Take Back the Tech- Mindanao

Cyber-Bullying of Some Some Sort

jeanclairedy@gmail.com (Jean Claire Dy) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:16:00 +0000

by Ella

I had this male friend way back in 2003 or 2004 whom I met online. I wouldn't really call him "friend", but we were the same age, had the same interests, and he called me about twice a week to chat. There was no cyber flirting going on, just random conversations from anime to Japanese culture to ghost stories. Oh, and he was in Japan. His family migrated there that year. He would call me in my cellphone, using Japanese prepaid phone cards for long distance calls.

I think it was late 2003 when he got a girlfriend from Cebu. He met her online too. By that time he was still calling me and we still had random chats. Shortly afterwards, he stopped calling, we stopped talking on forums, and I didn't really wonder why. I mean, if you had a long distance girlfriend and she knew you were calling another girl, your girlfriend would be mad too. But the thing is, the girlfriend was really nice to me, online, at least. Well, I was in college at that time, and she was still in highschool. She would say "ate" (big sister) when she was talking to me.

Months passed, we didn't really talk, not even the girl and me. We were "friends" in Friendster though. This was back in 2004, I believe. The only time we started talking again was when the girl started to get active again in the forums where I posted regularly. I don't really remember how it started, but we had this huge fight online. (This is really embarrassing to write about, btw)

I don't remember much of it, but I remember she started posting sarcastic entries addressed to me. I answered back, and we had this flame war in the forums, that led to the moderator deleting posts. When she was getting too childish and annoying, I sent her a private message saying, "What the h*ll is your problem?" After a few exchanges, she apologized, and said, "Let's be friends again." I said we weren't friends before in the first place.

That same week, someone in Friendster sent me a rude private message. I don't really remember what she said-- it's a she from what I saw in her profile-- but I remember there was "ugly" mentioned. (I think my old old Tabulas friends might remember a couple of entries when I ranted about Friendster and my rude "stalker") It didn't really bother me at first, but I checked the account who sent me a message. The only connection we had was the girl from Cebu. She was her classmate, from what I could tell (though I might be mistaken). Deleting my account really wasn't my initial reaction, but I remember I also heard about a friend deleting her Friendster account, and I decided to just delete it.

Whenever people asked me why I deleted my account, I always said because I was harassed. That's true, but it wasn't really the one issue. I had been annoyed with Friendster since the first day I joined. The thing is, I didn't really consider what happened to me cyber-bullying. Maybe the girl who sent me the message didn't know it was a form of bullying either. I just realized it was cyber-bullying when I read news reports about similar incidents that happened to American teenagers. The only difference between our experiences is that I only got one message, and it wasn't what I could call serious. Some teens were driven to suicide by the messages they received.

Recently, I heard about the high school daughter of a co-worker who got bullied through Friendster. I guess incidents like these won't stop any sooner.

more on Ella

Cyber-Bullying

jeanclairedy@gmail.com (Jean Claire Dy) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:03:00 +0000

My former student and thesis advisee commented in my other blog regarding my cyber-bullying post:

"i only knew of the term “cyber-bullying” when i read the news about the american girl who committed suicide because she was bullied by a fictional guy on myspace. wah disturbing. come to think of it, i was cyber-bullied too, which made me delete my friendster account in 2004, haha. but it’s a long story. i didn’t know who the “bully” was, just that we’re connected to a common person who i didn’t like very much."- Ella the Enchanted

I asked her to write a blog post about this story. And I am happy that somebody commented on such issue. It would be good to get more voices talking about violence in the internet. Most of the "victims" of bullying that I know are girls and women who more often than not feel harassed and confused about how to react to such harassment.

