Could the INTERNET Be the Reason Behind the Recent Spate of Bully Deaths?

Does anyone else think the internet and how much kids today (some of whom have been born into households like mine where from birth a computer has been an integral part of their life) use it, has a correlation in the upswing in bully death news?

Are children today more violent than kids from yesterday?

Has the way children grow up interacting with their friends (texts, ims, facebook, myspace, etc) distanced them from developing a better rounded human component?

Has the electronic age (compuetrs, internet, video games, smart phones, youtube etc) ultimately changd or influenced the way our new humans are going to grow on our earth?

Are humans just inherently violent, and what if anything can we do to stop this?

Can anyone help me answer these questions?

I am going to ponder this for a while, but I am interested in hearing what other people, especially older people like me (im 41) who were not raised this way, and how different kids are now, more violent, more bullying, killing themselves off, etc.

Or have I become that old woman fuddy duddying on our youth today?

We have so many wonderful young posters on this board, I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

How about kids being to thin-skinned due to being raised in an environment with no adversity? In my opinion this is a result of the way children are raised. Our "it's wrong to excel", "everybody's special", "self-esteem" and "just get along" society is the cause of this. What ever happened to "sticks and stones....."?

When I was 16, I had a medical problem that caused me to piss my pants right in the middle of class. When I came back to school after having the problem corrected, there were quite a few comments made and alot of snide remarks. When I just ignored them, they went away after a few days and a few punches. The easiest way to stop a bully is to stand up to them, unfortunatly this is being bred out of our children these days. Sometimes a punch in the face is a good thing.

reply to post by JIMC5499


I agree with JIMC5499. I doubt bullying is any worse now adays, its just that kids are too used to having their egos stroked to deal with the same jerks that have always existed.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Oh, and I don't know why we're calling them Bully Deaths. There's generally only about 2-3 kinds of human caused deaths. murder, suicide, and manslaughter (accidental). I'm guessing these should fall under 'suicide.' So lets call them "Bully-Victim's suicides"

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
Does anyone else think the internet and how much kids today (some of whom have been born into households like mine where from birth a computer has been an integral part of their life) use it, has a correlation in the upswing in bully death news?

Without a shadow of doubt, people become less sensitised when they can't see the emotions of the person they are bullying behind a screen


Are children today more violent than kids from yesterday?

Absolutely; in the UK at least, the younger generations are becoming much more aggressive and confident than before

Has the way children grow up interacting with their friends (texts, ims, facebook, myspace, etc) distanced them from developing a better rounded human component?

Yes; everything is instant, there's no time for thinking things through anymore

Has the electronic age (compuetrs, internet, video games, smart phones, youtube etc) ultimately changd or influenced the way our new humans are going to grow on our earth?

Irreversibly; your average 14 year old probably does not know how to grow their own garden, build a fire, set a rabbit trap or have any sort of survival skills. They'd be like lemmings in a major global power outage without their phones, internet or xboxes

Are humans just inherently violent, and what if anything can we do to stop this?

Humans, by nature, are pack animals, and pack animals react violently to external stimuli through treats to their territory or members of their clan etc, we group ourselves into clans - in the 21st century, these are Counties, Religions, Political Groups and so on. Humans have been programmed to become violent towards external stimuli that don't really pose much of a threat.

Can anyone help me answer these questions?

I hope I have, please let me know what you thought of my answer

I am going to ponder this for a while, but I am interested in hearing what other people, especially older people like me (im 41) who were not raised this way, and how different kids are now, more violent, more bullying, killing themselves off, etc.

Or have I become that old woman fuddy duddying on our youth today?

We have so many wonderful young posters on this board, I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

I'm 18

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Personal Social Interaction amoung kids is quite lacking today . Instead of playing with each other outside their homes, thus coming Face to Face with their Peers and learning to deal with their Differences, they instead sit in front of a Computer Monitor and Live out a Fantasy Life not Based in the Real World . No wonder there is a Certain Degree of Hostility brewing amoung these kids because of that .This Disfunctional Enviorment is to blame IMO .

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Even if it's true to some degree....it's posts like this that will eventually end up biting us in the arse. This (the Internet) is our only universal freedom we all have (even though it's being monitored). So please. Let's not blame the Internet unless you're fully prepared to have it, restricted, taxed or taken away.

Having said that, I am 50 years old. I can't help but notice this incredible blame-game going on. Children have ADD, parents are bi-polar, cousins have OCD, uncles suffer from PTSD and aunts are anorexic! Yeah? And so.................? I know, let's give them a pill and a label and call it a day!


Can we PLEASE stop tucking every single problem under these super large umbrellas already?
People have issues because, THEY themselves have unresolved (and on-going) issues.

Children are being bullied or bullying because of bad parenting for starters. Let's call a spade a spade.

There seems to be a lack of a nuclear family core these days (and THAT'S for a host of personal reasons) and there's also a huge separation going on too. Everyone has earplugs in their ears or eyes on their handheld gadgets and NO ONE is interacting anymore. Even when they eat dinner together or driving somewhere, it's usually with a TV/computer on!

