Commentary

When It Comes To Bullying, The Problem Is People, Not Technology

by dave.b , Max Kalehoff , October 15, 2010

By now, you've heard the news of the Rutgers freshman and violinist who committed suicide after his roommate secretly filmed him during a sexual encounter in his dorm room and posted it on the Web. It's a tragedy, and it's sparked a lot of debate about a "new dangerous era wrought by the Internet."

It's easy to blame technology or point to it as an enabler, and so many have. But that's lazy thinking and, unfortunately, a self-fulfilling prophecy in public discourse.

This incident had little to do with technology and everything to do with hatred, disrespect, indecency and tolerance of bullying . It involved a real or perceived imbalance of power, with the more powerful individuals abusing those less powerful.

Bullying has been around forever. It can happen to any individual or group, and in any venue -- home, school, work, church, police department, hospital or even online. And we probably could use more laws and protections against it.

But technology's fault? Technology is one possible instrument that a bully may use when carrying out acts of aggression; it can influence the severity of the act. Indeed, it can empower a jerk to be an even bigger jerk. Similar to vehicular homicide, the problem is not the invention of cars. It is the person and the act.

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10 comments about "When It Comes To Bullying, The Problem Is People, Not Technology".

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Kelly Samardak from Shortstack Photography, October 15, 2010 at 10:56 a.m.
Yes, obviously people did the bullying, but what the offenders obviously didn't grasp, and what their parents certainly didn't teach them is the impact of that one act of blasting out an image, a word, streaming a video that is so instant and can't be taken back. Because of technology. I'm hoping for the sake of humanity and for the sake of the sanity and lives of the offenders that the intention was never death, it was a horrible, hateful, stupid, inexcusable, disrespectful act that ended tragically because they underestimated the emotional impact of their ignorance. The pervasiveness, the access, the broadcasting of their ignorance was enabled through technology and this is something that can't be ignored and shouldn't be brushed off.
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Richard Monihan, October 15, 2010 at 10:57 a.m.

100% in agreement.
Often we blame the tools we use for the bad behavior people engage.
Is it the axe's fault that Lizzy Borden is known for her infamous behavior? Of course not.
Nor is it the car's fault that a drive chooses to get behind the wheel after a round of shooters.

Technology enables us to do many things, and can accommodate us in doing great things, but it can also assist in doing horrid things. It's for that reason that the Nobel Prizes were created. While Alfred hoped his inventions would lead to progress and industry, he was better known as a merchant of death (which he became aware of due to an erroneous obituary).
Today, however, we remember him for his prizes, rather than the double edged sword that his progress brought us.

I'd point out that while laws and protections will help protect us from bullies, it's really the vigilance and support of friends and family, as well as enforcement of said laws, which do the heavy lifting. Laws are words, and unless people recognize the spirit of those words and act upon them, they remain just words.

Jeff Einstein from The Brothers Einstein, October 15, 2010 at 11:16 a.m.

I agree with Kelly, and wonder how all the folks who think digital technology is blameless in regard to anti-social behavior feel about gun control. How can we implicate and vilify guns for their contributions to the murder rate, but neither implicate nor vilify digital media for their contributions to a virtual encyclopedia of anti-social and illicit behaviors?

The truth is that all technologies impose their own biases and shape our behaviors, digital even more so merely because of its sheer ubiquity. To disregard how our technologies contribute to and inform our behavior is not only foolish but downright dangerous.

Max, according to Marshall McLuhan we shape our tools then they shape us. To believe and preach otherwise -- especially in the presence of so much hard evidence to the contrary -- is not only lazy but thoroughly irresponsible.

Tom Miesen, October 15, 2010 at 11:25 a.m.

Kelly, you're right about technology and its ability to broadcast/amplify a message. I think that it's a horrible tragedy, but the internet is indifferent. It's a medium. It has immense power to tear people apart, but it also has an equal (if not stronger) ability to bring them together.

From what I read, one of the first things Tyler did after his roommate did that cruel thing was seek solace and advice in a Gay/Lesbian message board. That says something about its power for connecting people.

I hope teachers are beginning to teach children from a very young age that the internet is a powerful tool for amplification, and that anything that happens on the internet has consequences. My generation (I'm 22) missed that because the internet wasn't around in a mainstream way until I was in 6th or 7th grade. These days, I would hope that there is some guidance about how to use the internet in a positive way.

Kids and particularly teenagers are assholes. There's no way to get around it. There will always be bullies. What we DO need is education about the power of the internet and its ability to ruin lives. The only thing we can do is instill that message in kids very early on.

Ian Hough from TicketLiquidator, October 15, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.

Ludicrous headline and even worse article. Brilliant retort from Jeff Einstein I gotta say. Fact is, in these changing times we are seeing a group that have historically been bullied themselves (call 'em geeks, nerds, whatever) who suddenly feel it is "their time" and they are behaving like the people they have historically despised. When you make statements like, "This incident ... involved a real or perceived imbalance of power, with the more powerful individuals abusing those less powerful," you suggest that these people are not just having their fifteen minutes in the sun but that they are somehow deserving of it or have at least naturally earned a position to dominate. Just as the redneck sports his "Handgun control means using both hands" bumper sticker on the back of his pick-up, so do these sad weasels abuse their ability to point, click, drag and read code.
You should rewrite this and apologise for your ill-disguised glee at the Revenge of the Nerds.

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, October 15, 2010 at 11:37 a.m.

You kill someone with a car or a gun. It can be traced. You can be found and then found guilty with a punishment at the end. You dislike someone. Now it never disappears even if you become best friends later (now there will be no later). You destroy someone's life and you hide and cannot be found or charged or stopped. You can all comment about it's not the tools....until it happens to you. Technology enhances the opportunity to continue bullying and spread the virus. Attention is not paid until the negative surfaces throughout history (and probably pre-historic times). What price privacy?

John Jainschigg from World2Worlds, Inc., October 15, 2010 at 11:57 a.m.

There's a great deal of wisdom in comments appended here - bravo to all, and to Kelly for his initiating post.

I agree with Jeff -- the situation is analogous to gun control in several ways. The Net and related technologies can be ludicrously-powerful amplifiers, even of transitory or trivial malicious intent. They permit 'sniping' -- enabling, even enforcing distancing between malefactor and victim - both through anonymity and through the false sense that what happens online isn't 'real.' And of course, the Net has memory -- it doesn't forget easily, just as a bullet, once fired, can't be 'un-fired.'

The net also promotes grandiosity, theatricality, plays for attention and recognition, and of course, hosts audience for acts of malice. So acts of bullying and trollery mediated by technology often have, as partial motivation, the desire to appear technically clever in front of peers. And that desire to 'make the hack work' can be a powerful motivator, since it's morally neutral, right up to the point where someone gets hurt.

Diane Politi from Reel Centric, October 15, 2010 at 12:05 p.m.

Max, well-said. I agree with you completely!

Aaron Goldman from Mediaocean, October 15, 2010 at 12:14 p.m.

Right on Max. I have a t-shirt that makes a similar point...

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=34354865261&set=a.34354665261.109084.588200261

Joelle Kaufman from BloomReach, October 15, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.

There is no substitute for teaching kindness. Technology isn't the culprit, but it is an enabler - and offers a unique opportunity to be anonymous while you embarrass (or worse) another person.

Technology empowers us to connect is so many powerful ways but without education, character and morals, the possibilities to hurt another person are exponentially larger. And that genie is not going back in the bottle - as parents and teachers we need to be educating our children AND modeling through our own behavior how to use these amazing tools for progress.

We all need to live by the golden rule - do unto others as you'd have done to you.