Age Restrictions on Social Networks to Avoid Cyber Bullying and Related Child Abuses - Research Paper Example

AGE RESTRICTIONS ON SOCIAL NETWORKS TO AVOID CYBER BULLYING AND RELATED CHILD ABUSES Student’s Name Course Professor’s Name University City (State) Date Contents Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Statement of the Problem 4 Purpose Statement 4 Research Questions 5 Assumptions and Limitations of the Study 5 Literature Review 6 The internet and Teen Use 6 Internet use and Age Restriction 6 Alternative Solutions 7 Method 8 Results 8 Discussion 8 References 11 Age Restrictions on Social Networks to Avoid Cyberbullying and Related Child Abuses Abstract A review of the literature concerning cyberbullying and other forms of child abuses was completed. Findings showed that over the last few years, internet usage among children has been rising in steady fashion consequently resulting in cyberbullying. Cyberbullying refers to an online harassment of children through mediums such as, but not limited to, emails, text messages, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram among other social network platforms. Such harassments exist in various forms such as impersonation and cyberstalking. Cyber bullying has therefore become an area of concern as its impacts such as contemplated suicides; individuals feeling inadequate as well as being overly self-conscious have become quite prevalent (Connolly, Hussey & Connolly 2014). For this reason, the problem of cyberbullying cannot efficiently be addressed unless it is approached from both a proactive and reactive point of view. Among other necessary means and ways through which cyberbullying can be controlled, age restriction remains an outstanding framework that can adequately address the issue. Introduction In accordance to Belsey (2004) cyberbullying incorporated use of communication as well as information technologies to propagate deliberate, hostile and repeated behavior and actions by a person or groups of persons in light of harming others. The most common of cyberbullying over the past few years has been exposing of private information to the public domain. The issue of stalking has tremendously increased as well. All this has been made possible due to the anonymity that the internet has been able to provide. In addition to cyberstalking and breach of privacy; outing cyberthreats, impersonation, denigration, trickery, and exclusion exist as other forms of cyberbullying (Willard 2006). As a result of increased advances in technology, the levels of the cyberbullying have also increased drastically (Juvonen & Gross 2008). In addition, research shows that over 90% of teenagers use the internet for online socialization with their peers; as such, this increases the risks of being victims of cyberbullying (Harris, Montague & Parsons 2015). There has continued to be high cases of students bringing the residual effects of personal attacks to the school which adversely affect the learning environment and process as well (Trolley, Hanel & Shields 2007). This study evaluates the use of age restriction as means to prevent cyberbullying, the potential legal problems associated with this policy, alternative solutions to address the problem, how effective the aforementioned policy will be and the various drawbacks it might face in the course of its implementation. Statement of the Problem Cyberbullying as a new form of bullying has been in the forefront of national debates due to its tremendous increase over the last few years. This form of bullying has greatly been stimulated by the aspect of technological advances which has significantly led to youths being followed from their school hallways to their privacy at homes. Purpose Statement The core purpose of this research is to examine how age restrictions on internet usage can be used to control cyberbullying. The paper goes a notch higher and looks into alternative solutions to the problem, how effective the policy will be, the challenges it might face as well as the legal problems that might be associated with the policy. Research Questions In regard to the aim of the paper, the following were the research questions: 1. What are the prevalence of cyberbullying and the various forms of cyberbullying? 2. What are the legal problems associated with an age restriction on children assessing the internet? 3. What are the alternative solution to address the issue 4. How effective are the legislation and the possible difficulties involved in its implementation? Assumptions and Limitations of the Study It was assumed that the literature reviewed would identify the prevalence and the seriousness of cyberbullying. It was also assumed that the reviewed research was conducted by personals with integrity. Finally, it was assumed that the age restriction among children who access the internet was the most appropriate method recommended for the intervention and prevention of cyberbullying. However, possible limitation regarding the study was that the issue is relatively new hence there is a lack of comprehensive research on the issue. Also, most of the research is overlapping in that it is reciting the same studies due to the aforementioned reason. Literature Review The internet and Teen Use According to Willard (2007) he used the term internet to mean an all-encompassing term covering the current as well as emerging communication and information technologies. For the purposes of this research, the reviewer will make use of the same perception as Willard did. He examined the current and emerging technologies and went a step higher and investigated how teens are using such technologies. To address the issue, it is of capital importance that one understands the degree magnitude to which or the emerging technologies (in this case the internet) is used by minors in their day to day activities. In accordance to Goodstein (2007), she refers to present day teens as being weird in their daily activities. According to him, by weird, she meant that today’s children are continually moving from one form of media to another to compete in everyday tasks. The same notion had been developed by other researchers such as Lenhard et al. (2007) who suggested that cyberbullying has become more prevalent on teenagers. The Internet has become the daily drive for today’s teen; they go online to socialize with friends, follow the latest trends, and kill boredom or even seeing the wider world. Internet use and Age Restriction According to Lenhard et al. (2007), it was noted that most websites lack a way of verifying the age of users. As much as most social media sites such as Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook have stated in their policies the minimum age of the users must be at least 13 years old, a greater percentage of individuals especially teenagers who use such networks admitted to lying about their age in order to access the the websites or sign up for social network accounts. The idea of age restriction has been ignored for quite some time hence calls for more efforts to the respect of the aspect of age limit. Alternative Solutions In regard to the increase in cyberbullying and related abuses, there are a number of preventive actions to the problem. According to (Cassidy, Brown & Jackson 2012) parents, schools and students can help overcome by the matter prior, during and even after the occurrence of the issue. According to Willard, he suggested that there a number of actions schools can take to curb