Bullying? It's a cry for help because we're all losing our social skills.
Still want to blame the Internet? I don't think so.

So why are we losing our social skills? Maybe the intrenet is to blame.

But on the other hand, the inter net is wonderful and does put us in touch with the entire world, which is a good thing. I certainly do not advocate net restrictions because like it or not the net is here and it is not going away easily.

And I use it a lot!

double post

reply to post by Joshuadrooney


I think those are wonderful thoughts, thank you for taking the time to answer as a kid.

When I was a kid we had bullies and all but I cant recall any bully deaths.

The only difference is there is no leaving bullying at the school gates like there used to be. Somebody who in the past could take it all day and then recharge their batteries in the evening now has no respite. The cliques and pressures of school are now in the bedroom through facebook, webchat, txting, online games etc.

I dont believe people are getting weaker, bullying always took its toll on some. Its just we've improved the bullying and we're breaking more of those who were previously in the 'miserable outcast but plodding on' category.

Some take the suicide route and some figure they'll take their tormentors with them. Expect more of this.

I got picked on a lot when I was a kid. I think all of us were at some point or another. I don't think the problem is as simple as breeding a generation of "sissies." Before exiting the education world as a teacher, I watched as day after day the same kid was getting bullied by a group of older, much bigger kids. Day after day I wrote these kids up, called the victim's parents and told them about it. The same bureaucratic process took place between the principal, the assistant principal, the "Dean of Students" and the superintendent. And guess what? Nothing was done. I suggested to the father of this young man that perhaps he may want to enroll his child in self-defense courses, because he was taking quite a whooping from these other boys. About 2 months after the initial incident, there was a major brawl in the gym locker room between the three older boys and the younger boy. The younger boy beat the snot out of two of them, and knocked a few teeth out of the other boy, because he stood up for himself. Guess who was suspended for 2 weeks? You got it, the younger boy. The older boys started it, there was a cataloged history of these boys physically assaulting the younger boy, yet the younger boy was punished severely. The older boys were coddled, given counseling, and the whole nine yards. There was a huge debate at the school board meeting about the violence that this younger boy demonstrated. I showed up to defend the younger boy, along with his parents. I brought documented evidence, along with other witnesses. Of course the parents of the bullies said that it was the young boy all along, and that their boys were innocent. I fought my ass off for 2 hours, and eventually put the blame solely on the administration and the bullies' parents for allowing this nonsense to continue. Just as a side note, it was the mothers of the bullies that were defending their "sweet, innocent, little boys." Their fathers didn't get a word in edge wise. Anyway, after the meeting, one of the bullies' fathers approached me, and said "Thank you for standing up for the younger boy. My son deserved what he got, and he's now shoveling s**t as a punishment for the next year."

What is the point that I'm getting to in all of this? It's not so simple as being a "wimpy victim." My point is that administrators, parents, teachers, etc. are all to blame in all of this. People would rather turn a blind eye and blame the victim as opposed to telling the bullies to quit their crap. We as a culture have offered all the assistance in the world for bullies in the form of anger management therapy, counseling, programs, etc. What have we told the victims? We have told them "you can't stand up for yourselves because violence is bad." Yet we continue to let the bullies run rampant in our schools, neighborhoods, professional offices, etc. Hypocrisy at its finest.

And yes, I was a victim too, until one day I confronted my bully. I had gotten so fed up and so angry with the way that I was being treated, that he was put into the hospital for a week. I was in 4th grade, and I never laid my hands on another person again. But guess what? I never got picked on or bullied again. What happened to standing up for yourselves, and making the bullies pay?

I'm sending my thoughts and meditations to all of the young lives lost in this apparent epidemic of school bullying.


Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
Does anyone else think the internet and how much kids today (some of whom have been born into households like mine where from birth a computer has been an integral part of their life) use it, has a correlation in the upswing in bully death news?

no

Are children today more violent than kids from yesterday?

no, violent crime rates among teens is down since the inception of the internet.

Has the way children grow up interacting with their friends (texts, ims, facebook, myspace, etc) distanced them from developing a better rounded human component?

no

Has the electronic age (compuetrs, internet, video games, smart phones, youtube etc) ultimately changd or influenced the way our new humans are going to grow on our earth?

yes, the free flow of information reduces violence by increasing understanding.

Are humans just inherently violent, and what if anything can we do to stop this?

no, humans are only violent because resources are scarce. If whatever we wanted we could have (including people), there would be no conflicts - ever.

Can anyone help me answer these questions?

yes.

I am going to ponder this for a while, but I am interested in hearing what other people, especially older people like me (im 41) who were not raised this way, and how different kids are now, more violent, more bullying, killing themselves off, etc.

Or have I become that old woman fuddy duddying on our youth today?

yes.

We have so many wonderful young posters on this board, I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

ok.