http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...told-drink-bleach-bullies-website-Ask-fm.html
Been reading this. I'll post it here too.
A very sad story. There is also similar stories in the news about how people are being targetted on Twitter. Many high profile celebritys and politicans are able to drum up support for various methods to brong stuff like this to a stop. When it happens to an everyday indivdual it seems to get covered for a day or two and then forgotten about. There are many cases like this linked to Ask.fm.
This got me wondering. I'm 17 and have been using the website for a year or two like many of my friends have, it can be linked with Facebook and Twitter to interact on those sites. Most of my friends have it.
I know many of you here are much older and probably have kids/grand kids of your own.
How would you feel about your kids using a site such as this? Teens often want to setup profiles on these kind of websites regardless of how what their parents say.
If you son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter were to have a page on this website how likely would it be that you'd know about it?
What kind of measures do you think need to be taken to curve bullying like this online? Do you think measures for reporting and punishing those who dish out this cruel abuse are needed or do you think a full on shutdown of the site is required?
Looking forward to your views.
Peer pressure can be hard to resist, I know. The best thing I can think of is to set up a Facebook page and make your settings so that your friends can see your profile and to interact with you. Don't let the outside world in. A bit like a remote club. Open access sites where anyone can read what you write and leave anonymous messages must be avoided at all costs. Anonymity can bring out the very worst in people and frankly you only get to know a 'front' not the real person. In some cases they may be entirely different people from what they claim they are. Forget Twitter too. Only twits twitter and what can you say in a sentence anyway?
There are many places that you can go to meet young people of your own age. It is healthy to interact in the physical world - to play sports, to go to social events and to meet at friends houses to play music, or to do your homework together. None of these things need cost a lot but the rewards can be higher than just being stuck indoors and living a big chunk of your life on the internet pretending to have loads of friends who have never seen you, let alone care about you.
As for the ask.fm site. If you have a problem ask a real, trustworthy person, not an anoymous profile online, or seek out message boards that specialise ina specific area (like this one). If people troll you or start to abuse you, report the problem to the moderators and if the problem doesn't go away, make sure that you do. Take control of your own life; don't let others do it for you. All it takes is a deletion of an account, which is a lot less costly than a deletion of a life.
Suicide is, indeed, tragic. It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...told-drink-bleach-bullies-website-Ask-fm.html
Been reading this. I'll post it here too.
A very sad story. There is also similar stories in the news about how people are being targetted on Twitter. Many high profile celebritys and politicans are able to drum up support for various methods to brong stuff like this to a stop. When it happens to an everyday indivdual it seems to get covered for a day or two and then forgotten about. There are many cases like this linked to Ask.fm.
This got me wondering. I'm 17 and have been using the website for a year or two like many of my friends have, it can be linked with Facebook and Twitter to interact on those sites. Most of my friends have it.
I know many of you here are much older and probably have kids/grand kids of your own.
How would you feel about your kids using a site such as this? Teens often want to setup profiles on these kind of websites regardless of how what their parents say.
If you son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter were to have a page on this website how likely would it be that you'd know about it?
What kind of measures do you think need to be taken to curve bullying like this online? Do you think measures for reporting and punishing those who dish out this cruel abuse are needed or do you think a full on shutdown of the site is required?
Looking forward to your views.
To keep safe on websites, read what the experts on this subject say. But at the top of my head I would suggest the following:
1. If you set up a Facebook profile - ensure the settings are Private, allowing only those you specifically invite see your profile.
2. Only invite people you have met before or else ensure you have a very good idea of what they are likely to be like. Don't randomly become a Facebook friend to anyone who invites you.
3. Never EVER divulge any personal information to people on any website.
4. Never EVER meet anyone alone that you have contacted on any website if you have never met them in person and can trust them. Don't even do that with new contacts who seem trustworthy after a long time - but you've still never met them - not unless that person is personally endorsed by someone you know in the flesh (also trustworthy) who recommends them as someone worth meeting and befriending.
5. Don't bother airing your views or personal diary content onto any open access site.
6. If you are ever abused, DON'T respond to the troll or flamer or the abuse. Just ignore them entirely. They will soon get bored if you are not giving them any pleasure in their cruelty. Also, just don't visit the site at all for a while. If the problem persists, even if you dont' answer - just close the account completely and move on.