Abstract
In recent years Facebook, MySpace, and other social-networking sites have been blamed for the suicides of teenagers in Missouri, Massachusetts, and New York. Parents complained their children were traumatized by nasty comments posted by cyberbullies on social-networking sites. Schools and districts are taking action in response. According to a T H E Journal survey conducted in 2009, 68 percent of respondents replied that their districts banned social networking sites for students and teachers, 19 respondents replied that they banned social networking sites only for students, and another 12 percent said there was no ban in their districts. In the following case study, which is a true story based on a news report in the Sprint of 2010, a middle school principal calls for parents to yank their children from all social-networking sites after a so-called “Naughty List” was posted on Facebook. Is his extreme measure justifiable?
TopThe Case
The names of dozens of female students at Reagan Middle School community in Pearson District had their names posted on a so-called “Naughty List” on Facebook, officials said. The page, called “The Whimsical Girls of Pearson ISD” claimed the girls were promiscuous. “I haven't done anything to deserve to be put on that list,” said an 8th-grade victim who did not want to be identified. Parents complained to the district.
A spokeswoman said the district persuaded Facebook to remove the page and the case was turned over to the County Sheriff's Office. “We felt it was serious enough to get involved and try and help our kids and get to the bottom of it,” said the spoke person of the District. “The ramification of cyber-bulling, in my opinion, is huge because it's like a snowball. It splatters in ways that you don't even imagine that it would,” said Mrs. Mallow, a student's mother.
If the author of the list is identified, he or she could face expulsion, school officials said. However, the district attorney's office said it determined that no crime was committed.