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Cyberbullying

Since I have lived in St. Louis all my life, I have been hearing about the “MySpace Suicide Hoax”. But these articles were all very interesting to me, especially the one from The New Yorker, because it really covered the case in great detail. I hadn't done much research on the topic before, and my only knowledge came from what I would hear on TV or on the radio.



I think the articles really speak to the need for laws that punish those who take part in cyberbullying. Technology is changing the way we do so many things these days, and the laws need to reflect that. I also think that the laws needs to do something about people who pretend to be someone they're not on the internet. I think the defense that she couldn't be held accountable for violating the user agreement on MySpace because she didn't read it is very faulty. While it is true that most people don't read the user agreements and agree to them anyway, it is also true that most people have the common sense not to pose as someone they're not, especially not to intentionally hurt a young child.

I think that is one of the biggest downfalls of the internet. It is so easy for anyone to get access to a computer, and then with that access to go on any website and pose as someone they're not. That can be harmful in many ways. As proven in the Megan Meier case, the internet is a very easy place to manipulate young peoples' feelings. While this wasn't discussed much in the articles, the internet is also an easy place for child predators to target children.

All of this is reasons why I think there should be harsh punishments for adults who engage in this horrific behavior. I also think parents need to talk to their children about the reasons why cyberbullying is wrong and how it can hurt people. Children need to understand that their actions can have unintended consequences and what kind of punishments they should be given. This is a big issue that parents and even schools need to deal with.

The Net Gen Goes to College

There were many parts of the article "The Net Gen Goes to College" that I agreed with. I do think that the generation of so-called "millenials" does exist and that they do rely much more on technology. I also agree with the point made in the article that this new generation of college students and the fact that they have different learning styles is not that different from previous generations and should be expected. While I am part of the millenial generation and obviously haven't been around very long, it seems to me that there will always be changes in the way students learn in every generation.



The millenial generation was raised on technology and, according to the article, is very impatient and need instant gratification. I think that this is a very general assumption that is not always true. It is definitely true for quite a few students, including myself, and I think that something could be learned from this.



I think that teachers could use this to their advantage. If teachers could successfully incorporate technology into their lessons, many students could benefit. But even more than a focus on technology, teachers need to focus on making lessons more interactive. Because of the need for instant gratification the article states that we millenials need, it is hard to sit and listen to an hour-long lecture. I think that would be the preferred method for me. But I realize that many students do not learn like I do and enjoy lectures. This is why teachers need to teach somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Teachers need to lecture because they have very important things to teach students that can only come from their experiences. But they also need to incorporate more group and interactive work, because a lot of students work best this way.