the issue; such include educating and increasing awareness of students, parents and the society as a whole on the woes associated with cyberbullying. Also, he suggested that schools may help in monitoring online activities carried out by the students. Willard suggested that in order to address cyberbullying, there is a need to engage in participatory planning, carrying out assessment and making sure that there are effective anti-bullying programs, policies, and procedures put in place in relation to mobile communication, the internet and computer usage. Parents, on the other hand, have to take into themselves the duty to monitor what the internet usage of their siblings. They should become more involved in teen’s internet activities; however, challenges arise since they cannot at all time keep an eye on what the child is doing all time. Also, children possess own control of personal details such as passwords, web history and phone locks thus making it hard for parents to monitor their activities (Makri-Botsari & Karagianni 2014). Methodology Method In order to realize the requirements of the study, primary data will be collected using questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires will be administered through a face to face interview using the selected respondents. The research will take the form of a both quantitative and qualitative study examining the effectiveness of age restriction among other alternative solutions to curb cyber bullying. Primary data, as well as secondary data from the literature review, shall then be analyzed which shall assist in formulating the inferences gained from the study. Results A literature review regarding cyberbullying was completed. It was affirmed that Cyberbullying has been on the rise with the advance and availability of technology at teenagers’ fingertips. The literature review has addressed the prevalence of cyberbullying including the internet and teen use. According to the review, it was evident that a greater percentage of teens are heavy users of internet especially the social networks. In addition, the study affirmed that schools and parents are key factors in ensuring that cyberbullying is eradicated. In addition, the study found that there exist alternative solutions to curb the issue of cyberbullying. However, it was discovered that there are various legal problems and challenges associated with the implementation of such legislation Discussion Age restriction remains a good way to supervise teen’s internet access by setting boundaries on what they can and cannot do on various platforms hence its effectiveness remain at the top notch. Website developers in conjunction with the legal department should come up with means and ways to filter what teenagers’ access to the internet. As well, there should be policies and by-laws governing the breach of provisions. As such, the rate and aftermaths of internet usage can be kept in check especially on the teenagers who are the heavy users of social networks. Internet Service Providers (ISP) may also contribute to the battle of fighting against cyberbullying, just as the role of parents of monitoring the children, Internet Service Providers may play the role of monitoring what activities are carried out online by teenagers. As discussed in the paper, parents and school play an integral part in ensuring that cyberbullying is completely eradicated. In light of the family being the most important unit responsible for socialization, parents are therefore responsible for ensuring that their children develop good morals behaviors and values (Hinduja & Patchin 2008). However, there exist some legal problems and difficulties associated with the policy implementation discussed above. First off, internet users have their privileges hence monitoring by either internet service providers or parents must be put in check else internet users will lose the sense of privacy on what activities they carry out online. In this light therefore, monitoring personal activities may be regarded by law as breach of privacy rights which reflect to the weaknesses in implementing such policies. In addition, implementation of such laws or provisions regarding age restriction on internet use might face severe rejection by the general public which impacts on the success of the policy. Also, there are technological challenges associated with age verification in that there lacks a competent way through which websites can detect the age of the internet user as per that time. As such, age verification is prone to inefficiencies such that it is possible for the particular user to lie about his or her age and gain access to the intended online activities. As much as the effects of internet remain an integral part in technological advances, the negative effects of social networking on the teenagers remain at the forefront in present day debate as it has resulted in development of undesired moral behaviours, affects school activities by deteriorating individual as well as general school performance among others effects. However, if effective implementation of age restrictions on who, what and how internet especially (social medias) are accessed would serve a critical role in reduces the woes associated with internet usage such as cyberbullying among other related abuses. Age restriction as mentioned earlier would be quite effective in eradicating the issue of cyberbullying since social network will only be available to persons with the minimum age of adults who are in a position of making rational decisions based on what they access on the internet as well as the information propagated through social networks. References Belsey, B 2004, What is cyberbullying? Available from: www.bullying.org/external/documents/ACF6F8.pdf [Accessed: 22 October 2016] Cassidy, W, Brown, K & Jackson, M 2012, ‘“Under the radar”: Educators and cyberbullying in schools’, School Psychology International, 33(5), pp. 520–532. doi: 10.1177/0143034312445245. Connolly, J, Hussey, P & Connolly, R 2014. Technology-enabled bullying and adolescent resistance to report: the need to examine causal factors. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 11(2), pp.86-98. Goodstein, A 2007, Totally wired: What teens and tweens are really doing online. New York: Saint Martin’s Griffin,U.S. Harris, C, Montague, S & Parsons, R 2015, August. Relationship between social skill, problem behaviors and exposure to social networking sites amongst adolescents. In Proceedings 19th Triennial Congress of the IEA (Vol. 9, p. 14). Hinduja, S & Patchin, J, W 2008, Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Lenhart, A 2007, Cyberbullying and online teens. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Available from: www.pewinternet.org [Accessed: 22 October 2016] Makri-Botsari, E & Karagianni, G 2014, Cyberbullying in Greek adolescents: The role of parents. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, pp.3241-3253. Trolley, B, Hanel, C & Shields, L 2006, Demystifying & deescalating cyber bullying in the schools: A resource guide for counselors, educators and parents. Booklocker.com, Inc. Willard, N, B 2007, Cyberbullying legislation and school policies: Where are the boundaries ofthe "schoolhouse gate" in the new virtual world? Center for Safe and Responsible use of the Internet. Available from: http://csiru.org [Accessed: 22 October 2016] Winterfeldt, M, M 2013, High School Bullies in the 21st Century: The Cyberbullying Epidemic and Prevention. Month. Read More

