David had recently been invited to join a group of kids from his school on Facebook. Since he was somewhat shy around other people and had only recently begun to hang out with these guys, David felt good about being asked to join the group. And, to be sure, it was a lot of fun at first. Until one day . . .
David logged onto Facebook and was disgusted by what he saw. Somebody had posted a photo of a girl in their class and altered it with Photoshop. The image made it look like she was the only girl at a party of boys, scantily dressed, holding a beer, and laughing. The caption under the picture was filled with four-letter words and mentioned her name. David hardly knew the girl, but he did know that she had a reputation as a straight edge and that she was often teased about it. He also knew that this would be very hurtful to her if she ever found out.
David knew it was a private online group and anything posted there was supposedly for the members’ eyes only. But what if someone in a group you belong to posts something offensive—like this photo? Won’t anyone who sees it think it’s from the whole group? David also wondered who else might be able to see what is posted. Can people who aren’t members look at the postings without the group knowing? David knew the other members would think he was overreacting if he made an issue about it. But he also knew that the photo made him feel guilty, a sure sign that his moral compass was tugging at him. So, now what?
Should he say something to the other guys and risk looking like a weirdo? He was sure they would just tell him to lighten up. Should he drop out of the group? That would mean the photo stayed out there and he would just be ignoring the problem. He had a teacher he really respected who he could talk to, but what if the whole thing snowballed into a discipline issue at school? What would happen then? And if he talked to his parents, they might take away his internet access.
David felt stuck. All he did was agree to join a group. Why was this such a problem? What, if anything, should he do?
I would recommend that David should inform his parents about what he wanted and what ended up disgusting him. He should then leave the group and go to school and talk to his teacher about what happened. His teacher respects him a lot so she would understand that David wasn't happy about what happened at all. The teacher should talk to the class about the harmful effects of cyber bullying and later asked the boys to say sorry to the girl. They should then remove the picture from the group and delete it for good.
ReplyDeleteI believe that David should talk to his parents and teacher about this problem. He should talk to an adult he trusts, so the teacher he respects would be a good idea.If he feels uncomfortable talking about this problem to an adult, he could always write an anonymous letter to him.He could ask him to talk to the students who were involved in posting the photo, to remove it. The teacher should help raise awareness in the school about situations like this. Remaining silent is not a good idea for David, he should take a stand because it is wrong.Even if his internet access may be taken away, he would be taking a stand to something that is wrong.- Atifa
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ReplyDeleteAccording to this passage, his parents don`t seem too understanding and someone who would sit down and discuss problems correctly, if they were to take away his internet access for something he did not really do wrong. I feel like he should just come out of his comfort zone and speak up to the guys rather his parents, because small pictures like this will one day ruin a person`s life and he would feel even more responsible and worst for not saying anything after something bad happens. And if he is not willing to do that, then he must at least go ask for help from his teacher. It is wrong to keep hiding it. Also, when people know that he was a part of the group and didn’t make a move about it, it will just look bad on him and everyone would just believe he is a person with a bad character like the other guys.
ReplyDeletei would recommended that david should talk to someone like a teacher as an anonymous because as a matter of fact teachers do have the experience as to how to handle such situations because they have either been there and done it or maybe known about it or maybe they know cause as a teacher they may know how to handle or face such situations and tell the teacher to keep this online between u and i. another solution is for him to leave the group because a person behind the screen alone leads to things youth souldnt be doing or maybe as joke tell his group members that hey this is wrong she wasnt even there why do this to her
ReplyDeleteId prefer that David should first tell the people in the group chat how he feels about the picture,and that it is not the correct thing to do.If his friends think that hes begin weird, he should inform his friends why he feels a certain way, and that he will inform a teacher if the issue is not resolved now.If it is not resolved, he should then approach a teacher, and explain the situation to him/ her, so they can deal with the problem, giving David ease that he at least attempted to stop what was happening,and he could tell the teacher to explain the situatio to the parents so they can understand. Therefore David wouldn't feel guilty anymore
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, David should talk to the guys in the groupchat. It is the right thing to do. The picture could ruin the girl's life if it got out. If David is a ethical person, he would put the girl's dignity and respect before his fear of losing his 'friends'.
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ReplyDeleteI would recommend that David should talk to his teacher about this because his teacher would somehow help him because what if people on the group chat sent it to there friends and they would sent it to others and it will go on and on and what if the girl finds out. and if that didn't work out then i think he should talk to his parents about it and i'm sure they would help him at first they would get mad but they will obviously help him or he can tell a friend who can help him or an adult that can solve his problem.
DeleteI believe that David should talk to the guys in the group and tell them the possible consequences of what they have posted. He should reason with them and explain to them how it is important to delete the picture as it might hurt the girl if it got out. David should be firm with the guys and if they tell him to 'lighten up' then they are not good company to associate with and David should leave the chat. As the prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "The likeness of a righteous friend and an evil friend, is the likeness of a (musk) perfume seller and a blacksmith. As for the perfume seller, he may either bestow something on you, or you may purchase something from him, or you may benefit from his sweet smell. And as for the blacksmith, he may either burn your clothes, or you may be exposed to his awful smell." It is important to associate with good accompany as they rub off on you; if David's friends do not take him seriously clearly they are not good company and their bad attitude will probably affect David.
ReplyDeleteI believe that he should talk to the leader of the group privately at school and tell him that taking a person's picture without their permission is illegal. Ask the leader of the group that if this happened to your sister, your mom, or your children how would you feel. For a split second put yourself in the shoes of that innocent girl who has done no harm to any of us. Why then should we ruin the reputation of that individual. This girl will 100% feel embarrassed to even walk in public because she will remember what people did to her picture and on top of that posted it online. We all know that anything that goes online whether it's public of private once it's out there, deleting it or covering that post from the media can be almost impossible. If the leader of the group does not understand his mistake and does not apologize then he should simply tell the teacher that's close to him and his parents to deal with such situation.
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