Can Social Media Stop Bullying or Just Make it Worse?

Many children have been victims of cyber-bullying that occurs on social network sites like YouTube and Facebook and it can happen in many ways. Recently, one teenage girl posted a video asking if people thought she was pretty or not, only to get bully like responses. Some teens have had pictures or rude comments posted over and over on social networking sites by classmates. Some of those posts led the victims to commit suicide. These emotionally harmful activities have led some schools to even create policies about social networking. Other schools have implemented programs that teach students how to deal with conflict effectively and show no tolerance for bully like behavior in school or on-line. Although social network sites are used for bullying, one mother in Colorado, has used YouTube as a way to fight back against the hurt her daughter is experiencing.

Her daughter was being bullied in school and she felt the school was not doing enough. After going to the school to deal with the issue and getting thrown out for yelling at school authorities, Sandra Myre tried something else; YouTube. "That's why I did the YouTube video because of all the bullying," said Myre. "All the wrongness has got to stop." Myre wants people to be aware of what bullying looks like and so far she's had 3,000 people view her video.

Fort Lupton Middle School Principal Mark Paylor had this to say about the situation:

"We're reviewing those policies. We're updating those policies. We're trying to identify between what is bullying and normal conflict. Twice-a-week, we have a bully proofing program that's presented. It's called Step Up."

Paylor also mentioned that a recent study shows that 80 percent of the student body responded and stated that incidents of bullying was significantly down from last year to this year.

Myre, however expects better and as her video gains steam on YouTube, other parents may feel the same. Even if parents feel the same as Myre, can schools really control bullies? Will they ever be able to stop all bullies in school or on the web? Many people believe the more attention the topic gets, the more that can be done about it.

What do you think about bullying? Can schools stop it? Should taxpayer money go towards supporting programs that teach conflict resolution? Should parents of bullies be punished in some way? Have you ever been bullied? If so, how did your school handle it?

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