Cyberbullying is so new and so technologically sophisticated that the usual power structures (courts, schools, communities) are ill-equipped to handle it. Also, it casts teenagers in a negative light which always sells.
Based on cursory research, I've identified 4 areas that give rise to serious ethical considerations on the topic.
Possibly at the core of every internet-rights debate -how much should the institution (school, state, etc) intervene and how much should the individual and/or their immediate community figure out for themselves.
Teens and Freedom of Speech
Understanding the nuances of freedom of speech, as well as navigating the wider world with its plethora of opinions necessitates a certain level of emotional maturity, the ability to put things into perspective, what to pay attention to, what to disregard. This does not happen in the teenage years, by and large. They are preparing for it, and they fuss and spar their way into shaping their own moral codes and skill sets for handling this business.
I am not a parent, and therefore can speak with no firsthand knowledge on raising children, but is there not a point where you have to let your kid have some privacy? Evolving levels, age-appropriate, but can you be in on every...single...thing they are at all times, monitoring carefully? Even before the internet was in someone's sketchbook, this was impossible. As they get older, kids do need spaces where they can stretch their wings a little, not to mention parents need time for themselves. This does not negate the parents' right to protect their children from harm or the kid's right to collaborate with their family if they run into trouble. That's a very, very difficult line to articulate.
Megan was exploring her personality, her sexuality, her self in a way that seems silly to people who've already done it but is an important exercise for someone just starting. That being said, everything in a teenager's world is dramatic, doubly so if they have a condition like Megan. Was she receiving enough alternatives to the culture she subscribed to at the moment? What else was there going for her in Dardenne?
What can the parents do when it looks so real?
Megan Meier's parents did what they were "supposed" to do - set limits, make rules, supervise their daughter's online activity as much as possible. As a young teenager, she was legally unable to decide for herself all that much in the way of right and wrong, and was obviously still ironing out her emotional development. A parental ban on myspace could have done something - could have. But haven't we all got into things our parents disapproved of? That's called being a teenager.
"It's hard not to be overwhelmed by fear," Vannasdall [Principal of Arcadia HS, CA] says. "The students we were traditionally able to control, now know more than you do. And they know how to use it against you." (Brydolf)Critics of US culture often seize upon our national tendency to take things to courts. We've been painted at times as a very litigous, very PC society. For example the terms and images that follow: Nanny State, Helicopter Parents, Culture of Victimhood. It's easy to go overboard and assume that a kid's every online action is going to be fraught with bullies, pedophiles, and scammers. Yet they *are* out there and a 'net user, especially a young one, has to learn online social skills to protect themselves.
“The vicious circle of victimization and victimization expectations that forces numerous pupils to adopt a general victim role (Card, 2003) may be broken within internet chatrooms.” (Katzer et al)
Katzer observed that normally victimized kids in her study often rejected that role in chat rooms, sometimes even becoming bullies themselves, which exacerbates the problem, making it harder for the adults to track down the source of the attacks and take action.
Some research on trolling, which is arguably a close cousin to cyberbullying, has found that many people think emotional responses to online attacks indicate some level of enjoyment of a victim role. And, maybe for some people, yes. But that cannot be assumed, especially for kids who are still working out their ways of interpreting and handling stressful situations.
Internet Literacy
''Teens are facile with technology but not fluent with the new literacies the digital world requires" (Rainie, qtd. In Dillon)
People who adopt new technologies with little or no background in similar areas they're now entering are apt to make mistakes and misinterpret. We've all been there. It's common sense. But the idea that throwing a teenager into the internet without any guidance in how to exist wisely online leaves them very vulnerable. Anyone can set up (or get around) a blocking program on the family computer, or read the same advice about not giving out personal info, but how many people are taught how to interact on forums? Games? Blogs?
''Aggressive behavior doesn’t have to be repetitive…a single posting…is sufficient because the information is so widely disseminated” (Fauman)
Part of learning to be internet literate is learning that what goes out there stays out there, and it's not really as anonymous as it feels. Reputations are still a valuable commodity, and people look for real-life indicators of personality and ability not just from the image you project to their face, but also the little galaxy of personal data you put out there.
Devices
Also, the plethora of gadgets and their new designs make it easier to be stealthy and speedy. Cameras and video recording capabilities are de rigeur on phones, and those phones are swiftly becoming internet-knit devices, raising new opportunities for harassment when used in the wrong way.
Pew Internet and American Life Project
Articles:
"Cyberbullying: Who are the victims?: A comparison of victimization in internet chatrooms and victimization in school." Katzer, Catarina et al, Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, Vol 21(1), 2009. pp. 25-36
"Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age." Fauman, Michael A. American Journal of Psychiatry; Jun2008, Vol. 165 Issue 6, p780-781
"Minding MySpace: Balancing the Benefits and Risks of Students' Online Social Networks." Brydolf, Carol, Education Digest; Oct2007, Vol. 73 Issue 2, p4-8
"The Cyber Jungle." Darden, Edwin C. American School Board Journal; Apr2009, Vol. 196 Issue 4, p55-56
"A Tangled Web." Dillon, Naomi, American School Board Journal; Dec2008, Vol. 195 Issue 12, p14-17
"Cyber bullying pushes teenagers towards suicide." Vaughan, Richard, Times Educational Supplement; 3/20/2009 Issue 4831, p27-27
"Cyber Bullying." Kowalski, Robin M., Psychiatric Times; Oct2008, Vol. 25 Issue 11, p45-47
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