Cyberbullying: My Views as an Outside Observer

                As someone who has not participated in any of the popular social media platforms, I can’t say that I can give a direct opinion on how I feel about cyberbullying. The high school I attended was fairly small, having 80-90 students per class, and did not have excessive amounts of bullying or division between cliques. The school also did not adhere overly closely to “zero-tolerance” policies, as I distinctly remember several instances of altercations where punishments were given out according to the circumstances of each individual involved.

                Based on my own experience in social aspects of the internet (mostly involving gaming and forums), I tend to have a difficult time grasping the full impact of cyberbullying on the individuals that are on the receiving end. Most of my online interactions have been under the assumption that all those involved will not take anything said personally or directly. The games I have played have had plenty of division between clans and those in them, and those divisions could potentially evolve into very heated rivalries. Regardless of the insults or accusations that might have been exchanged between warring parties, it was always assumed that they were not carried beyond those social constructs. That assumption has always held true where I have encountered individuals that were considered “enemies” in one game, in a completely different one. Despite changing relations between the groups we belong to, there have always been individuals that I have expected to remain on good terms with.

                My perception of online interactions might incorrectly bias my views on cyberbullying on social media. I have been conditioned to see interactions over the internet as separate from my actual perception and feelings. When I see something that may be offensive or insulting on the web, I generally do not take it personally, because in my mind it is “just the internet.”

                For those who have spent excessive time interacting with real-life acquaintances on social media, I can see how the situation may be different. If your experiences online are directly tied to your actual experiences in your day to day life, then the distinction is blurred or might really be nonexistent. For those people, I think the things they experience online are much different than for me, and would explain my greatly differing reactions.

The FCC, ISPs, and the War on Affordable Internet

                ISP’s current dealings with the US government and the FCC have become a cause for great concern regarding the future of internet quality and availability in the United States. From the ruling that ISPs cannot be considered “common carriers” earlier this year, to the FCC’s ruling against net neutrality, to the recent merger of Comcast with Time Warner Cable, the state of the US’s internet infrastructure is not looking particularly promising for the future.

                With the court ruling that established that broadband and mobile ISPs could not be considered common carriers, the FCC lost most of its control over the dealings of those corporations in regard to restrictions on access to the internet. This means that the already established regulations on common carriers are not relevant in regard to broadband internet service, so any potential issues will have to be dealt with directly, rather than being interpreted from the current laws.

                The merge of Comcast and TWC is a major hindrance to possible competition between ISPs in the US. After the merger, the conglomeration leaves large sections of the US population with literally no choice in broadband ISP, because TWC will be the only provider available in their area. Obviously, when there is no competition, then there is no incentive to invest in better quality or improve pricing.

                Just after the outcry over the merge of the two largest broadband ISPs in the US, the FCC made yet another ruling in their favor, allowing the prioritization of preferred web users. Due to the lack of competition between ISPs, it is unlikely that this will turn into any kind of price reduction for the average internet user. What it does mean is that companies that provide services over the internet, such as Netflix and Google, will be faced with higher fees for internet usage. These fees will, of course, be passed on to the consumers of those services.

Social Media & Employment

                Personally, I don’t see a huge problem with the viewing of social media by employers, as long as the information viewed is accessed in a way that is knowingly allowed by the potential employee. People should be directly responsible for what they post on the internet under their own name and knowingly make open to others to view. If an employer sees something that that they feel reflects badly on the person that they are considering for a position, then they should be allowed to make that decision. Posting (publicly) to social media is no different than making any other kind of open public statement, and the consequences of making that statement shouldn’t change based solely on the context.

                On the other hand, employers should not be able to access information about their current or potential employees that they would not have access to otherwise. Companies contacting Facebook directly for the disclosure of information should not be allowed, because it is not information that is willingly given. While viewing information that is made public is like any other public statement, viewing information that would be otherwise hidden is similar to an illegal search of your property. Unfortunately, this is not actually the case, as any information posted to Facebook becomes property useable by the company. So, unless the current policies are changed, it will remain legal for Facebook to divulge that information to those they agree to give it to. Regardless of the similarity to other legal issues, the terms agreed to by those who use it will govern the status of the information posted. Currently, any who use Facebook have made an official statement that they are aware of this fact, and are willing to comply with those standards (regardless of whether they actually read the documents or not).

                All in all, I believe that social media should remain a source of information useable by employers to research the people they hire. The only changes that need to take place are the establishment of direct user control over what information they choose to be open for review by certain viewers. That way, employers will still have a source for information, but users of social media will still be able to retain their privacy.