Poll: Schools stalking students; Does this seem right to you?

[ClassicJokester]

Yeah, that is over stepping a few boundaries. Who's up for porn?!

It's a terrible and flawed solution to a terrible and sickening problem.

Just how to solve the issue of cyber-bullying is beyond me, however.

That is easy. Most sites call it the "ignore" button.

Simple solution to this: Don't use facebook at school.

Besides, cyber bullying is overblown. I'd rather take cyber bullying than normal bullying any day.

Real bullying: fuck, I am trapped. Ow, my spleen!

cyber bullying: Ow, my self-esteem! O wait, I can totally walk away from this.

Is it so hard to just "walk away"? And because you are on a computer that means closing the tab in a browser. Bullying does not feel good, as one of many people who have experienced it, but at least on the computer it is VERY easy to walk away. (Conversely you can't pop them in the head when you've had enough).

Listen, one of my friends is always being harassed because she is quiet and shy, so people see her as an easy target for letting out their own feelings of inadequacy. She hasn't been bullied at school (that I know of), but every time she goes online, she has new messages from these jerks, telling her how she is [all manner of terrible things]. She even gets texts like that from people she doesn't know.

This isn't about "closing the tab in a browser," or something like that. You have to realize that for some people, this sort of thing is near-constant, and can inflict lots of psychological damage. You might have been able to brush it off if it happened to you, but that does not mean that everyone can.

Pirate Kitty, you've done well in informing people this is a horrible thing for people to do, and it can cause a lot of grief in the victims. Also, I'm terribly sorry about your friend, and sincerly hope you never have to see that happen to anyone else.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I try not to make people choose between extremes but I have to wonder your opinion:
(short for TL;DR people) It has recently come to my attention that after a decision to 'crack down' on cyber-bullying my school's authorities have decided to monitor each and every one of students' contributions to anything that can be accessed with a computer and a modem; this means that they have full access to private messages and posts on anything from Facebook to Deviantart, removing any illusion of privacy we have on the internet.
So I ask you a question: does this (the removal of internet privacy) seem like a fair way to deal with cyber bullying in schools?

Well, if the removal of privacy only applies to when you are in school, then I'd say it's fair. Don't want teachers invading your privacy, then don't use facebook or private messages at the school. Going without internet chatting or whatever for a few hours at school isn't going to kill anyone.

This does not apply at school (a PROXY server prevents it) They actually have access to what we write at any time, anywhere.

So they've hacked your internet to monitor you? That's kinda illegal. Either that or your not explaining this particularly well.

 

[crudus]

SNIP

Please do not belittle the effects cyber-bullying can have on someone.

A friend of mine took his own life as a result of such abuse.

You would be best advised to not speak for others - especially when hundreds of people have their lives taken as a result of what you trivialize.

Is it so hard to just "walk away"? And because you are on a computer that means closing the tab in a browser. Bullying does not feel good, as one of many people who have experienced it, but at least on the computer it is VERY easy to walk away. (Conversely you can't pop them in the head when you've had enough).

I have both been bullied and cyber-bullied for years. Both suck pretty hard. However, I can sure as hell tell you I preferred being cyber-bullied because I could just walk away.

 

[Washboard]

I try not to make people choose between extremes but I have to wonder your opinion:
(short for TL;DR people) It has recently come to my attention that after a decision to 'crack down' on cyber-bullying my school's authorities have decided to monitor each and every one of students' contributions to anything that can be accessed with a computer and a modem; this means that they have full access to private messages and posts on anything from Facebook to Deviantart, removing any illusion of privacy we have on the internet.
So I ask you a question: does this (the removal of internet privacy) seem like a fair way to deal with cyber bullying in schools?
EDIT: I want to make it clear that this applies all the time, not only at school this is prevented by the school's PROXY server and each student operates off an independant laptop used for schoolwork.

Jenkins! Shut your mouth or its denetion on monday! your mother will hear of this...

signed your school

(im terribly sorry about this attempt at humour but it seemed right to write )

 

[delanofilms]

Just how to solve the issue of cyber-bullying is beyond me, however.

Take a peek at the news post about the troll going to jail. That seems like a pretty good idea.

