Effects of Social Media
Interview With School Administration
Interview with Mr. Cochran conducted by Lily Moul
Q. How do you balance students' rights to free speech with concerns for the welfare of all students in regards to cyberbullying?
A. Well I think just like in the outside world you want to make sure that people have the right to express themselves,but when it’s not harming or causing someone else pain or suffering or some type of emotional damage. So it’s kind of a grey area and each decision has to be made based on what the particular incident might be, but really we look at what was done and is the cyberbullying actually going to affect negatively someone else. Its a problem that’s grown over the past five to ten years obviously, but it’s something we take very seriously and have to look at by a case by case bases.
Q. How do you define cyberbullying in relation to merely inappropriate Tweets or posts?
A. Kinda like what I had mentioned, cyberbullying would be something where you are trying to take advantage of somebody or hurt them from a distance or beliddle them or make them feel uncomfortable about coming to school or being who they are. I think again it is a case by case basis, you have to look at what that tweet or text said, but ultimately we have to determine whether or not it was meant to harm that person.
Q. Do people come to you when they are being cyberbullied or do you find out from other
sources?
A. A lot of times somebody will come and let us know that something is happening and share some of that information with us, or a third party will hear that something is going on and give us some idea who we could talk to to hear more. I think kids also do not want cyberbullying in their lives and I think they don’t want to tell or get anyone in trouble but they can sense something is wrong and something is not comfortable in the school. So often times that is how we find out about those things, and actually thats the only way we find because we don’t sit here and track tweets,facebook,and instagram and all those things because that would be an impossible task and probably be a little bit beyond our scope, but students usually let us know if someone is being treated inappropriatly.
Q. Can the school see students social media accounts?
A. The only time that we would is if someone brought us information and said hey this was what was on twitter and this is what was said about so and so. We have a twitter account that i’m not sure if anyone belongs too but we don’t use that to track anyone.
Q. Do you think the police should be involved when cyberbullying occurs?
A. It would depend on if there is some type of what we would deem illegal event or criminal act. If somebody said they were going to physically harm somebody and here how it’s going to be done, or there going to do something to the building or someones car then at that time we might have to get the police involved.
Q. How do you think cyberbullying affects the school as a whole?
A. Well I think any high school, and Upper Arlington being right in their, it is a big negative because students want to come to school and no one choses to come to school and feel bad about themselves and no one choses to come to school and have someone point out their flaws and the struggles they are having emotionally and physically. I think it’s a big negative. I think its an added stress to young people like yourselves lives. I think it’s difficult to go about your business about having fun with your friends and getting a good education when someone is perhaps bullying you or saying nasty things about you, or even if you live in a culture where your friends are doing that about other people. It creates cliques and different things that are not fun or enjoyable for high school students.
Work Cited:
Cochran, Tom. Personal interview. 14 May 2014.