Many of us are members of social networking sites such as Facebook. It can be a good way of keeping in touch with our friends and sharing information. However, a study last year, 2011, looked at how often people saw mean or cruel comments compared with generous and helpful ones. This is especially important at the moment because of the prevalence of cyber bullying which can be very harmful to those subjected to it. Do people feel free to say things on Facebook they would never say face to face ? Some people hide behind nicknames and keep their profile anonymous. Is it best to leave SNS alone and read a good book ? SNS means ‘social networking sites. I want to have a closer look at this study because its findings are relevant to all of us.
Adult SNS users were asked a question that did not appear in the teen survey: “When you’re on a social networking site, how often do you see people being generous or helpful?” Some 39% of adult SNS users said they frequently saw acts of generosity, 36% said they sometimes saw it, 18% said they saw it “only once in a while” and 5% said they never saw it. The SNS users who were most likely to say they frequently saw people being generous or helpful included whites (41%), college graduates (45%), and those living in households earning $75,000 and above (46%). This was an American study and these results showed that people who were white, well-educated and relatively well-paid saw less cruelty than others. Why might other groups be more likely to be cruel to each other ?
When it came to unpleasant behaviour on SNS, adults have seen their share, but it tends to be evident to them far less frequently than it is to teen SNS users. Both groups were asked the same question: “When you’re on a social networking site, how often do you see people being mean or cruel?” Some 49% of SNS-using adults said they saw mean or cruel behaviour displayed by others at least occasionally, far lower than the 88% of SNS-using teens who said they had seen mean or cruel behaviour at some point. Moreover, 29% of SNS-using adults said they had never seen mean or cruel behaviour on the sites, compared with 11% of teens who said they had never seen it.
Social network site users reported quite similar rates of witnessing mean and cruel behaviour as their younger peers in the teen cohort: 9% of SNS-users said they frequently saw mean and cruel behavior; 25% of them see it sometimes; 48% see it “only once in a while”; and 16% said they had never see it. Frequent users – those who use SNS at least once a day – are also more likely to see mean or cruel behaviour more often.
So why is it that teens are use Facebook to be cruel to each other on a wide scale ? Is it because it’s used as another way of bullying people who are bullied at school ? I would be interested in your comments – you can contact me on school email. Dr.Brown.
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Nice v Nasty The Net and Us
Many of us are members of social networking sites such as Facebook. It can be a good way of keeping in touch with our friends and sharing information. However, a study last year, 2011, looked at how often people saw mean or cruel comments compared with generous and helpful ones. This is especially important at the moment because of the prevalence of cyber bullying which can be very harmful to those subjected to it. Do people feel free to say things on Facebook they would never say face to face ? Some people hide behind nicknames and keep their profile anonymous. Is it best to leave SNS alone and read a good book ? SNS means ‘social networking sites. I want to have a closer look at this study because its findings are relevant to all of us.
Adult SNS users were asked a question that did not appear in the teen survey: “When you’re on a social networking site, how often do you see people being generous or helpful?” Some 39% of adult SNS users said they frequently saw acts of generosity, 36% said they sometimes saw it, 18% said they saw it “only once in a while” and 5% said they never saw it. The SNS users who were most likely to say they frequently saw people being generous or helpful included whites (41%), college graduates (45%), and those living in households earning $75,000 and above (46%). This was an American study and these results showed that people who were white, well-educated and relatively well-paid saw less cruelty than others. Why might other groups be more likely to be cruel to each other ?
When it came to unpleasant behaviour on SNS, adults have seen their share, but it tends to be evident to them far less frequently than it is to teen SNS users. Both groups were asked the same question: “When you’re on a social networking site, how often do you see people being mean or cruel?” Some 49% of SNS-using adults said they saw mean or cruel behaviour displayed by others at least occasionally, far lower than the 88% of SNS-using teens who said they had seen mean or cruel behaviour at some point. Moreover, 29% of SNS-using adults said they had never seen mean or cruel behaviour on the sites, compared with 11% of teens who said they had never seen it.
Social network site users reported quite similar rates of witnessing mean and cruel behaviour as their younger peers in the teen cohort: 9% of SNS-users said they frequently saw mean and cruel behavior; 25% of them see it sometimes; 48% see it “only once in a while”; and 16% said they had never see it. Frequent users – those who use SNS at least once a day – are also more likely to see mean or cruel behaviour more often.
So why is it that teens are use Facebook to be cruel to each other on a wide scale ? Is it because it’s used as another way of bullying people who are bullied at school ? I would be interested in your comments – you can contact me on school email. Dr.Brown.
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