. [online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156365/Nicola-Brookes-victim-internet-trolls-wins-High-Court-backing-reveal-identities-targeted-her.html#axzz2KeX0Zg2M [Accessed: 12 Feb 2013].

Rivnerivne (2011) kayla narey apologized for what she did to phoebe prince. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEs7s8T1pgU [Accessed: 11 february 2013].

Ryall, J. (2012) Online bully victim Amanda Todd still tormented in death. News.com.au, [online] October 15. Available at: http://www.news.com.au/national/online-bully-victim-amanda-todd-still-tormented-in-death/story-fndo4eg9-1226496347889 [Accessed: 11 February 2013].

The second 'life'

The second life, a world of money, sex, gambling and retail- it’s no different to the real world, but then is that what were looking for? What is the real world anymore? It seems what was once a parallel of real and ‘unreal’ is slowly overlapping. It wont be long before were lost in a paradigm shift and unsure of where we belong.

In the beginning I thought the attraction was one of self consciousness; someone’s ability to morph themselves into an alias that replicated a person they wished they were. They take the form of an avatar and create friendships and have sex via this virtual world, to compensate for their lack of, within the real world. Yet after some very INTERETSING research I found there is a whole other side to this world, that sees advertising boom, companies marketing and even a currency that can be converted into US dollars (ABC net, 2012).

Businesses use the site to not only promote their products but also sell. American apparel have stores where people can buy shoes for their avatars, Canadian mobile teller Telus sell mobiles. This is done so for market research, trend spotting and to generate feedback, before a product is released worldwide (Spicoli 2006). As Rheingold discusses; businesses can benefit from sharing services and ideas in a virtual world, and the second life provides this outlet. Finally I am beginning to see some productivity to ‘the second life’, rather than just a space for people to hide behind an avatar identity.

Through pure amazement that the ‘second life’ even existed I decided to create my own sim for a mini-experiment. As any keen Gen-Y-ian would do, I delved myself even further into the social media world:

 

Meet my avatar, Tara31 (note: i do not have blue eyes, or blonde hair, but I thought she looked prettier that way)

In the beginning I found it bizarre, as I was even able to navigate my avatar around using the keyboard. The further I progressed through the introductory pages the more the avatar was beginning to feel apart of me- I didn’t like it.

Then another avatar approached me and I had my first conversation; it was brief, they complimented me on my hair and we went our separate ways- I was flattered.

A few days passed and I idled my way through the second life, having conversations and visiting stores (window shopping of course). But there was one aspect of this ‘life’ that intrigued me- sex! It was beyond me that it was possible, yet it was so prevalent via the site and I found myself (my avatar) being asked for sex daily (I did not partake)! According to research in the month of December avatars had sex 680,000 times a day (Clevvergames 2012) CRAZY!

As my week on the second life came to an end, I found myself attached to my avatar, and I could also see how this site could take over and consume a person- I destroyed my avatar right away.  Theorist Baudrillard emphasizes this type of hyperreality can disconnect us from real emotions and It scared me how you could create your ideal world in cyberspace, and that people were dabbling financially within it. By the end of the week I was emotionally attached, yet to what? And to whom? This hyperreality engulfed me and I found myself distancing myself from the world around me. As a society we are already so caught up in social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but this was beyond anything I had ever experienced, and if I want to live my own life, it is better that I steer clear of the ‘second’.

Clevvergames (2012) The Sims have more Sex then You. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlBkhZgaGNU [Accessed: 28 January 2013].

ABC net: Four Corners (2012) You Only Live Twice. [video online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20070319/default_full.htm [Accessed: 28 January 2013].

Spicoli, S. (2006) Introduction to the Second Life (Historical View). [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b72CvvMuD6Q [Accessed: 28 January 2013].