By Jackson Williams
Many times, in today’s world, we are bombarded stories about bullying or how social
media and social networks enable bullies and give them more tools to spread hate.
As stated by Caroline Caron in the Canadian Journal of Communication, “Bullying has
been acknowledged in Québec as a social issue requiring immediate action from
institutional stakeholders” (Caron, 2017, p.7). Although it has been acknowledged,
these institutional stakeholders have not made the necessary progress to combat the
issue. Younger generations cannot wait for adults to make changes to defeat bullying
simply because their idea of bullying is different than the way adolescents experience
bullying in today's media-centered society.
media and social networks enable bullies and give them more tools to spread hate.
As stated by Caroline Caron in the Canadian Journal of Communication, “Bullying has
been acknowledged in Québec as a social issue requiring immediate action from
institutional stakeholders” (Caron, 2017, p.7). Although it has been acknowledged,
these institutional stakeholders have not made the necessary progress to combat the
issue. Younger generations cannot wait for adults to make changes to defeat bullying
simply because their idea of bullying is different than the way adolescents experience
bullying in today's media-centered society.
Previous generations have experienced bullying in different ways. For example, in order
to get rid of a bully, many kids were told to just ignore the bully’s actions. This may
have worked for some, but today, that notion is nearly impossible. Since bullies can now
easily reach their victims through mediums such as texts, snapchat, twitter, and
Instagram it is vital that the issue is dealt with differently than it has been in the past.
One way youth generations have been dealing with this is through vlogging. If you were
to type the word “bullying” into the search bar on YouTube you would be presented with
thousands of anti-bullying propaganda videos. These vloggers have taken to platforms
like YouTube in order to try to reach out to their peers in hopes that they can find
common ground and stand up against bullying. “[The] circulation of their vlogs, allowed
teenage YouTubers to create and sustain a semiotic social space, a non-physical space
where their public voices are spoken in hopes that they encounter the voices
of others” (Caron, 2017, p.18). These vloggers have taken their platforms and created
safe spaces for kids to go and listen to someone talk about bullying and even interact
with people that have experienced the same feelings they have. By doing this, teenagers
have attacked the problem of bullying themselves, which I argue is a much more
effective way to defeat bullying.
to get rid of a bully, many kids were told to just ignore the bully’s actions. This may
have worked for some, but today, that notion is nearly impossible. Since bullies can now
easily reach their victims through mediums such as texts, snapchat, twitter, and
Instagram it is vital that the issue is dealt with differently than it has been in the past.
One way youth generations have been dealing with this is through vlogging. If you were
to type the word “bullying” into the search bar on YouTube you would be presented with
thousands of anti-bullying propaganda videos. These vloggers have taken to platforms
like YouTube in order to try to reach out to their peers in hopes that they can find
common ground and stand up against bullying. “[The] circulation of their vlogs, allowed
teenage YouTubers to create and sustain a semiotic social space, a non-physical space
where their public voices are spoken in hopes that they encounter the voices
of others” (Caron, 2017, p.18). These vloggers have taken their platforms and created
safe spaces for kids to go and listen to someone talk about bullying and even interact
with people that have experienced the same feelings they have. By doing this, teenagers
have attacked the problem of bullying themselves, which I argue is a much more
effective way to defeat bullying.
Bullying is a major issue which is why it would be foolish to try and attack such an issue
alone. Another way these vlogs have gained ground on diminishing bullying is through
teamwork. “Six vlogs cite at least one other vlog from the research sample” (Caron, 2017, p.10).
In Caron’s study, she notes that many of the vlogs she is examining reference each
other. By connecting with each other, these vloggers create a network of anti-bullying
propaganda and generate followers that may struggle with bullying themselves.
This network allows vloggers to feed off of one another’s ideas considering many of
the vlogs come from inspirations that were taken from another vlog. As vloggers build
off of one another it helps to create new ideas and possibly new ways to attack the
issue of bullying.
alone. Another way these vlogs have gained ground on diminishing bullying is through
teamwork. “Six vlogs cite at least one other vlog from the research sample” (Caron, 2017, p.10).
In Caron’s study, she notes that many of the vlogs she is examining reference each
other. By connecting with each other, these vloggers create a network of anti-bullying
propaganda and generate followers that may struggle with bullying themselves.
This network allows vloggers to feed off of one another’s ideas considering many of
the vlogs come from inspirations that were taken from another vlog. As vloggers build
off of one another it helps to create new ideas and possibly new ways to attack the
issue of bullying.
Bullying has been an issue that has terrorized young children and teens throughout
history and nothing ever seems to be done by people in power to stop it. Teens have
since taken to YouTube and created a vast community against bullying by working
together and connecting ideas in order to better the world. This type of civic
engagement is vital to the betterment of today’s world and it must be recognized by
more people than just those personally affected by bullying.
history and nothing ever seems to be done by people in power to stop it. Teens have
since taken to YouTube and created a vast community against bullying by working
together and connecting ideas in order to better the world. This type of civic
engagement is vital to the betterment of today’s world and it must be recognized by
more people than just those personally affected by bullying.
References
Caron, C. (2017). Speaking Up About Bullying on YouTube: Teenagers’ Vlogs as Civic
Engagement. Canadian Journal of Communication, 42(4), https://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/3156
Engagement. Canadian Journal of Communication, 42(4), https://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/3156
Word Count: 561
Jackson,
ReplyDeleteDespite problems of formatting (font size/style) and your APA reference, this is a fine post.
First and foremost, the issue you've raised corresponds to some of our course work this semester regarding the uses and abuses of social media. Second, there's a clear connection here between media and civic engagement – a topic of personal and professional interest for yours truly.
Third, and most important, your post demonstrates effective use of a relevant academic source. Caron's study offers critical insight into collective and civic-minded use of social media by young people. It is, to use a sociological concept we've deployed all semester, a case study in individual and collective "agency."
So apart from the formatting problems and some word choice (i.e., propaganda) this is first-rate post. I could assign a grade now, but why not take a few minutes, tidy up your formatting, and LMK when you've addressed those issues.
Deal?
Jackson,
ReplyDeleteDespite the formatting issues, this blog post is very intriguing and has a lot of potential. I definitely agree with your assertion that we have to look at the issue of bullying differently in this generation because of new factors playing a role like social media. I would have loved to see you focus on a specific youtube blog speaking out about bullying. It would have also worked for the blog to describe social media bullying since that's an important factor in your argument. The way that bullying happens has changed, and the tools that we use to deal with it should also change. I'm glad you brought up this important discussion.