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What are your views on cyberbullying?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
A new drama about cyberbullying will be shownn on Channel 4 tonight at 9. Please watch it, then share your views on the drama with us in this thread.

young Game of Throwns actress Maisie Williams, who stars in the drama, has revealed she was a victim of cyberbullying. What are your experiences of cyberbullying?

Do you think schools and colleges do enough about cyberbullying?

Do you think people should just block cyberbullies, or is it the responsibility of the websites where cyberbullying takes place to close the accounts of cyberbullies?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Blocking doesn't always work. Some people are sad enough to follow people around. And not all websites offer a block option.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Melian wrote: »
    Blocking doesn't always work. Some people are sad enough to follow people around. And not all websites offer a block option.

    Do you think all social websites should offer a block option?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Whowhere wrote: »
    I deal with cyber bullying and other things that are reported to us all the time. I'm quite familiar with most of the processes and also how lacking we are when it comes to cooperation from the companies responsible.
    Basically, if you want something legally to be done about cyber bullying, use a network that has an office in the UK. They are legally required to provide the police with IP information (think Google, Facebook, Microsoft). The others are all based abroad and unless it is a serious crime (child grooming etc) we have no jurisdiction what so ever unless you can prove the identity of the troll.
    I'm going to watch the programme, it looks interesting.

    Could you say in terms of a percentage, how much of it is over websites that are not based in the UK? Do you find that websites based in the UK are generally co-operative?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    WayneS wrote: »
    Do you think all social websites should offer a block option?

    Yes. However, from experience this doesn't actually stop people:
    I blocked someone on Facebook and had my setting so that you had to have a mutual friend with me to add me. He created multiple profiles and then added mutual friends and then tried to add me as a friend. All I did each time was block him. The police weren't interested and neither were Facebook. I reported him to the police and Facebook for harassment. Facebook never did anything, or if they did, they never contacted me about it. (I have no idea what their policy is on this) The police went as far to blame me and said he can't help it due to his learning disability and basically, sod me and what I'm going through, (I was also dealing with the news that my granddad was dying of terminal cancer) I've got to deal with this myself.

    He eventually gave up after 6 months. I've not heard from him since. We met through a support group. Not wanting to deal with this alone, I reported him to the group leader who held a meeting and decided that his behaviour (I wasn't the only one who had issues with him) was inappropriate and for that reason, they had no choice but to kick him out of the group.

    And then there was the woman who for reasons only known to herself, was sad enough to get her mates to bully me and a few other people. If you don't like someone, why not do the adult thing and leave them alone? I got so fed up in the end and the website did nothing, that I left. She followed me on to another website where the bullying continued. She was told to either grow up and stop bullying people, or she'll be banned. Not heard from her since.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wanna throw this out there - though it's not totally on point.

    Why do we label this problem as different things? Trolls on forums and comment sections, BMers in games, bullies in school...

    Here's a reality - there's all dickheads. :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MikeS wrote: »
    Here's a reality - there's all dickheads. :yes:

    :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cyberbulyying is "easier" in the sense that you're hiding behind a screen. A lot of what people say on forums, they wouldn't dare say to peoples' faces. It's also generally anonymous and there isn't much admin / moderators can do about it. And I've come across forums where they turn a blind eye to it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's also partially to do with a phenomena called deindividuation.
    Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that is generally thought of as the losing of self-awareness in groups, although this is a matter of contention.

    Though this is more to do with groups of people than individuals, I still think it plays a part. In certain places online you get the chance to be anonymous. Faceless. This is the same sort of thing that encourages people to be part of violent crowds and protests, lynch mobs, that kinda stuff. People are capable of terrible things and when you take someone's identity away from them suddenly it doesn't seem so bad, I guess because it feels less connected to you. When self awareness is lost you can do things you didn't think you were capable of.

    Derren Brown did a fantastic special programme on it, well worth a watch. :)

    I realise how much of a tangent I'm going on, so I shall hush now :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In response to Mike's posts, I wonder if anonymity is still a big problem? With more people connecting to the people they know on Facebook and Twitter, has this led to an increase in the amount of cyberbullying where the victim knows the bully?

    Melian wrote: »
    And then there was the woman who for reasons only known to herself, was sad enough to get her mates to bully me and a few other people. If you don't like someone, why not do the adult thing and leave them alone? I got so fed up in the end and the website did nothing, that I left. She followed me on to another website where the bullying continued. She was told to either grow up and stop bullying people, or she'll be banned. Not heard from her since.

    It's a shame the website you left didn't take the approach of the website you joined, but I'm sure their loss if the other website's gain and I'm glad you found another website to join.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    WayneS wrote: »

    It's a shame the website you left didn't take the approach of the website you joined, but I'm sure their loss if the other website's gain and I'm glad you found another website to join.

    A lot of the argument was the lack of resources, etc. They claim they don't have the time or people. I help moderate a pretty big forum and am well aware of how time consuming it is. Yet, we somehow manage to deal with bullying.
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