What is the line between legitimate expressions of protest and "cyberbullying"?
Social activism is the process people engage in when they want to effect change; cyberbullies want change, too, but rather than try to influence others through reason and debate, they employ such tactics as intimidation, harassment and character assassination.
Cyberbullying is displayed when the writer attempts to win his argument by force of personality, rather than through the clarity of his thoughts. He tries to belittle opponents, intimidating them into silence. The cyberbully can never admit he might be wrong, he must always be right. He is not much different from the troll we're all familiar with in debate forums.
Making libelous allegations or stating the truth? It isn't always easy to tell the difference. What a reader may perceive as libel may be seen as a fact by the blogger, or vice versa. It gets murky when writers editorialize, so where do we draw the line between our freedom of speech and our responsibilities to society? We do have our restrictions, as dictated by law. Obviously, we don't have the right to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre if there's no fire. We also no longer have the right to market a "How to become an assassin" manual without accepting the legal consequences, as happened when a reader used the advice of one such in killing a family some years ago.
However, if there is indeed a fire, we do have a responsibility in letting others know.
It is unquestionably malicious if bloggers knowingly make false statements. However, is it malice if a blogger feels that what they write is true? If the statements expressed by the bloggers are presented as facts erroneously, they are legally accountable to charges of defamation and libel.
How can we deal with cyberbullying? One tactic is to ignore cyberbullying completely, as not to reinforce the cyberbully. Another tactic is to confront the person and ask the bully why he is engaging in this behavior, ask what purpose does it serve to launch personal attacks or create a climate in which people are reluctant to express themselves freely.
A good rule of thumb: never do online what you wouldn't do in face-to-face interactions.
This is a mostly unexplored territory in this brave new cyberworld.
Comments (4)
thanks for posting this!
p.s. mean pager messages are included in the definition of cyber-bullying....
sigh more things/kids for me to deal with (the joys of my feild!!)