OK, so maybe snowball throwers go a little too wild, and football fans get a pass for being rude to the other team, but Facebook is supposed to be about friendship, so why are so many kids using it to bully each other? Who has an excuse for the kind of behavior? Why would someone send a text message to a girl whose leg is in a brace, mocking her disability? Why would three boys forge another boy's identity on Facebook and make it appear that he was the one doing the bullying? Why do kids take the time to be so mean?
This is my own little problem solution post because if you read the article, you will see that parents are a big part of the problem. Some do not want to get involved because when they intervene to defend their kid, they can make the problem worse. But I'm wondering where the parents are when the kids are three, four, five, and so on. Those are the times when parents need to teach the lessons of the Golden Rule. And the motto about walking in someone else's shoes.
I can only agree. It is vital for parents to implement morals and ethics in their children when they are young. Just a couple days ago Urban Meyer, the head football coach for University of Florida stepped down because he believes that you “going to be judged on how you are as a husband, as a father,” not as a football coach. Parents have lost this desire within the flurry of egos and money. We live in a society where parents believe children should develop individuality and independence, but parents are whom the children learn the essential values and perspectives towards life. Parents are more concerned about the overall success of their children. How large of a scholarship they can receive, what GPA they have, how many extra-curricular activities they join. Parents should act as parents, not college counselors. In order to create a more empathetic generation, parents must be more concerned about the values and morals of their children rather than the GPA’s and test scores.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, parents need to be there to show their children how to act with morality. But I also want to say that sometimes the best parents have children who don't behave well no matter how many good lessons their parents taught them. This happens because of the friendships they make. I believe friendships are a big factor of the person you become and how you act. Children want to fit in, and choosing the wrong crowd is what I really believe encourages bullying, not Facebook and not parents.
ReplyDeleteCyber space is such a difficult thing for parents to keep tabs on. With todays technology, children can find different ways to push pass parental blocks and limitations that parents put on their computers.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe it's the parents' fault, but more so facebook's fault. Little children should not be allowed to make facebook profiles. Children will be children. It's not just this generation where kids have been mean, kids have always been mean and cruel. Parents need to have the opportunity to teach their children proper manners BEFORE they are allowed to voice their opinions through cyber space and only facebook has that power.
I think there could be other reasons besides the parents, not that the parents aren't to blame. Children could be using facebook as a guard. They can say whatever they want without having to face the person, and if they decide to take it back they can simply delete what they originally wrote. First semester we talked about how people are hiding behind blogs, texts, and websites, and I think the same thing is happening here. Facebook is giving these kids the feeling that they can say anything and not have any consequences.
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