Cyberbullying & Healthy Social Media Use
Quick sketch - Emojis
This is where the work of school librarians comes in; In our mission to teach media literacy lie the keys to shifting the paradigm around healthy media use. Under the "umbrella" of healthy media use, school librarians work to educate students (and adult community members) about news media literacy, identifying bias, innovative technology, and cyberbullying. This week's topic of cyberbullying is an important one, to be sure; I would imagine most every person who engages Social Media on a regular basis has at least witnessed cyberbullying. Empathy can be lost so easily in this digital environment.
It's also important to place emphasis on the overall effects of using social media on a person. Orech challenges "the idea that Internet Safety just refers to 'Cyberbullying'" and, instead, focuses on "Digital Citizenship" in his curriculum (2012, p. 17). These emotional videos that raise awareness about the devastation caused by cyberbullying remind me of the fact that our online identities and circumstances are integrated parts of our core selves and real life experiences.
Through introducing the topic of cyberbullying and teaching about other "digital sins" (as presented in this engaging presentation - for adults; screen the entire Seven Digital Deadly Sins site before deciding to show it to children), librarians can also start a conversation about how even average use of social media can result in negative effects on a person's mental and physical health. These effects are exacerbated for student victims of cyberbullying, resulting in "impacts such as depression, poor self-esteem, concentration problems, anxiety, stress, academic problems, school avoidance, suicidal ideation, and a range of psychosomatic problems such as headaches and sleep disturbances" (Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M., 2015, p.117).
Adults are not exempt from negative impacts of bullying and cyberbullying and are often ignored as a target for this kind of education; "the impacts of bullying and harassment on workers (not just the targets, but also the witnesses or bystanders): absenteeism, more stress, lower job satisfaction, mental and physical health impacts, disengagement, avoidance, reduced productivity, turnover, socioeconomic effects, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation" are just as concerning (Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M., 2015, p.118). These real-life impacts illustrate the tangible dangers that, what people might perceive to be meaningless, online interactions can cause.
If librarians are not teaching students to name these damaging actions with the necessary vocabulary, they'll never speak the same language and create the change we need to see in our modern society. These resources are very helpful for starting the needed conversation, for everyone in your community.
References
Byrne, Richard. (2014, August 4). Seven Digital Deadly Sins - Good Material for Conversations on Digital Citizenship. Free Technology for Teachers. https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/08/seven-digital-deadly-sins-good-material.html#.WjMOYFQ-fBI
Cyberbullying Research Center. Cyberbullying Videos to Use in Presentations. https://cyberbullying.org/videos
Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal Of Education And Training Studies, 3(6), 111-125. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1078204.pdf
Mendes, J. & Vio, P. Seven Digital Deadly Sins. http://sins.nfb.ca/#/Grid
Orech, J. (2012). How it's done: Incorporating digital citizenship into your everyday curriculum. Tech & Learning, 33(1), 16-18. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=a9bfb3a9-0744-4469-b970-e889f625fe3b%40sessionmgr101
Pantic I. (2014). Online social networking and mental health. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, 17(10), 652–657. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0070
This week's module really made me think of the impact that digital use can have on the mental health of people of all ages. The Seven Deadly Sins site made me reflect on some of my bad online habits but it really opened my eyes to the extremes that the internet can take people too. Digital use is such a delicate balance of good and harm. On the one side, having instant access to information in our digital world can literally save lives but on the other hand it can also take lives with more and more young people committing suicide due to be being bullied. I feel that this is going to be more and more important as our young people face a world that where they have never had the internet. Their entire lives will have a digital footprint. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as these young people get older. Will they embrace this use of technology and let it completely encompass their lives or will all of this digital interaction lead to a push back against technology use? No matter which way it plays out, our role as school librarians will continue to increase in importance as we help students learn how to handle the good and bad of technology.
ReplyDeleteAnna,
DeleteI am so thankful the internet was only starting to get popular when I was transitioning out of high school. That digital footprint could have been a nightmare for me! Haha! Sometimes social media can seem like some ongoing social experiment gone horribly wrong.. But, it does have its merits and practical uses. The questions you consider are all very important.. And they represent all the reasons for school librarians to teach about healthy use of media, digital citizenship, cyberbullying, spotting sensational misinformation, etc. There are so many facets to being internet savvy; we have so much to teach!
-Tiffany Taylor Brewer
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