With all of the resources and websites out there on cyberbullying, one would think that cyberbullying would be a thing of the past; a pretty horrible scenario that was born when the Internet was introduced but ended when the world realized how dangerous it could be. Instead, we have children and teens killing themselves over derogatory comments that were posted on Facebook or other social networking sites, on blogs and even websites created for the purpose of breaking down the psyche of another human being. As powerful a tool as the Internet can be, it can be equally detrimental when placed in the hands of inexperienced (and down-right mean) users.
In late September, an 18-year-old Rutger's student, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death off of the George Washington Bridge after another student posted a video of him having sex with another male student. The Internet has created a culture of cruelty that goes beyond the walls of the school and into a global kingdom of chaos. In the same breath, the outpouring of grief and support for Tyler and his family has also shown the far reaches of Internet humanity. Blogs, social networking groups, and web pages pop-up daily so as to send sympathies and promote remembrance of this tragedy. Another incident in our recent past was the death of Phoebe Prince; a high school student from Ireland who moved to Massachusetts. Prince was bullied relentlessly by her classmates and would commit suicide to escape the clutches of teenage bulling brutality.
What makes me insane is that the classmate who posted Clementi's sex tape and Prince's torturers do not believe that they have done anything wrong and don't even get me started on the ridiculous idea that bullying is just "kids being kids." Nothing could be further from the truth. Bullying - cyber or otherwise - is not just a simple behavior issue that resolves itself once a child transitions into adulthood. Studies show that bullies as children and teens continue on to be bullies in adulthood (drive down a road and see the aggression lately? ugh!). Clearly, there is a disconnect in education and responsibility for actions and that is what needs to be addressed. How does this fit in the SLMS world? Our libraries become safe places. Librarians watch library interactions to intercept beginning stages of harassment. Librarians become safe persons for students to come to for help. Librarians teach students the appropriate way to use the Internet and describe the repercussions for inappropriate online behavior.
Someone has to step up in order to end this chronic culture of hate and hostility and what better person than a SLMS?
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