In accordance to Goodstein (2007), she refers to present day teens as being weird in their daily activities. According to him, by weird, she meant that today’s children are continually moving from one form of media to another to compete in everyday tasks. The same notion had been developed by other researchers such as Lenhard et al. (2007) who suggested that cyberbullying has become more prevalent on teenagers. The Internet has become the daily drive for today’s teen; they go online to socialize with friends, follow the latest trends, and kill boredom or even seeing the wider world.

Internet use and Age Restriction According to Lenhard et al. (2007), it was noted that most websites lack a way of verifying the age of users. As much as most social media sites such as Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook have stated in their policies the minimum age of the users must be at least 13 years old, a greater percentage of individuals especially teenagers who use such networks admitted to lying about their age in order to access the the websites or sign up for social network accounts. The idea of age restriction has been ignored for quite some time hence calls for more efforts to the respect of the aspect of age limit.

Alternative Solutions In regard to the increase in cyberbullying and related abuses, there are a number of preventive actions to the problem. According to (Cassidy, Brown & Jackson 2012) parents, schools and students can help overcome by the matter prior, during and even after the occurrence of the issue. According to Willard, he suggested that there a number of actions schools can take to curb the issue; such include educating and increasing awareness of students, parents and the society as a whole on the woes associated with cyberbullying.

Also, he suggested that schools may help in monitoring online activities carried out by the students. Willard suggested that in order to address cyberbullying, there is a need to engage in participatory planning, carrying out assessment and making sure that there are effective anti-bullying programs, policies, and procedures put in place in relation to mobile communication, the internet and computer usage. Parents, on the other hand, have to take into themselves the duty to monitor what the internet usage of their siblings.

They should become more involved in teen’s internet activities; however, challenges arise since they cannot at all time keep an eye on what the child is doing all time. Also, children possess own control of personal details such as passwords, web history and phone locks thus making it hard for parents to monitor their activities (Makri-Botsari & Karagianni 2014). Methodology Method In order to realize the requirements of the study, primary data will be collected using questionnaires and interviews.

The questionnaires will be administered through a face to face interview using the selected respondents. The research will take the form of a both quantitative and qualitative study examining the effectiveness of age restriction among other alternative solutions to curb cyber bullying. Primary data, as well as secondary data from the literature review, shall then be analyzed which shall assist in formulating the inferences gained from the study. Results A literature review regarding cyberbullying was completed.

It was affirmed that Cyberbullying has been on the rise with the advance and availability of technology at teenagers’ fingertips. The literature review has addressed the prevalence of cyberbullying including the internet and teen use. According to the review, it was evident that a greater percentage of teens are heavy users of internet especially the social networks. In addition, the study affirmed that schools and parents are key factors in ensuring that cyberbullying is eradicated. In addition, the study found that there exist alternative solutions to curb the issue of cyberbullying.

However, it was discovered that there are various legal problems and challenges associated with the implementation of such legislation Discussion Age restriction remains a good way to supervise teen’s internet access by setting boundaries on what they can and cannot do on various platforms hence its effectiveness remain at the top notch.

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