‘High Tech Solutions for a High Tech Problem”

I am particularity becoming more interested in how technology is able to assist in the fight against cyberbullying and I came across a social network called ‘We Heart It’. The site allows users to share photos with one another but does not allow for comments to be posted on these photos. The only action that can be taken in responding to a friend’s phone is liking it or “hearting” the photo. Hearts on Instagram are the equivalent to likes on Facebook, so its no wonder the heart is symbol the network primarily uses. I wonder how much popularity this app will gain  if interaction is limited to solely to hearting photos. Although the ability to comment on photos does not exist with We Heart It, browsing through the site I am able to see the app still offers many of the features that are so popular on most social media networks today. Uploading photos to other social media networks, using filters and following others, just to name a few. I will have to watch the app for the next few weeks and see if it becomes a hit.

Another app I came across that is specifically designed to interrupt cyberbullying is called StopIt. This app allows those that may be witnessing an instance of cyberbullying to photograph what they see and report it  to their school’s database in real time. One of the reasons cyberbullying is able to continue is because teenagers have a fear of telling someone what is going on. What makes this app so useful is that when a student chooses to report an instance of cyberbullying, it is completely anonymous. The app also has additional features such as a the STOPit button that allows users to forwards screen captured images of instances of cyberbullying and forwards it to a per-approved trusted adult. This feature is not anonymous. One feature of STOPit I think is particularly useful is the HELPit button that links youth with a support organization if they need someone to talk to. As mentioned earlier, teenagers typically keep the bullying to themselves because they fear and adult would not understand and would not be able to help. Although the HELPit button is useful for encouraging teens to talk to someone if they need help, the issue of if they will do it or not still persists.