Sir Jaylo Lacaden

Trends, Networks And

Critical Thinking In The
21st Century Culture
(Fri 1:00-5:00)
Cyber Bullying and Social Networks
Pugong, Rilda, G.

19
CYBER BULLYING
2 12-year-olds arrested for cyber bullying in connection with suicide of 12-year-old girl

PANAMA CITY, Florida -- Two 12-year-olds in Florida were arrested for cyberbullying in connection with
the death of a middle-school student who police say hanged herself two weeks ago. January 25th, 2018

The circumstances around the death of 12-year-old Gabriella Green on Jan. 10 led to the arrests of the two
Surfside Middle School students, Panama City Beach officials said in a news release Monday. Police did not
release the names of the two children who were arrested because they are minors.
Investigators were made aware of the potential cyberbullying against the girl while looking into the death,
which led them to examine several cellphones and social media accounts, the news release said. They interviewed
two suspects with their parents' permission, and say both confessed to cyberbullying. A police report states that one
of the suspects told an investigator that she had started rumors about Green in person, and online.

"Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-
calling ... And threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," the police report said. The other
suspect, a boy, told police he video-chatted with Green after she told him she had attempted to hang herself and
had marks on her neck, according to the report.

"(He) responded by saying something to the effect of, 'If you're going to do it, just do it,' and ended the
call," police wrote. "He immediately regretted that statement, and began calling and text-messaging her, but did not
receive a response." Green's cousin, Chad Baker, told police she hanged herself with a dog leash in her closet, the
police report said.

Police said the suspects did not notify any adult or authority about Green's state of mind. The two children
arrested also acknowledged that their conduct was directed at Green "knowing that said conduct would result in
emotional distress." Even so, police said the investigation did not reveal that the cyberbullying caused the girl's
death, just that it was happening in the days and weeks leading up to it.

School officials said they are making counselors available at Surfside for students, faculty and staff. "We
continue to mourn the loss of Gabbie and our hearts go out to her family, her friends and to everyone at Surfside
Middle School," Superintendent William Husfelt said in a statement. "This is an absolutely tragic situation."
Police said that during the investigation, they discovered several middle-school children with unrestricted and
unmonitored access to social media apps, and said the department will hold a training in the coming weeks for
parents about how to manage this access.

Nationally, about 1-in-3 children say they are cyberbullied, and about 12 percent say they have bullied
others online, according to Sameer Hinduja, a criminology professor at Florida Atlantic University and co-director of
the Cyberbullying Research Center. He said his most recent study of more than 5,000 children ages 12-17 in the
U.S. shows that real-world bullying is still vastly more common than online bullying, and that fewer than 1 percent of
cyberbullying cases involve suicide.
"In many suicide cases the victims were also dealing with atypical stressors, like family issues at home, or
they were clinically depressed," Hinduja said. "Many kids are bullied and don't take their lives." The medical
examiner is still working to determine Green's cause of death, police said.
Gabriella's mother, Tanya Green, told the Panama City News Herald the arrests "were gratifying," but said
she blames parents and the school system. She said she hopes the tragedy will help shine light on the issue of
cyberbullying. "It's going to help others at her school," Green told the newspaper. "It's going to start at her school.
It's going to help others around the world."

Source: https://abc13.com/2-arrested-for-cyber-bullying-after-12-year-old-girls-suicide/2983420/

Assessment:
Gabriella Green, being a victim of cyberbullying which begins with the rumors in their school then
scattering these rumors online that leads to distress and worst, she committed suicide. In this situation, it
made me think of the responsibilities of every individual on how they should be aware on the things that
they were saying to other people. We must think carefully on the things that we are saying or posting online
because we might regret the possible outcome of our actions later. We might not hurt other people
physically, but we could cause distress to them that might ruin their image and their dignity as a person.
On the part of parents, may be it would be better for you to check or monitor your child’s gadget
and don’t forget to communicate with them no matter how busy your work is. Quality time is the most
important thing to maintain a good relationship, children needs a parental guidance in their way most
especially to minors. Be a responsible parent.
 In victims side, we may be hurt but don’t forget to approach other people most especially to our
family members. If things happens like this, don’t overthink things. There are our elders in which we can
share our problems, we can approach them when we think we can’t handle difficult situations like this.
Disregard all the negativities that they were scattering, stay focus, pray and think positive.

SOCIAL NETWORKS:
1. 2 Social media network
a. Gmail – this social media network helps me to send my requirements to my teachers. It is
effective tool to send files to other people and to message them about important things. I
can also store important files in here most especially documents, pictures, videos and
music. It is also an important tool to keep your other social media account safe. It is
personalized application with multiple usage. We can use this to collaborate with other
people, storage of files, we can be notified about the connections where we interacted with
and it’s the most convenient tool to send quick messages.
b. Blogs – people use this to share what they think about certain topics. It can either be in
youtube or website page, blogger will pick a certain topic then they will give their own
opinion about then post it. Blogs gives me a background about the things I wanted to know
and to further know about things, I check out the comments or discussion that were
included in there. To verify the things that they have discussed, I will check other websites
for further information. Youtube blogs for me are just for entertainments but it also gives a
lot of lessons. I learn different things in life and it makes me reflect to myself. Blogs can be
helpful if we will use it in a positive way but it can also lead to negative effect if we can’t
control ourselves. We should know how to act and think very wise in using internet,
beware of our actions and things what we’re posting.

2. Impacts of social media on the following:

a. Business marketing - Businesses are constantly finding new ways to implement their
marketing strategies through social media. Prior to the development of social media
platforms, businesses relied on fliers sent through the mail, television commercials and
word of mouth. While these marketing tactics are still useful, businesses can now use
social media to instantly inform consumers about sales, the arrival of new products and
exclusive promotions. Consumers can connect with their favorite retailers online to stay
informed about new developments.

