The misuse of communication technologies in cases of cyber-bullying highlights that while the tools may be changing, cruelty and insensitivity toward others is nothing new, according to one Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher.

 

Dr Sue Saltmarsh, senior lecturer in education at the School of Teacher Education at Bathurst, whose research concerns the connections between education, violence and popular culture, says that cyber-bullying is an emerging problem for young people around the world, with mobile phones, email and social networking websites being used as the new tools for damaging feelings, reputations and friendships.

 

“What I believe we are seeing with cyber-bullying are some very old problems being perpetuated through the misuse of new technological tools,” Dr Saltmarsh said.

 

“Cyber-bullying is another form of violence, and has devastating effects on people’s lives, irrespective of the kinds of social spaces in which it occurs. What takes place in online and virtual environments cannot be separated from the ‘real world’ of everyday life.

 

“At its core, cyber-bullying has all the elements of other forms of social violence; the abuse of power, a sense of entitlement on the part of those perpetuating the problem, indifference to the pain and suffering of others, and, in many cases, witnesses who know about the abuse but who are either unable or unwilling to intervene or report it for fear of becoming victims themselves.”

 

According to most experts on cyber-bullying, there are a number of factors that make cyber-bullying a particularly potent form of interpersonal abuse. These include the potential for technology to be used in harmful ways at any hour of day or night, the sense of anonymity that comes with taunting or harassing someone ‘from a distance’, and the potential for embarrassing, hurtful or damaging information to be publicised to millions of others very quickly.

 

For victims of cyber-bullying, the sense of hurt and humiliation can be overwhelming. There have been a number of youth suicides related to cyber-bullying, with parents and teachers often unaware of the problem until a tragedy occurs. Like other forms of violence, cyber-bullying often involves people who are known to one another, and a number of cyber-bullying incidents that have ended in tragedy have targeted victims on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexuality or disability.

 

According to Dr Saltmarsh, addressing the problem of cyber-bullying requires a change of mind-set from current political and social emphases on cultural conformity on the one hand, and competitive individualism on the other.

 

“Taking diversity seriously means taking greater individual and collective responsibility for the well-being of others,” Dr Saltmarsh said. “We need to move beyond our current obsession with competition and individual success, which reinforces the idea of getting ahead at almost any cost.

 

“As with all forms of violence, if we want young people to make a difference, we need to be living proof that compassion is more important than competition, and that courage is more important than conformity.”