TEENS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO ‘SEND ABUSIVE COMMENTS’
Brave 14-year-old reveals the extent of bullying
TEENAGERS are using social media to encourage people to make abusive comments about others, a 14-year-old has claimed. The Pontypridd school student gave us a youngster’s insight into the issue of bullying within social media following the topic being highlighted in the press in recent weeks.
The teenager said youngsters are using Snapchat “stories” to encourage others to send abusive comments about people.
The teenager also claimed people are being bullied through the use of video features within various apps including Instagram.
Social media outlets said they have zero tolerance towards bullying and are taking measures to monitor the issue.
The 14-year-old student, who preferred not to be named, is a regular user of the popular picture messaging app Snapchat.
People can post a collection of pictures on the app throughout the day to show what they are doing – this is referred to as a “story” on the app. Pictures only remain on some- one’s “story” for 24 hours before they automatically disappear.
The teenager said some young people will put a message on their “story” asking others to send them a nasty comment about someone else.
When a person posts a picture on their “story” all their contacts are able to view the image.
The student said: “When a person sends them an abusive comment about a person they dislike, they will then screenshot it and add it to their story for everyone else to see.
“They erase the name of the person who sent it so no one will know who originally made the comment.
“It causes a lot of arguments and people can get offended if anything is said about them.”
Speaking about the claim of people being bullied through video features within certain apps, the teenager explained: “Instagram has a new live video feature and people can comment on these posts – even once the video has ended.
“People will often watch the live stream just to laugh at the person.
“It’s cruel and people get upset at school.”
When asked about the issue, Snapchat declined to comment about issues concerning bullying on the messaging app, but the company confirmed that no one under the age of 13 is allowed to create a Snapchat account.
There is also an active Trust and Safety team who respond to reports and concerns within the company.
Instagram said it has a zero tolerance attitude towards bullying or abusive comments on the networking site.
The company has made it clear that it is never OK to attack anyone else on the app and it has a number of policies, tools, partnerships and programs to protect users safety.
In the past five years Instagram has seen its community grow to 500 million people, and the company wants all its users to feel safe while using the platform.
A spokesman for Instagram added: “We have a zero tolerance to bullying. If someone is being bullied, or sees something that makes them uncomfortable, we encourage them to report it using our in-app tools.
“People have the ability to manage what they see in their comments by stopping any words or symbols they find offensive from appearing.
“This is in addition to our other inapp tools which let you swipe to delete comments, report inappropriate comments or block accounts.
“We are committed to Instagram being a safe and welcoming place, where people can express themselves without harassment.”
Facebook also said that there is no place for trolling, bullying or harassment on the website.
The company has spent the past 10 years trying to keep people safe, and company employees constantly look for new features and tools to help people have a positive experience on the site.
Facebook is governed by a set of “community standards” that set out limits for acceptable behaviour and content.
If these standards are broken, the site will quickly remove the content and take appropriate action where needed.
Facebook has built an extensive reporting infrastructure which enables its users to report suspicious or