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“Apps of Hate” discussion at area schools

By David Singer 3 min read
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Students at Bethel Park Middle School gather around a projector displaying the other schools’ students in a Google Hangout session.

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State Sen. Matt Smith talks about House Bill 229, which would criminalize cyberbullying.

Middle school students from four South Hills districts met on a Google Hangout video session along with State Sen. Matt Smith (D-Mt. Lebanon) and mental health professionals to discuss the destructive nature of cyberbullying. Students from Bethel Park, Brentwood, Canon-McMillan and South Fayette middle schools also participated. The conversation was prompted by an article called “Apps of Hate” from Choices Magazine.

“These apps, like Ask.fm, allow people to put people down with some sort of anonymous shield. It makes people feel better about themselves in a weird way, and they don’t have to worry about consequences,” said Jerry, a Bethel Park student.

Smith said House Bill 229 would change that, making any instance of cyberbullying a crime, but it has yet to see action in the Senate.

“It passed 195-5 in the House, so this is a bipartisan bill. I’m confident it’ll get voted on in the Senate before long,” he said.

“And the hope is this would serve as a deterrent, rather than a punitive measure … by having those who enter the juvenile system for an offense like cyberbullying, there’s the opportunity for them to redeem themselves and eventually have their record expunged.”

The students said usual measures students take on their own in the face of such bullying are self-destructive.

“Because these applications on phones and on the web are anonymous, like Secret, the victim often looks for someone to blame, and it’s often not the right person, pulling people in who aren’t involved and ruining good relationships,” said Emma of Bethel Park, “and the victim can become paranoid, short of suicidal thoughts.”

The anonymous nature, they said, empowers the perpetrator, and that is part of the draw for teenagers to bully others.

A South Fayette student said the application company Secret gave a false sense of security to a user when it deleted a harassing message from their own personal profile, yet allowed it to remain visible to all other users. So some students said any Senate version of HB 229 would have to go farther.

“There has to be some accountability of these companies… they’re motivated by money, and they aren’t monitoring themselves when it comes to irresponsible usage,” another South Fayette student said.

Ryan Klingensmith, a mental health counselor with specializations in social media training, said he hears two major reasons for students failing or refusing to tell parents about cyberbullying incidents.

“They fear that their parents will overreact, or, they’ll get their gadgets taken away,” he said.

“So regardless if you have good decision-making skills, this is nearly universal with kids I talk to.”

The office of State Attorney General Kathleen Kane has released suggested steps to follow when dealing with cyberbullying incidents.

• Do not respond and do not forward hurtful messages or photos.

• Record the date, time and description of instances when cyberbullying has occurred.

• Save and print screenshots, emails and text messages.

• Block the cyberbully.

• Report the incident to the social media site so they can take action against users abusing the terms of service.

• Report cyberbullying to your school if the bullying is creating a disruptive environment in the classroom or leading to in-person bullying.

• Report cyberbullying to law enforcement if it includes: threats of violence; child pornography; sending sexually explicit messages/photos; taking a photo or video of someone where they expect privacy; or stalking/hate crimes.

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