Cyberbullying is a huge global issue that only increases as we continue to progress through the digital age and become more invested in the online world. 80% of the world’s population has access to the internet, and that means 80% of the world can be exposed to cyberbullying and potentially bully others on the internet or be bullied at some point in their lives. Specifically, this project is focused on teens who experience cyberbullying. Currently, 50% of teens have stated that they’ve encountered cyberbullying- this is a huge amount of impressionable youths who are being directly affected by this issue, whether by standing or participating. Statistics also showed that very few of them reported the bullying or stepped in to stop it from progressing.
There are many global campaigns and foundations that are focused on providing support and advice for those experiencing cyber bullying and the parents of the victims. The primary website that caused me to choose this as my topic, was one called CyberSmile. This website has everything from helpful tips, real life articles and even playlists to help calm you down and link you to artists who support the cause. Many Cyberbullying campaigns use celebrities to promote their message, this is so that the youth directly affected can either realise that cyberbullying isn’t cool, or that even those who are successful now, have been through similar circumstances but didn’t let it stop them from moving forward to achieve their goals. CyberSmile promote their campaign through these tactics and overall, I think that’s an important message.
The format for my Digital Artefact, has changed a lot. Initially I was going to just record a podcast and update information, but then I thought about the target audience for this campaign and realised what would work better.
The topic is cyberbullying, and a lot of this occurs on social media. Advertising on social media is an amazing way to spread a message, especially when trying to target a specific audience. I decided a short text video would be able to quickly spread the information effectively.
My video is targeted at those who are being bullied online but are unsure about what to do, or how to deal with it. It expresses 10 simple tips that might help give them an idea of what to do, in a quick way so that even if they do not need it, they are more inclined to watch it anyway, and it might help them in the future. The tips range from professional responses, like to tell their parents and keep the evidence- to more emotional based responses like creating a playlist to help bring comfort to the person being victimised. I think it’s important to have both options since every situation is different, and some teens that are the subject of cyber bullying might not be ready to tell professionals or their parents, and they might not have friends they can rely on to speak for them.
While my Digital Artefact isn’t directly linked with one of the topics covered this semester, I do believe that it relates to our digital future and is an issue that affects the entire globe.
Reference List:
- Anon, 2018. Friends being cyberbullied? Here’s what you can do to help. Kids Helpline. Available at: https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/my-friend-being-cyberbullied [Accessed October 20, 2018].
- Anon, 2018. What To Do If You’re Being Bullied. Kids Helpline. Available at: https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/bullying [Accessed October 20, 2018].
- Anon, Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying. ConnectSafely. Available at: https://www.connectsafely.org/tips-to-help-stop-cyberbullying/ [Accessed October 20, 2018].
- Anon, Delete Cyberbullying. What to Do If You’re a Victim. Available at: http://endcyberbullying.net/what-to-do-if-youre-a-victim/ [Accessed October 20, 2018].
- Anon, Cyberbullying. What is Cyberbullying? | Online Safety Tips | ReachOut Australia. Available at: https://au.reachout.com/everyday-issues/cyberbullying [Accessed October 20, 2018].
- Solutions, M.W., What We Do – Cybersmile. – Cybersmile. Available at: https://www.cybersmile.org/what-we-do [Accessed October 20, 2018].
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