TOPIC 2:

VISUAL EMPATHY TO FOSTER DIGITAL INTIMACY & PREVENT YOUTH BULLYING

Victoria PotenteDirected Research – Spring 2015 | Rodger Guilfoyle

“Could a greater moment take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant.” - Henry David Thoreau

American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor,

historian, & leading transcendentalist (1817 – 1862)

“A friend is someone who knows you in depth, not someone who has collected you like an electronic playing card.” - John David Ebert

The New Media Invasion: Digital Technologies and the world they Unmake

STATEMENT:

Bullying victims can no longer escape identity-damaging words in the digital age. Government legislates that schools have educational programs for youth and faculty. Support groups offer programs, resources, and online forums to share youths’ creative expressions and testimonials. However, the content doesn’t visually connect well. Online platforms can be redesigned to foster deeper engagement and connection.

TIMELINE OF BULLYING

Bullying in literature; Tom Brown - School Days

1857

1st report of death from bullying; Canterbury, UK

1862

1st significant research on bullying; Pedagogical Seminary – Frederick L. Burk

1897

Bullying includes stealing and robbery; The Psychology of the adjusted School Child – John Jacob Brooke Morgan

1952

1st systematic method for studying bullying; Dr. Dam Olweus using a self-respect questionnaire

1978

1st proposition of anti-bullying law; Dr. Dam Olweus proposed law against bulying

1981

Definition of bullying continues to evolve; direct verbal taunting, exclusion, and spreading rumors

1989

Columbine; two bullied teenage boys brought 50 bombs to school and opened mass gunfire – 23 wounded, 13 fatalities, and 2 suicides

1999

Cyberbullying leads to suicide; 13-year old Ryan Halligan hangs himself due to relentless cyberbullying

2003

Federal law passed against cyberbullying; federal crime to “annoy, abuse, threaten or harass” another person over the internet

2006

First anti-cyberbullying legislation passed; gives schools authority to discipline for bullying others off or online

2008

TIMELINE OF BULLYING

Bullying in literature; Tom Brown - School Days

1st Report of death from bullying; Canterbury, UK

1st Significant research on bullying; Pedagogical Seminary – Frederick L. Burk

Bullying includes stealing and robbery; The Psychology of the adjusted School Child – John Jacob Brooke Morgan

1st Systematic method for studying bullying; Dr. Dam Olweus using a self-respect questionnaire

1st Proposition of anti-bullying law; Dr. Dam Olweus proposed law against bulying

Definition of bullying continues to evolve; direct verbal taunting, exclusion, and spreading rumors89

Columbine; two bullied teenage boys brought 50 bombs to school and opened mass gunfire – 23 wounded, 13 fatalities, and 2 suicides

Cyberbullying leads to suicide; 13-year old Ryan Halligan hangs himself due to relentless cyberbullying

Federal law passed against cyberbullying; federal crime to “annoy, abuse, threaten or harass” another person over the internet

First anti-cyberbullying legislation passed; gives schools authority to discipline for bullying others off or online

1857

1862

1897

1952

1978

1981

1989

1999

2003

2006

2008

STATS BEHIND BULLYING

4,500 teens commit suicide each year

⌃160,000 bullied kids miss school each day

⌃280,000 kids are physically attacked each day

every

7 min

a child is bullied on the playground

Cyberbullying victims almost twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to youth who do not experience it

Concern/severity increased over past 20 yrs; factors include:

• Larger classrooms and budgetary cuts in school (less time for teacher’s to connect with students)

• Break-down of family structure (stable environment), parent involvement, and parents not willing to take

responsibility for their children’s actions or discipline – can even encourage behavior

• Decrease in social skill development, such as empathy, teamwork, leadership, and communication

• Overexposure to social media (over sharing opens the door to bullying)

THE INTERNET – A NEW PLAYGROUND

Teenagers and kids who are bullied

inform their parents

Teenagers using internet have profiles on social networks

80%School shooting

incidents in US are related to bullying

and harassment

75%Teenagers say they have been bullied online

81%

40%

42%

Teenagers using internet are bullied by peers

CREATIVE ANTI-BULLYING VIDEO – “SHARE IT TO END IT”

http://shareittoendit.com/

To make a point about bullying, video gets shorter every time you share it on Facebook;

Launched by Singapore's Coalition Against Bullying for Children and YouthCreated by JWT Singapore (creative agency) - Juhi Kalia, Executive Creative Director

HYPOTHESIS:

Employing visual empathy can create online communities that engage with youths more intimately, making anti-bullying messages relatable to this audience. Building user experiences that cater to the youth will encourage participation, and deeper, more personal connections, anonymously; striving to offer more intimate support platforms to elicit empathy with one another, gain acceptance, and lull bullying’s effects.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ito, Mizuko. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kide Living and Learning with New Media. Cambridge: Mit, 2010. Print.

Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.Ebert, John David. The New Media Invasion: Digital Technologies and the World They Unmake. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2011. Print.Bennett, W. Lance. Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2008. Print.Buckingham, David. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2008. Print.”Is Bullying A Silent Epidemic Among Kids? - Facts & Infographic." Is Bullying A Silent Epidemic Among Kids?

N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014."Humanae (work in Progress)." Angelica Dass. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014."History of Bullying in Schools." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014."Anti-Bullying Video Gets Shorter With Each Share." Marketing Land. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014."The Evolution of Bullying." Latest and Greatest from Chicagoans. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014."Realizing Empathy: An Inquiry Into the Meaning of Making.” N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Bullying and Cyberbullying: History, Statistics, Law, Prevention and Analysis Richard Donegan* Strategic Communication Elon University The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications • Vol. 3, No. 1 • Spring 2012

The Digital Self: Through the Looking Glass of Telecopresent Others Author(s): Shanyang Zhao, Source: Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Summer 2005), pp. 387-405 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/si.2005.28.3.387.

Chayko, M. (2007) ‘The portable community: envisioning and examining mobile social connectedness’, Int. J. Web Based Communities, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp.373–385.

A Socio-economic Analysis of Youth Disconnectedness Friedhelm Pfeiffer ZEW Mannheim and IZA Ruben R. Seiberlich University of Konstanz Discussion Paper No. 4855 March 2010