Source: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/social-media-affect-retail-businesses-39275.html

b. Employment recruitment - Putting up a job on social media can increase candidate

applications by 30% to 50%, according to a white paper by iCIMS. Recruiters look for a
candidate’s online presence and professional networks to get a better understanding of the
person. Thanks to direct messaging, it is now possible to communicate instantly with
potential candidates. It cuts the time from sourcing from bigger and inefficient talent pools.
A study by Development Dimensions International in 2016 found managers and executives
that used it to promote the company culture and brand awareness, had an increase in
sales and much more talented pool of employment candidates when they need to fill
vacant positions.
Source: https://strammer.com/en/social-media-impact/
c. Human relation - Studies and personal experience reveal people tend to put their best foot forward
while interacting on social media. Displays of emotional weakness, insecurity, or conflicts generally
tend to be concealed or minimized on social networking sites. It is often difficult, if not impossible,
on social media to reveal the qualities that define deep, intimate relationships. While our social
media friends offer us a great deal, it is not a true substitute or even supplement for real-life
interactions with others. Online friendships, while certainly valuable in many ways, lack the ability
to provide us with opportunities for deep and lasting emotional closeness. So accept and seek out
your online friends, rekindle lost connections and revisit childhood friendships, as long as it is not at
the expense of nurturing and deepening your real-life relationships.

Source: https://psychcentral.com/lib/social-medias-impact-on-relationships/

d. Freedom of expression: Social media is a virtual space to get people to express themselves. Whether it be a
Facebook status, Twitter updates, Instagram photos… these are all extensions of our personality. They help portray our
 interests, our views and help show people who we are. They offer a platform for us to beourselves, to be
creative, to be who we want to be and most importantly, have an audience for all of this. Social media has become an
inevitable part of modern life. It helps to connect with friends, real-time. Through these channels, users can interact,
reconnect and socialize. Social media is a one-stop shop, for example, keeping up with current events, celebrity gossip;
a tool to grow business; sharing ideas and information, etc. In a essence, social media offers the possibility of
enhancing free speech, giving voice to millions
Source:
https://www.academia.edu/37339139/Freedom_of_Expression_in_Social_Media_A_Political_Pers
pective

e. Privacy issue - Statements posted on social media networks are in essence just another form of
electronic media that may contain relevant information. Therefore, similar to other forms of
electronic discovery, information posted to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or
LinkedIn can also be subject to discovery. In fact, discovery of social media should be embraced
as part of the “new normal”, because posts on social media is just another way for individuals and
corporations to communicate. Social media sites however, are often used in a personal capacity
and consequently contain private, non-public information. As a result, broad requests for
information on social media may invade an individual’s right to privacy.

Source: https://www.werksmans.com/legal-updates-and-opinions/the-legal-impact-of-social-media-
networks-international-trends/

f. Values system - Social media is changing our relationship styles in several important ways. First, it’s
allowing us to connect with more people more rapidly. Second, it’s easy to overestimate the level of
intimacy of our online relationships. Third, it makes us more susceptible to a sort of social media
contagion effect, which means you may possibly start adopting behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs from
those within our social network. Fourth, social media facilitates comparing ourselves with others, which
may have positive or negative effects.

Source: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-social-media-is-changing-your-
relationships/

g. Education - social media has the role to empower parents, students and teachers to use
new ways of sharing information and build a community. Statistics show that 96% of the
students that have internet access are using at least one social network. What’s even
more extraordinary is that, even though some of the students use the social networks for
entertaining and other purposes, there are a lot of them that actually use it to promote a lot
of positive and useful activities. From finding a summer internship, promoting a success
story about how to win the student-loan battle or collaborate on international projects,
everything is made possible.

Source: http://csic.georgetown.edu/magazine/social-media-reshaping-todays-education-
system/

h. Politics - The use of social media in politics including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube has
dramatically changed the way campaigns are run and how people interact with their elected
officials. The prevalence of social media in politics has made elected officials and candidates for
public office more accountable and accessible to voters. And the ability to publish content and
broadcast it to millions of people instantaneously allows campaigns to carefully manage
their candidates’ images based on rich sets of analytics in real time and at almost no cost.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/how-social-media-has-changed-politics-3367534
i. Communication - Social media is a convenient way of communicating, but it lessens the
quality of the connection. Its rise to prominence changes our ability to interact with others
on a meaningful level. Our social skills are challenged to the point that many now struggle
to interact in traditional conversations. Social media also challenges our communication
etiquette. Our need for efficiency has surpassed the consequences of digital dialogue.
People too often say whatever comes to mind without thinking about how the receiver will
interpret their tone and intent. We miss the fact that there is a human on the other side of
the screen. Ultimately, it has created more misunderstanding and miscommunication,
which threatens our relationships.
 Source: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/how-social-media-affects-our-ability-to-
communicate/

j. Self-concept –Social media has been linked to higher levels of loneliness, envy, anxiety,
depression, narcissism and decreased social skills. social media is creating a paradox
effect: giving off the illusion of many choices, while making it harder to find viable options.
The “Slot Machine Effect” and comparing ourselves to others is just one side of FOMO.
Match reported 51% say social media has made them feel more self-conscious about their
appearance. Flores further explains “research has also shown that Facebook users are
becoming increasingly depressed from comparing themselves to their own profile.
Meaning that if a person’s reality does not match the digital illusion they post on their
profiles, emotionally, one may feel they are not living up to the “best” form of themselves.”

Source:https://www.huffpost.com/entry/social-medias-impact-on-self-
esteem_b_58ade038e4b0d818c4f0a4e4