Online bullying meaner with ‘hate apps’
Whispered secrets and gossip passed around among school students is nothing new.
But Internet apps that allow young people to post their thoughts, often unkind, anonymously about their peers has added a new intensity to cyberbullying.
“The online bullying can be meaner because you aren’t showing yourself,” said Parker Loera, 12, a seventh-grade student at Independence Middle School in Bethel Park.
And it’s easier to be mean when you don’t have to look in the face of the victim and see that person’s reaction, said classmate Alexa Barrett, 13.
Parker and Alexa were among about 2,000 middle school students in four school districts who participated in a Google broadcast last week to discuss what the group referred to as “apps of hate.”
The session was organized by Independence Middle School principal David Muench, who said he has become concerned about the use of such apps among his students and the effect it has on their mental health.
In addition to Bethel Park, students from Brentwood, Canon-McMillan and South Fayette school districts participated in the discussions after reading articles and researching the topic.
The apps, which call for anonymous posts, first became popular on college campuses several years ago as a place to post anonymous comments about such topics as relationships or social life or to make confessions about issues such as eating disorders, sexual orientation or odd behaviors.
But since then, their use has broadened to include students using the platforms to post unflattering comments about others, and the users have become younger. The apps are sometime used for positive shout-outs, students said. But more often the posts are negative.
The students who participated in the April 16 Google broadcast acknowledged the apps are widely used among their peers and often to embarrass or bully or gain popularity.
“It’s all about popularity. It’s so they have everyone on their side,” Parker said.
Classmate Matthew Casaldi, 13, said students continue to use the apps “because there are no consequences to their actions.”
But they see the consequences for the victims.
“The consequences of the actions are very negative and can destroy the confidence of the person being bullied,” said Jerry Varghese, 14, of Bethel Park.
“When anonymous comments are posted, the victim always looks for someone to blame,” said Emma Petrick, 14, an eighth-grader at Independence. But, she pointed out, victims don’t always identify the right perpetrator, which means innocent people get accused.
Ryan Klingensmith, a counselor and social media expert at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, frequently talks with school and parent groups about the use of such apps and other social media.
In his talks, he identifies two issues: Students have the technical knowledge to use the apps but don’t have good decision-making skills in how they use them. Parents have good decisionmaking skills but often don’t have the technical ability to use the apps.
So, he encourages parents to work with their children to learn more about their uses of social media and to help them develop better decision-making skills.
State Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, shared details of House Bill 229, which would make cyber harassment of a child a crime. Under the bill, he said, adults would face a misdemeanor charge and those younger than 18 found guilty of harassing other young people online would be referred to juvenile court.
The bill passed the state House, 195-5, and is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. He predicted it will be taken up by the Senate this session. “It’s something that’s necessary,” he said.
But the senator told the students that even without legislation, control can be exercised over the activity.
“A lot of this comes down to basic human nature and being kind and standing up to those who are bullies,” he said.