Precis #4

Jonathan Singleton

Internet Technology

Precis # 4

The video “Growing Up Online”, is about the dangers and risks that occur online. Teenagers today rely heavily on the internet for almost everything.They use it for entertainment purposes like video games, but use it mostly for chating with one another, and expressing themselves. They post personal information on social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace. Some say that having a myspace or facebook profile is similar to living in an alternate world. They believed that online, you can be whoever you want to be, and still be accepted. However, some teenagers bully and harass other teens. This behavior is known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can lead to fights and in some cases death.

A seventh grader named Ryan became a victim of cyberbullying. Fellow students at his middle school started rumors about him via a networking website. He was also humiliated by a girl through chat. In October of 2003, Ryan commited suicide by hanging himself. He met someone online that he became friends with, who instead of consoling Ryan, kind of helped him plan his suicide.The boy told Ryan about a website that taught you how to hang yourself and how to tie a noose. He also showed Ryan a website that has you fill out a questionaire, and it tells you which method of suicide best suited you. Ryan’s friends say that the breaking point was when he was humiliated by a girl who played a practical joke on him via email.  Ryan’s parents however, doesn’t put the blame on the kids that bullied him or the boy the showed him the website. Ryan’s father says putting the computer in Ryan’s room was a mistake, placing some of the blame on him. He said the computer wasn’t the cause of Ryan’s suicide, but it did help amplify it.

I agree with Ryan’s parents when they instead take responsibility for their son’s actions, rather than blame the students who bullied him or the boy who helped him plan his suicide. Parents can only moniter their children’s actions some of the time. If they try to block “bad” websites and moniter their child’s actions, their children will either find a way to get past the blocks or just get annoyed at their parents. It is up to the parents to communicate with their children and teach them right from wrong. If his parents would have talked to him more, then Ryan probably would have talked to them, instead of talking to the boy that helped him commit suicide.