It seems the phrase “I’m just a big kid at heart” couldn’t be more applicable to current research from SFU, which revealed that cyberbullying (or cyber-harassment) is more prominent among students and faculty members than we’d expect. So prominent, in fact, that I am dismayed and ashamed of academic populations after learning the details.
The study, conducted by Professor Wanda Cassidy and her colleagues, included 30 interviews and a survey of over 2,000 people from four universities across the country. The results found that, surprisingly, many students harass their TA’s through social media smear campaigns, and faculty members harass each other most prominently through emails and text messages.
One situation concerning a TA grabbed my attention: the TA claimed that a colleague felt that she was being gossiped about, and consequently sent the TA derogatory messages up to 73 times a day. When the TA did not reply, the messages became worse.
Cyberbullying is what children do, children who are paranoid about popularity and self-image.
Other instances include professors who have been attacked by students calling them “lousy, incompetent and useless,” causing instructors to fear going to work each day.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who witnessed cases of cyberbullying while in high school. I’ve even been a victim, and (I’ll admit) at times a perpetrator of this harassment. I am well aware of the adolescent life played out through social media and texts, one that can be careless, self-absorbed, malicious, and without shame. Furthermore, being from a small town, it was fairly routine for cyber-harassment cases to spread by word of mouth to all the townsfolk.
After a particular instance in which one student attacked several teachers with a Youtube video, causing widespread distress among the school staff, I remember thinking to myself that I couldn’t wait to graduate and leave the degrading, single-minded woes of small town, adolescent life behind me.
Of course, I knew harassment would still exist, but I think these realities were shrouded by my vision of university as some kind of paradise, the adult holy-land of professionalism. Reading about cases in studies such as this further erodes the pit of reality in my stomach.
Cyberbullying is what children do. Children who are paranoid about popularity and self-image, who have trouble thinking before acting, and who don’t yet understand the values of creating and maintaining positive relationships.
When adults who claim to be mature individuals seeking skillful employment and companionship, turn around and harass each other like this, there are some serious consequences. Do you want your professional image tarnished? Do you want to be sleep-deprived and anxiety-ridden? How about thoughts of suicide?
As a guy who has very little tolerance for bullying of any sort, I am proud to say that I make an effort to treat everyone with kindness and respect, no matter their differences. I try to understand the outlooks of others, and I’ve come to learn the value of upholding positive relationships.
Clearly, these are concepts that too many striving academics have yet to grasp.