 

[Radelaide]

The DET (Department of Education in Australia) already have a system like this. You'd log on with a user name and depending on the level of schooling you're getting, your access was restricted.

Quite effective until I was doing research on Nazi Germany and couldn't access any information. So I used my TAFE login instead of my High school log in.

Cyber bullying is a little over hyped from my perspective as the first thing anyone should learn about the internet is to not take people seriously and so I disagree with the school.

Stupidest thing I've heard all day.

It doesn't matter if you know not to take people on the internet too seriously. When those people who are sending you threatening messages know where you live and go to your school, it's not as simple as just ignoring them. The intention of cyber bullying is to scare the crap out of the person who is being bullied with physical, verbal and psychological abuse and because a lot of people don't take kindly to being bullied, the trauma is successful. Just think about the LGBT kids who killed themselves. All because of bullying.

 

[superbatranger]

OK, I'm confused. Is the school monitoring the students' computer usage on school computers or personal computers? If it's the former, that's perfectly normal. Most schools nowadays have systems in place that monitor your usage so you don't visit any unauthorized sites or do anything else that's frowned upon. But, if it's on the students' personal computers as well, I'm sure that's illegal in 10 different ways. If it's not, at the very least it's a clear violation of privacy.

As for the people who say cyber-bullying is easy to handle and whatnot, things might not be so simple as blocking that email, or deleting that number. The bully could easily have multiple emails, several accounts, various back ups in case you block and/or delete one. You think it's done when you deleted that email, only to realize it has started again because the bully made a new email. I'd imagine it would be much worse if the person who was bullying you and the one who was cyber-bullying you were one and the same. It would make you feel like you were trapped, that nowhere was safe anymore.

 

[Merkavar]

cyber bullying? what a bunch of little pansies. how do you get bullied online? oh no the big bad bully is calling me names. what do cyber bullies do?

try getting punched kicked, hit with a giant stick, repeatedly hit with a metal ruler, whipped with a metal wire, pushed, tripped, corked in the leg, things stolen from you or broken aswell as being insulted and teased by people in PERSON and not on a computer.

sticks and stones and all that.

but i dont think the school has the right to monitor all messages on computers. it might be a school resource and all that but the use of it should be private.

 

[SonicWaffle]

And there is a world of difference between thinking about stuff and actually doing it!
And hell, so he buys a weapon, youre telling me that only murderers in the states have weapons? And learning about bombs, I know how to make bombs and thermite and chloroform. I aint never shot up a school.

And I never said that the hypothetical kid was going to either. I merely pointed out that the school should be concerned at one of their pupils doing those three things in conjunction. Buying a weapon, fine. Reading up on bomb-making techniques, pretty weird but still fine. Obsessively researching school shootings, creepy as fuck but still fine. All three together, though? You'd have to be a real idiot for that not to set alarm bells ringing.

So tell me, what to you makes it so much different that someone who reads about school shootings is a warning point but those who actually shoot people in a game is okay? Because of the word game? I would be more worried about those enacting school shootings over those just reading articles about it. Else fuck, me reading about WW2 would then make me a nazi but playing a "game" where I did it would be fine right?

You're simplifying again, and ignoring what I said. It is not simply the act of reading about something, in our hypothetical it is the act of obsessively reasding about a subject while at the same time purchasing materials that would make re-enacting the incident possible. Once again, if that doesn't set off alarm bells for you, then maybe you have the problem here.

Is it OK to do these things in a game? Of course it is. A game is clearly seperated from real life, even when based on true events, whereas the Columbine massacre was very, very real. Obsessing over both is unhealthy, but not so much as attempting to re-enact either. You're trying to boil the point down to make it seem that I've claimed that simply reading about things is cause for concern, but you know that isn't what I said.

To use your nazi example - you reading about WW2 would not make you a nazi. You obsessing over WW2 while buying SS uniforms and lugers off the internet would be a definite cause for concern. I'm not saying that it definitely means you are a nazi, but the situatuion certainly warrants closer monitoring, no?

Oh and lets clear up one thing right here and now. Reading about violence means you are fantasizing about violence but playing a game means you are not? Worst. Argument. Ever.
Those who play violent games do indeed fantasize about violence. Otherwise they would not choose to play a game that involves violent content. I read WH40K because I want to read about dudes shooting shit, I play games because I want to play as a dude shooting shit.

