Who can help with cyberbullying?

Parents
Parents should be involved in their child's life. They should know who their child's best friend is, who's the kid they have a crush on, who's the mean kid, etc. Sometimes, though, parents don't know anything because they don't think to ask about their child's day or their child doesn't approach them. Establishing that relationship where a parent is always available to a child for help and support could alter how they react to things they see on the internet. My sister was cyberbullied and my mother knew exactly who to get involved in the situation (police and school board in this case) and knew how to help her stop the bullying; and this is due to the fact that my mother has established that sort of relationship between her and my sister.

Schools
Schools do "as much as they can" to raise awareness of cyberbullying and how to approach it, seek help, and stop it. The thing is, schools don't have the authority to monitor social media because it is not their responsibility. But, what schools can do is provide a way for students to tell someone about cyberbullying anonymously. The fear that comes with reporting any sort of bullying is that the bullying will get worse, and that'll never go away. But making the school notified about the situation will allow them to get in the middle of the bullying and involve whoever needs to be involved in the situation.

Kids
The real obvious answer here is to just not do it to begin with, but that'll never happen. What kids can do is report it or stand up to the bullying when they see it happening. Like I said before, there will always be that fear that the bullying will get worse, but it could go away if someone is told about it. Most of the time, the bullying will stop if someone stands up to the bully, and I can say this with full confidence because I've done it myself.

Social Media Platforms
Most, if not all, social media platforms provide a means to block people so you don't have to see or be contacted by someone. I'm not sure if this is already in affect, but monitoring what is said could reduce the bullying as well. Looking for key words or phrases like "...is so stupid" could reduce the amount of cyberbullying.

Police/Government
The government could make programs to help instead of just punishing a bully. There could be counseling groups or individual counseling provided to establish why they may be bullying and help the bully see why it is wrong and harmful to others.

Internet Service Providers
ISPs tend to have a large influence and could raise awareness and make campaigns against cyberbullying. AT&T has their "It Can Wait" campaign that is associated with texting and driving, so these companies are capable of putting it out there, they just have to do it.

Here is a link about a case of cyberbullying where the bullies were arrested because the victim committed suicide.

Facebook v. Snapchat

I have two social media accounts I use on a daily basis: Facebook and Snapchat. Here's why I like them:

I like being able to contact distant family, see what they've been doing, and let them see what I've been doing. It's also a convenient way for me to "store" photos and organize them by year and or event.

Click here to go to Facebook

I like Snapchat for the more day-to-day events for closer friends. I can also see what they do day-to-day, especially friends I do not see much anymore because of work or school.

Click here to go to Snapchat

Personal Review of Torrid's Website

I've been shopping on this website and at this store for a few years now - I even work here part-time! Needless to say, I'm very familiar with Torrid's website. I also think it's very easy to navigate. You can search items by color, fabric. SKU number, style, and other specifics like that. The various navigation areas are very easy to figure out and they break down into subcategories for styles or the purpose of each clothing item.

There is only one thing I wish they would do. Some shirts come in various colors and patterns, and they're shown as separate items. I believe it would be easier and more convenient if they all could be accessed even if the original item was a different color, like in the picture below:

There are many colors available for this style of shoe. Found on amazon.com

Opinion on Machine Learning

Machine Learning will allow Artificial Intelligence to "think" on its own and adjust on its own. The way computers will be able to do this is by doing something called deep searching which is where a computer looks through data and look for patterns and perform tasks based on those patterns.



The articles posted below have a couple examples of how machine learning is in use. Facebook personalizes each of its users' news feeds based on what they "like" and share, and based on what their friends like and share as well. There is also lots of talk of using it for cars, which I think is unsafe. The car may not know where to go in the case of an emergency, traffic, emergency vehicles, and accidents.

Top 5 Technology Trends
Machine Language

Cyberbullying

First off---

Bullying is NOT okay under any circumstance. It is seen as cowardly and almost self-centered because the bully verbally, and sometimes physically, torments someone because of their own insecurities and self-doubt.

But cyberbullying is the ultimate level of cowardice. The bully hides behind their computer or phone screen to say awful things to their target that they would no otherwise say in person.

As someone who has been cyberbullied and witnessed their sister be cyberbullied, it does in fact cause as much emotional trauma as basic bullying. You go to school wondering who the bully talked to about what they said, what the bully actually said, and what if they approach you in person. It's a scary experience and makes those who enjoy going to school, not enjoy going to school as much anymore.

A heart-wrenching, yet painfully real movie about plausible effects of cyberbullying is called "Cyberbully" starring Emily Osmit. It was difficult to watch, but the events portrayed in the movie do occur in real life. The movie itself is for awareness of the problem of cyberbullying, and I believe more people should see it for the sole purpose of a reality check.