Violence: intentional physical force, emotional torment, and abuse of power, whose purpose is to intimidate, dominate, or inflict pain on another person.

Old Media – Slam books

A slam book is sheets of loose leaf paper stapled together with a construction paper cover. The name of a student is written at the top of each sheet.  I was first exposed to slam books in sixth grade. I didn’t know who made it – the homemade book  just showed up one day surrounded by an air of  secrecy.  I watched as it was quietly passed around, each girl who wanted to participate anonymously writing whatever she wanted about the different girls. You can imagine some of the adjectives used and the hurt feelings and damaged relationships they caused. My teacher got wind of it and confiscated the book. He warned that slam books were outlawed in our school and that this was the last he wanted to see of it. I give the teachers and administrators of my elementary school a lot of credit for taking such a tough stand against this form of social violence. Even back then they realized how mean and destructive a slam book was.

New Media – Facebook, cell phones, Twitter, IM and text messages

Unlike the slam books of my childhood, digital social media was not created for the purpose of hurting others. But electronic media have become a widespread outlet for meanness and cruelty. Young people are using the Internet to embarrass, demean, stalk, spread rumors, and bully others. The statistics are convincing, the language shocking, and the pressure to take part in digital abuse sizable. And absent clear guidelines for acceptable online behavior and clear avenues to get help, many young people become perpetrators and victims of this violent, bullying behavior.

AP and MTV partnered to conduct an online Digital Abuse Study between August 18 and 31, 2011. Findings were based on interviews with 1,355 young people between the ages of 14 and 24. The study found that 76% of 14-24 year-olds feel that digital abuse is a serious problem for people their age.

The types of online abuse they experience include:

• Sexting of nude photos and sexually explicit messages
• Digital dating abuse where one partner uses electronic media to exercise control over the other
• Spreading rumors and intentional untruths
• Forwarding messages intended as private
• Discrimination and hurtful slurs directed toward peers especially those who are overweight, LGBT, African-American, women, Muslim, and immigrants. (Visit the study for the words commonly used online.)

Noteworthy Findings:

• 71% of respondents said people are more likely to use slurs online or in text messages than in person.
• A majority of the study participants exposed to digital abuse found it deeply unsettling.
• Those who have sexted are four times as likely to have considered suicide than those who have not sexted (20% vs. 5%).

Desensitization

The most disconcerting aspect of this phenomenon is the attitude held by 46% of those surveyed that it is okay to use discriminatory language if you make it clear you are just kidding, and the attitude held by 54% that it is okay to use such language with friends because they know that you don’t mean it. Thinking name calling, teasing, and demeaning others is okay because it’s supposedly done in fun is one of the most prevalent and wrong-headed justifications young people have for intentionally hurting one another. They are assaults against your vulnerabilities intended to throw you off balance and diminish your sense of personal power.

The Good News

But there is also some good news. Projects like MTV’s “A Thin Line” campaign and schools’ cyber-bullying prevention efforts that empower young people and stop the spread of digital abuse seem to be having an impact. Sexting to strangers is down, awareness of the ramifications of online indiscretions has increased, 51% of those who saw someone being mean online would intervene (up from 47% in 2009), and young people are using a variety of strategies to stop cyber-bullying, including going to adults for help.