Technology - the dark side

Ying and yang.

Good and bad.

Black and white.

The list goes on. The world, despite what it may look like on the news, really balances out pretty well. Nature wants balance and no matter how much we humans try to goof it up, balance is what we often get. Ying and yang - for everything good, there is something bad.

How very true this is in the world of technology. I plainly love technology. I think it is the future of our kids so it must be the future of education. It is inevitable. You can grip your chalk like a vise and insist that computers are a distraction but technology will overtake you eventually. Again, I love and embrace technology and learn as much as I can about it, and with all of the good - the ying - of technology, we must accept and be prepared to face the bad - the yang and there are two words that say more than I ever could to drive this point home.

Meagan Meier.

Meagan Meier is the reason I have outlawed instant messaging of any type in my room. Meagan Meier is the reason my daughter has never - and I do not exaggerate when I say not once, ever - has my daughter used the computer in our home without direct supervision. Meagan Meier was a relatively normal teenage girl who was the victim of cyberbullying. Meagan's case was particularly sadistic and cruel - and led to Meagan's suicide - but it is far from rare. The statistics about cyberbullying are chilling and make it clear that while the Internet has been a Godsend in many ways, it is also a place that lets the cruel people in the world expand their list of victims. Facebook and Myspace are only the best know sites where cyberbullies lurk. Any message board, chat room, or instant messaging system is prone to the cyber bullies use. The cell phone can be a wonderful tool or it can be a curse to a child who is targeted.

I know what some may say. We were bullied. It's nothing you can't get through. While perhaps well intentioned, those people are hopelessly behind the times. They do not understand that cyberbullying isn't simply cruel. It is relentless, it is sadistic, and the targeted child, because he or she has lived with technology their entire lives, depend on it, and bring it with them everywhere, literally are not able to escape a cyberbully. They can reach into the child's home, they can get to them when they are alone. Childnet International has produced an excellent video that provides some insight into what it is like to be stalked by a cyberbully.

So what can you do? First, recognize that it is not harmless or something kids do or go through. It is literally a crime. Children are killing themselves because of it. Take it very seriously. There are many sites that offer insight and help - go to them, learn what you can.
No matter how technologically backwards you are, you can monitor what a child does, and you can be there to help and support them if they are the victims of cyberbullying.

And as a died i the wool tech geek, I would like you to remember ying and yang. There is a dark side to the Internet. Be aware of it. Learn what you can about it. protect your kids from it. But there are also many good and positive things and this all gets back to something I have said before - embrace technology but do not trust it blindly. One of our greatest and most important skills or duties as the folks who bring technology to our students is the ability to tell the difference between the good and the bad.