What do you do when your younger sibling is being bullied? Part of me wants to intervene and shield her from it. Part of me wants to step back and let her stand up for herself. Part of me wants her to fight back. Part of me wants her to walk away from it. Part of me wants her to delete all of her social media so that she can be safe from it all. Part of me thinks that it's just girls being girls.
I know that with the rise of social media, cyber bullying is a growing issue but I also think that it's the way kids communicate and express themselves these days. I remember when MSN was the predominant form of communicating when I was a teen. I also remember all the MSN wars and statuses indirectly directed at other kids.
I agree, social media adds an extra layer of pressure for teenagers to project an image of themselves in order to fit in. But I also think that it teaches them the semiotics that is relevant to their lives and culture. And dismissing it and trying to undermine it just distances us from the next generation.
