Double Life Behind Social Networking Sites Research Paper

RHT 101
22 October 2012

The Double Life Behind Social Networking Sites The saying, “If sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was ever true, it sure isn’t true today. Phoebe Prince was living a highly criticized life in Massachusetts. She was verbally harassed and within months of living through bullying, she committed suicide. The harassment was through text messing and social networking sites, such as Facebook. Networking sites can be highly critical areas that children all over the world can develop double lives. In recent years, harassment in children has taken the form of bullying. It is seen through digital sites, at home, and at school, as a result of the anonymity in creating digital double
lives. According to Jessica Bennet, in the article, “Are We a Nation of Bullies?” states, “What kind of lesson are we teaching kids when, in the name of punishing bullies, we turn into bullies ourselves?”(2). Teens and children are becoming more like adults by hearing, seeing and doing what they observe around them. For example, children in middle school are living a digital life seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day. By placing their photos or text messages online caused them to live a double. For instance, teenager posting false information about themselves on a social networking site, can be a teen or child living double life by pretending to be someone else. Also, the persons that bullied Phoebe Prince used verbal, text, and physical contact to bully her. These students lived a double life at home and at school. Young adults and children are at risk of being bullied by their peers too. Their thinking is why should they live if they are just exist to be hurt and be bullied all the time. Parents should randomly monitor their children and teens profile that they have on Facebook, Twitter or on MySpace.
For instance, social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace is designed to place appropriate pictures and text messages. But, some people use it to post things that are not appropriate and longing the attention from other peers. As such, an 18 year old male, named Tyler Clementi, was living a double life in middle school and high school; until one day, he told his parents that he was gay. When he went to college, because his roommate knew he was gay, he didn’t spend a lot of time with him. After a few months, Tyler met guy and started to date. His roommates secretly monitored and record his sexual relations on a lap top. As a result, it was posted on Twitter website and he was harassed by students on campus. After Tyler hearing and seeing the harassment online he took a decision he committed suicide. Parents have an important role in their children’s lives because they should listen when they tell them that someone at school calls them names or is picking on them. For example, by telling their parents that they are doing homework while they are giving personal information and posting online as well, as chatting with someone they don’t know, such as , potential perverts. In Jessica Bennet article, she states, “Yet as any parent knows, nothing about kids (or teens) is as simple as black and white”. (3) Jessica Bennet is trying to say that parents don’t their children as well as they know themselves. Also, children and teens digital life can be posted all over the webs and we don’t seem to find out until something happens to them.
In this digital age, we need to teach our children that there are consequences to their actions and give them realistic example their words have real power to hurt or to help them. They must be encouraged to choose to build people up and not tear them down. Today, must teens respond by saying “whatever I don’t care”; but, in reality, they do care what’s going around them. Young adults are living through highly bullying times as well. They hide behind a keyboard rather than addressing issues face to face. They seem to be getting well along their parents; but, in real life, is that they are going through harassment as we pointed out in Tyler Clementi story. Thinking that by hiding behind a keyboard everything would be fine. They are wrong because the more they spend time online; they seem to read or see the harassment and the bulling that’s going on in their life.
As well, as in the life of Tori Nakol Swoape, an example of a teenager that was getting bullied by rumors and name calling.
The bullies took place at school and on Facebook. Her mother was aware of the bullying but Tori told her not to intervene. She was found May, 2012, hanging from a scarf in her bedroom. Schools should be required to take action if students are being bullied. After these incident with these teenager there was 160,000 children a day that stayed at home from school because they were afraid of being bullied, this according to the U.S Department Of Education. It was broadcast on 20/20 show channel
news.
Mostly every child and teenager has a double identity online.
This gives them a feeling that makes them think this is right for what they are doing and that is not true. Children and teenager are having that kind of feeling by becoming someone that they are really isn’t. The double life can or could start from home by seeing that their parents act a different way in person then at home. Children tend to socializes more better online than in person. Knowing that online people hear them clearly on what they are trying to say. The children and young adults are having a double personality online now a day. As parents and professionals that work at school, we should get as much information on the harassment that goes on in school or at home. This site should be supervised by parents at all times. A communication center in class that would give the students the opportunity to say or write a note on what’s going around school. The networking sites are taking away the right of parents and professionals to speak with the children about having a double life or personality. This is not good! What society is saying is that is not wrong to chat or be on these sites; but, to be careful who you speak with and to see what’s on your screen. Teach your children and young adults how to be more responsible with their comments and posting pictures. With living a double identity one has to be careful for every age in the world because behind a keyboard, anything can happen to a
life.
The networking sites are useful for anyone out there, as well as, the social site like Facebook, Twitter, and My space. Just make sure that a double life is not being created, it would harm you in reality. Communicate with everyone around you to help others in need of help with things around to stop the double life and the lies in your life. The harassment can be stopped, if you help to stop it first.