Social Media Mess

Bullying has been around for a long time.  It used to be an individual or a group might pick on someone who was new or different to test them.  It might involve some name-calling and even a fight, but it was usually hidden. Today, bullying has evolved thanks to social media like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Cyber-bullying has become an all too familiar problem for students and schools.                                                                   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students feel the need to talk negatively about someone so they post it in on a social network and since that social network is public, students tend to involve many students and spread the negativity about a certain student. This public harassment has even caused students to take their own lives.

This use of social media to harass and embarrass students has caused serious problems in high schools.  Parents and students want the schools to discipline the offending students, but administrators and law enforcement isn’t sure where their jurisdiction begins and ends.  While many schools have instituted anti-bullying rules, most are dealing with the 20th century bullying, not 21st century cyber-bullying.  However, some states – New Jersey, Indiana, and California – have been taking a proactive approach to create policies to combat cyber-bullying.

The LodiUnifiedSchool District near Stockton, CA is making athletes sign a “Social Networking by Student-Athletes and Co-Curricular participants” contract, which involves students and parents signing as a requirement for participation in sports and clubs. This contract forbids posts which makes reference to violence, alcohol or drug use, cyber-bullying, or posts or “retweets” that include profanity, and “subtweeting,” or posting a comment on Twitter that refers to a person who is not named. The Lodi district believes this contract will discipline and teach students that their actions outside school can still affect them and have serious consequences. Students at Lodi’s BearCreekHigh School have argued against this school policy calling it unconstitutional because it violates their First Amendment rights. However, the district argues that student make their posts public already so it is open to anyone that wants to see it, including their own school. The district also argues that drug and alcohol use are against school codes and law in general, and they want to take a proactive approach to prevent any cyber-bullying at their schools.

Another district taking a proactive approach is Los Angeles’s GlendaleSchool District, which has developed online monitoring bases. Glendale has recently paid $40,500 to snoop students’ social media accounts as of last year. Glendale believes it will prevent problems such as; online bullying, self-harming, drugs, and alcohol use. Glendale has paid private firm GEO Listening to report any harmful things they find in the 14,000 student monitoring system. As students argue that it is a violation of the First Amendment, Glendale states that the information released by students is already made public by students themselves, therefore no privacy is violated.

In contrast to Lodi District, the SalinasUnionHighSchool District does not have a policy regarding social media networking sites.  However, there is an anti-bullying policy according to Principal Garcia. Garcia says that that online posting of alcohol or drugs should be more of a parent responsibility.  But he said, “If it is cyber-bullying, then the school will take action to stop it.”  He also said that if it is reported by another student, the school will contact the parents in regards to postings dealing with drugs or alcohol. While he is concerned about social media and cyber-bullying, Garcia was unsure who could monitor all this student social media postings at all the high schools.

While awareness of cyber-bullying has been raised, the issue of how to police social media still has a way to go. Schools should have policies to monitor social media and consequences for abusing it, but I know that it would be very hard to monitor every student social media accounts.  A possible solution would involve an honor code signed by the students to monitor each other. It is a natural responsibility for students to be smart and make the right choices dealing with their social media postings. Students need to know there are consequences to their posts.

Some consequences or infractions that can apply for athletes would be a warning, stripping them of their right to join a club or any school activity, not playing in a game, and could go as far as getting kicked off the team or suspended or expelled from school.

Although some will argue that looking at someone’s posts and punishing them for what they say is a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech, what about the rights of students not to be harassed, threatened, embarrassed, or defamed on social media? The policy would not prohibit students from posting online, but, rather would encourage them to be smarter about what they post about themselves and others, especially activities which are illegal for minors, like drinking and drug use.

The problems created by social media existed before social media sites existed, but the ways of dealing with the issues of cyber-bullying, underage drinking and drug use haven’t progressed with the technology.  In order to deal effectively with the problems, all groups will have to work together to come up with policies that will not only punish offenders, but will educate all on how to be responsible with our social interactions.