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A network of nastiness

July 23, 2011 by  
Filed under Lingerie Events

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Cyberbullying is a real problem.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph




Sweet, pretty and popular, 14-year-old Dannii Sanders had almost 2000 Facebook friends. Whether or not cyberbullying played a part in her suicide last week, as her friends claim it did and those closest to her deny, it’s clear social networking was a big part of her short life.


And it’s also clear that after her death, a memorial Facebook page in her name was bombarded with vile hate messages and images.

“Deserved it. I (laughed out loud) hard,” one poster wrote. “She can’t read this because she’s dead,” wrote another. We won’t repeat the more depraved comments because that would just provide pleasure to those who create them.

Yes, pleasure.

The normal human reaction to the suicide of a child is a desire to ease the family’s pain, with kind words and sympathy. Yet there are people who lurk on the internet, feeding off the suffering of others.

Whether it is a jealous school acquaintance hiding behind an anonymous post, or one of a growing number of more dangerous people using the net as their personal playground, this toxic sludge is destroying young lives.”I think when you see things like that that are so incredibly distressing it’s easy to lose your faith in humanity entirely,” says former high-school teacher Dannielle Miller, author of The Butterfly Effect.

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While not commenting on the Sanders case, Miller says: “We know one per cent of the community are sociopaths. Unfortunately online we see more of them. They’re incredibly vocal, and the internet is their space.”

As attorneys-general from every state gathered in Adelaide last week to discuss strategies to counter cyberbullying, such as changing privacy laws to allow parents to access their children’s Facebook accounts, experts warn of the difficulties of putting the genie back in the bottle.

But something needs to be done. Would we allow a teenager to be taken to a public square and stoned?

Of course not, but this is effectively what we are allowing to happen on Facebook or Formspring or any number of social-networking sites.

Some young girls, in particular, are being subjected to soul-destroying, misogynistic humiliation and character assassination that would distress even the hardiest adult.

It’s barbarism, unleashing the worst elements of human nature, with no restraints.

“It’s very difficult to attribute (blame) to Facebook for suicide,” says Melbourne adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg, who is at the forefront of a push to make cyberbullies accountable for their actions, and parents pay more attention to their child’s virtual life.

“But we know that most children who commit suicide have a mental illness and one could argue that the gun is loaded and (cyberbullying) is the trigger.”

The combination of new technology and a teenager’s immature brain have created a “perfect storm”, says Carr-Gregg. “What we know is kids subjected to this kind of bullying are three times more likely to develop depressive symptoms.”Miller says that in the past when bullying or arguments occurred at school, only a few people witnessed them. But on Facebook your humiliation can be seen by millions. It has turbocharged one of the most destructive emotions known to teenage girls – jealousy.

“It’s the old compare-and-despair game that girls have played forever, but now it is being played online,” says Miller.

Where once there was a natural hierarchy in the playground, a “social totem pole” with the alphas or “mean girls” at the top, the internet has enabled the “revenge of the nerds”, who can anonymously undermine the girl who makes them feel worthless all day at school.

“It gives the nerds an avenue to get their revenge which they never had before,” says social media expert Thomas Tudehope, from SR7.

“They are happy to tap into something (nasty) to make it go viral.

“For someone seeking revenge, a character assassination (of their nemesis) on a video or a webpage with 10,000 or 20,000 fans is the ultimate victory.”

The net is a free-for-all for psychopaths (also called sociopaths), the one person in 100 who feels no empathy and has no conscience. Most are male and have been around in every culture since time immemorial.In the real world, while sociopaths are able to give an impression of being normal, they betray themselves with telltale signs obvious to intuitive people or those trained to spot them.

But online no one can tell what they are and they can indulge their putrid activities to their heart’s content, sowing hatred and unhappiness. “One of the difficulties with social media is we have vulnerable young people – many themselves with psychological problems – who are having unrestricted access to other people who have very severe psychiatric problems,” says Carr-Gregg.Cyberbullying suicide is a clarion call for parents to get involved in their children’s activity online, he and Miller agree.

“Parents have their heads in the sand, as if not understanding (how Facebook works) is somehow quaint,” says Miller.

“It’s irresponsible. I wish more parents would see that their teens are doing insane things online.”

No one really knows what drives children to take their lives. Last week Dannii Sanders’ friends were grieving her loss at a memorial service in Sydney’s northwest, where she had lived until moving with her family to the Sunshine Coast in March.

But Miller echoes the comments last week from Lifeline patron John Brogden, when she says ignoring the suicide problem only does more harm.Lifeline: 13 11 14

Kids Help Line: 1800 551 800

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Orem company aims at new form of social networking

July 23, 2011 by  
Filed under Lingerie Events

Four Utahns have launched a trial of a new social network, one they hope will bridge a gap between those like Twitter and Facebook and the desire for real time, in-depth discussions and information.

Tribalfish.com this week opened itself up for beta use to anyone who wants to try it. It describes itself as “redefining how users complete discussions typically started [yet limited] on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. Tribalfish replaces existing blogs and forums with a long-form content environment.”

The social network was started by Lyle Ball, Chris Crabtree, Brett Haskins and Corey Young, who all have backgrounds in Utah high-tech companies.

“Social media are really good at capturing the attention of new audience members,” said Ball, CEO of Tribalfish Inc. “But when you get into a social media tool today, it’s hard to have a deep discussion. You can tweet on Twitter, you can post on Facebook, you can start to have a discussion on Google+ but there’s a point where you really get into the discussion and there comes a point of frustration: Either this has to become a phone call or it has to become an email thread.”

On the other hand, the providers of blogs and forum software haven’t added tools to help harness the strengths of social media, like connecting and interacting with new people, he said.

“So Tribalfish solves that gap or solves that space between the strengths of social media and the strengths of long-form software like forums and blogs,” Ball said.

Tribalfish allows users to create longer posts that are formatted and that can include graphic elements. It also allows for users to connect their social media accounts and blogs. Crabtree, the company’s chief technology officer, pointed as an example to a blogger who linked posts to a Tribalfish account.

“Anytime he posts new blog entries, they’ll automatically get posted as new topics on Tribalfish,” he said. “It’s a new way for him to expand his audience.”

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The system also allows users to track all of their activities and topics they have expressed interest in and immediately see who is responded to anything you have posted.

“A lot of people are active in different forums across the Web at different sites,” said Crabtree. “It’s hard to keep track of exactly which topics you’ve posted in and who’s responded to your posts. This is a single place you can go and track all of your activity on all topics you’ve published throughout the whole system.”

Beta user Paul Harper, of Orem, said Tribalfish provides more freedom than other social networks for participation and discussion.

“Twitter’s obvious limitation is in the character limit. Facebook limits you by the culture of its use and its interface,” he said in a post on the site in response to a query. “But here, with the large space for viewing stories and posts, I can put a lot out there without people feeling like I’m flooding their space.”

Another user, Richard Esplin, of Utah County, said he already uses Tribalfish as a search engine because he feels that Google limits his selections by profiling him and tailoring the search results.

“Based on my geographical location [Utah County] and my operating system [Linux], Google makes a lot of assumptions about my religion, politics and technical interests,” he wrote in a post. “When I want to get a bead on what the rest of the world thinks, I add it to my ‘Interests’ in Tribalfish and browse what comes back. I’m usually surprised by what I see.”

Users also can message each other privately and have private discussion groups.

Beyond individual users, Tribalfish also is being used by businesses or other entities or even family groups that want an internal-communications system that can be up and running quickly, said Ball.

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