That's....well, frankly, that's creepy as all hell. You're saying that the reason you read about Warhammer or play computer games is because you fantasize about violence? That isn't normal, buddy. The reason I read books where people fight and struggle and die is to enjoy the story, which is why I can equally enjoy a book in which nobody raises a finger towards another person. The reason I play video games with violence in them is to enjoy the game as a game, which is why I can have as much fun with Tetris as I can shooting dudes on Battlefield. My motivations are not underpinned by some seedy fantasy in which I actually yearn to carry out these acts, and I'm always fully aware that I'm playing a game rather than acting out my own sick desires.

This actually highlights a worry I have - that there really are people who can't seperate the fantasy from the reality, or who utilise the fantasy because they secretly want to do these things in reality.

The basis of your argument seems to boil down to "well everyone knows a game is just a game but reading... thats the real threat"...
And that type of thinking my friends is what makes the technophobes and media protestors of the future.

Whereas your whole argument appears to be "I didn't really understand what you said, so I'm going to simplify it to one ludicrous point and then base my entire rebuttal around it"

This may be worth a read, for next time this happens; [link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum[/link]

 

[HotPocket]

Stupidest thing I've heard all day.

It doesn't matter if you know not to take people on the internet too seriously. When those people who are sending you threatening messages know where you live and go to your school, it's not as simple as just ignoring them. The intention of cyber bullying is to scare the crap out of the person who is being bullied with physical, verbal and psychological abuse and because a lot of people don't take kindly to being bullied, the trauma is successful. Just think about the LGBT kids who killed themselves. All because of bullying.

No you.

cyberbullying - A phrase to describe the use of such entities as myspace, youtube, or any form of chat/free online discussion for the purpose of trash-talking one's peers. Used often by ill-informed middle aged "experts" such as teachers, soccer moms, liberal politicians, social workers, and school administrators who seek to demonize and censor myspace or any other free web usage.
Cyberbullying is often played up as a major threat to youth, although only a very small percent of young internet users are actually offended by others' trash talk and take it to heart enough to actually consider it bullying. And, as so often happens, a few ruin it for the rest of us.

Copy pasted definition.

The fact is, cyberbullying is too large a definition to say it always leads in suicides. Cyberbullying is more the act of being tough over the internet than being an asshole... everywhere. What happened where the LGBT kids committed suicide is different as it was a very real form of bullying. The fact that it was committed online doesn't make it cyberbullying, what happened with those kids was just plain bullying in a different median. Cyberbullying is a separate entity and I stand by my previous argument that if he's anonymous, don't take them seriously.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Simple solution to this: Don't use facebook at school.

Besides, cyber bullying is overblown. I'd rather take cyber bullying than normal bullying any day.

How dare you bring logic to the internet. You're missing the point you fool *wedgie*

OT: sounds extreme but wait, are you using a school issued computer? I don't quite understand the edit but if you're using a computer your school can monitor than keep it offline.

 

[Omega Pirate]

As I understand this only applies to school issued laptops and the computers at school, which is their property. If its their property they can do anything they wish with it. However that should be the extent of that, if they start demanding to install their software on your personal ipod/laptop then its a concern. I don't understand the whole concept of Cyber bullying, but that's probably because I don't use any of the social network websites. Mind you I don't consider forums social networking, not that I post more then 3 times a week on all of the forums I use combined.

 

[Reaper195]

Simple solution to this: Don't use facebook at school.

Besides, cyber bullying is overblown. I'd rather take cyber bullying than normal bullying any day.

Second all the way. Besides, ninty percent of cyber bullying can be solved by finding the person and hitting them a few times. Bullyees need to fight back more.

 

[psychowatcher]

Do I like the idea of a school stalking what the students do online outside of school. No, I don't. However, if they are monitoring what they do in school or on school-issued computers, then I doubt I'd have that much of a problem. After all, at my high school, they told us that there was a group of people off-campus who were paid to monitor everything done on the school's computers. We were given a clear message of what websites we were allowed to access and for what purposes. If we were caught using a proxy to bypass the block they put on a website, we lost computer privileges.

