COMMUNITY
CYBERBULLYING TECHNOLOGY IS HERE TO STAY
In 1994 Susan McLean did not own a mobile phone and her employer, the Victorian Police, were not connected to the Internet mainstream. Susan was handed her first case of cyberbullying, and at that time could not have foreseen the frenzy of activity that would follow in the years ahead. This was just the tip of the iceberg in a new world of evolving technology. Susan McLean’s first cyberbullying case was “horrible”, involving a 13-year-old girl and other students. “For the first time, it made me start thinking technology could be misused,’’ said Susan, realising she had to upskill herself in this area. “I thought it (technology) was all this magical stuff, but these girls worked out a way to misuse it. “It was just another day at the office and I was doing something I knew nothing about. I twigged it would grow with problematic online use. “The only problem was you didn’t know where it was going because you didn’t know what was coming. “Early adopters of social technology were teenagers and then middle teenagers, then younger children and now children in Prep
have devices. In those days, could you have foreseen a 4-year-old would have an iPad?” Susan spoke with RGS students, from Year 5 to Year 12, during Term 2 to give them an honest insight, telling the students that while cyberbullying was part of their lives, cyberbullying is ugly and damaging – both in the present and the impact of a social media footprint that never goes away. Students were informed about the three “Rs”: Respect, Responsibility and Reputation. Susan recommends a series of questions to ask yourself before you touch an online device: • Is it showing respect to myself, my body and others? • Is it a responsible use of technology, not can I do it? You can do it if you press a button but is this what I should be doing? • How is what I’m about to do going to impact my digital reputation?
10 / THE ROCKHAMPTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL CAPRICORNUS QUARTERLY
“ The internet is an adult world and if you are going to allow your child to be there you have to be there with them.” • Pause and think first. Then align everything you do with those three Rs and you can’t go wrong. “You can’t break a rule, you can’t break a law, you can’t go somewhere you shouldn’t be, you can’t be mean, you can’t be nasty, you can’t do anything if you are being respectful and responsible,’’ Susan said. Susan wants students to be mindful of opportunities that may present themselves, whether that be in the near future or years ahead.