More Teens Victimized by Cyber-bullies

jeanclairedy@gmail.com (Jean Claire Dy) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:22:00 +0000

Go this from Shirley ni Ely:

“The schoolyard bully has gone digital. As more and more young people have access to computers and cell phones, a new risk to teens is beginning to emerge. Electronic aggression, in the form of threatening text messages and the spread of online rumors on social networking sites, is a growing concern. Researchers estimate that between 9 percent and 34 percent of youth are victims of so-called “cyber-bullies.” And as many as one out of five teens has bullied another youth using digital media, reports a special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.” More from NYtimes…

This news isn’t new to me. I know people close to me who have been victims of online IM stalking and harassment. Even some of my students admit to having been victims of “cyber-bullying” at one point in their college lives as internet users. It is interesting to note though that most of these stalkers are people they know or are familiar with. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to explore the psychology behind this phenomenon.

What do you think makes a cyber-bully?

16 Days of Reclaiming Technology in Activism to End VAW

jeanclairedy@gmail.com (Jean Claire Dy) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:15:00 +0000

TAKE BACK THE TECH:
16 DAYS OF RECLAIMING TECHNOLOGY
IN ACTIVISM TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
*******************************************

//In Uganda, a SMS campaign called Speak out! Stand Out! is organised
by WOUGNET to collect messages against VAW//

//In Quebec, feminists and communication rights activists are creating
short video clips and comic postcards on VAW.//

//In Malaysia, Burmese refugees are creating audiocasts on issues
related to VAW and women’s rights together with Centre for
Independent
Journalism.//

>From 25 November to 10 December, get ready to pull out the mouse,
>flex your SMS fingers and engage full energy in activism to end violence
against women (VAW). APC Women’s Programme (APC WNSP) calls
on users of the radio, television, internet, emails, mobile phones and all
kinds of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to Take
Back The Tech!

============================
What is the campaign about?
============================
Take Back The Tech is a collaborative campaign by ICT users,
advocates, collectives and organisations that take issue with the
prevalence of VAW in our diverse realities. Initiated by APC WNSP in
2006, the campaign is part of the 16 Days of Activism Against
Gender-based Violence initiative.

It is our right to shape, define, participate, use & share knowledge,
information & technology, and to create digital spaces that protects
everyone’s right to interact freely without harassment or threat to
safety. Take Back The Tech aims for this & calls all user of ICTs –
especially grrls & women – to take control of technology and
consciously use it to change unequal power relations.

===============================
How can you Take Back The Tech?
===============================

**16 daily actions**
——————–
Simple daily actions throughout the 16 days that uses ICTs
strategically to counter VAW. From sending SMS, making digital
postcards, snapping pictures, playing with radio to remembering
forgotten names in the history of ICT development, you can take action
with the tools and platforms that you have access to.

**ka-BLOG**
———–
Explore and thicken the knowledge around ICTs & VAW by joining the
16
days blogathon. New to blogging? This is the perfect reason to start
your own, or at least, click that ‘comment’ button to have your say.
Daily topics will be posted on the campaign site to stir conversation,
as well as instructions on how to set up a blog.

**Local initiatives**
———————
Start your own Take Back The Tech campaign. As seen above,
independent and creative initiatives to Take Back The Tech are taking
off in different parts of the world, translating content and action to
address local needs and priorities. Use the campaign website to
highlight your action, or find information and resources. There are tech
tools & tips, articles & links, portable applications, images & graphics,
and if you don’t have an online publishing space, you can have your own
page on the site. Email us to let us know how we can support your
action.

**Digital stories, audiocasts & more**
————————————–
Learn by listening to the experience and stories of women and men
affected by VAW. The campaign website will feature created digital
stories, audiocasts, video clips and postcards. If you have something
you would like to share, just log on to the campaign site and submit
your story.

**Suggest an action**
———————
Help shape the campaign by sharing your experience & ideas. If you
have thoughts, email us or log on to the site, and make it part of the
campaign.

Check www.takebackthetech.ne t daily from 25 November to 10
December, and take action. Reclaim technology to end violence against
women.

For more information: send an email to jac@apcwomen.org, or
ideas@takebackthetech.net

*****************************************
“Take Back the Tech” is an initiative of the APC Women’s Networking
Support Programme (APC WNSP), a global network of women who
support women networking for social change and women’s
empowerment, through the use of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) especially internet, founded in 1993. The APC
WNSP is part of the Association for Progressive Communications
(APC). http://www.apcwomen.org/about/ http://www.apc.org