However, the point is, that stalking the students isn't the answer. However, if a student uses the site to threaten violence at the school (like threatening to take a gun and shoot a kid in math class), then the school has every right to take action. And if the kid wasn't serious and feels his punishment was unjustified, he should learn not to throw such comments around willy-nilly where anyone can read them.

 

[Motiv_]

The same policy applies at my job. If you use a company computer, then your history is saved and emailed directly to either me or the manager in your sector, where we review it, and if we find any offensive stuff[footnote]AKA porn, hate websites, racist or sexist material, excessive screwing around when you're supposed to be working, etc etc[/footnote] then we forward it along to the higher-ups, who take appropriate action.

You don't like it? It's not your computer, do that stuff on your own time. When you're on company time, then use computers only for work related activities.

Sound harsh? Maybe. But we've caught two of our employee's trying to post on Craigslist about selling stolen company property, we've also caught one guy who was trying to sell illegal drugs. So it's worth it to me.

What drugs? Seriously, was it something actually bad or just pot?

Cocaine. Dumbshit had some of it in his locker too.

 

[Disanthrophobia]

Is that even legal? one would think the 1st amendment prevents them from doing that, i know they can stop you from saying stuff IN school but not out. Also great solution to the cyber-bully problem is vxheavens cant bully someone without a working computer

 

[WanderingFool]

How bout more focus on Real Bullying, Hmm?

 

[GenericAmerican]

*ahem* If it's their shit, they can do whatever they want with it. If you really really need to go on facebook and don't want them to know about it, then wait until you get home and use your personal computer.

If you lent your laptop to someone and they went and downloaded a ton of porn, you would get mad wouldn't you (well, some people probably wouldn't)? So if your at school/work, and using their stuff, don't do anything you know you will regret later.

Once I did have a friend get expelled because he had a myspace account. Nothing bad was put on the account, it was just an account; and he was expelled...and I can't find a single damn thing in the school's rulebook about it. They really overstepped their boundaries on that one.
Also they tried to ex-spell students for going to the movies.

And Cyberbullying, not a big deal from my standpoint. I have received threatening E-mails, texts, all that shit. Let me tell you, a e-mail is nothing compared to some punk trying to stab you. *insert bad memory here*

If someone sends me a hatefilled email, I read it, laugh and ignore it. If its one my youtube account, I delete it. People, especially most people my age, are complete and total pricks, me included sometimes. All you have to do is ignore it; the real problem is physical bullying.

Actually I would prefer cyberbullying over physical bullying. Really what's worse, getting an e-mail saying "your a fag, go kill yourself you worthless piece of shit." Or leaving school, being confronted by a bully and his two friends, and them saying that same statement and then beating the hell out of you?

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Its atrocious, but get used to it. Freedom in this world is the world's most frequently uttered lie.

 

[Lilani]

Why can school systems never use a rational mindset in these issues? They always resort to either 'take the thing away' or 'watch them do the thing EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY'.

A school's mindset when approaching problems is "What can we do to make the most craziest and most paranoid parents in existence happy with our policies?" They favor this extreme because (in their eyes) to be accused of doing too little is about 500 times worse than being accused of doing too much.

They see it that way because if people think they're doing too little about something and something happens, people can play the negligence card and get the school in a LOT of trouble. But if they're doing too much, then they're dealing with something much more subjective and much less at risk of generating lawsuits.

My opinion on this? It won't solve anything. Banning something in schools just makes kids want to do that thing more. They're treating the symptoms, not the disease. I think if they want to approach cyber-bullying they should approach it in the same way they approach STDs or drunk driving--bring in real victims and have them share their stories.

That still probably wouldn't solve much, though. This is a lot deeper than anything the school can solve. It's a problem that begins at home, with how the kids were taught how to treat people. Not to mention that they pick up on the Internet about trolling and whatnot.

The Internet has made bullying streamlined and less painful on the bully's side. Rather than having to see the tears run down the person's face right there in front of them, they can get all of the hate out at a safe distance. They can get their high without having to deal with the immediate consequences. It takes quite a bully to be able to continue to bully someone while they're bawling in front of them, or keep throwing punches when their face is already bloody. Most would hit their empathetic threshold long before that point, or at least somebody else's nearby would. But almost anyone with a chip on their shoulder can write a mean note and click "send."