July 18, 2008

MORE TEEN BEATINGS ON YOU TUBE! AN EPIDEMIC?



What kind of society have we become? Why is it that there has been a significant rise for girls to commit violent behavior? Don't get me wrong...of course girls fought when I was in high school in the late 80's, early 90's. But not to this extent. It was practically unheard of.

What is it about the American culture that has turned our young women into fierce, violent and attention seeking bullies?

Unfortunately I don't have an easy answer to that. I don't think society as a whole has a clue either. All I know is that something has to be done. How has parenting changed so drastically to breed these kind of animals? Where does You Tube stand in regards to their responsibility of monitoring what is posted?




GOSHEN, Ind. -- A woman whose 15-year-old daughter was beaten by several other teenagers didn't report the incident to authorities until she saw the incident posted on YouTube, police said.

Goshen adjutant police spokesman Joe Brown said the victim's mother believed the June 3 incident was just a typical "kid fight" until she saw the video on the Internet. She reported the beating to police Monday, Brown said.

The girl apparently was beaten on the last day of school, authorities said. The video, which has since been removed from the Web site, shows several people appearing to kick and push the girl repeatedly as she lies on the ground. At least 10 teens appear in the video, Goshen Community Schools Superintendent Bruce Stahly said Wednesday.

"I was, one, disappointed in our students and shocked," Stahly said. "If we had known about the fight prior to the posting, we would have investigated it." School officials also learned of the video Monday. Stahly said those involved face school disciplinary measures once they are identified.

He said the video appears to have been inspired by a similar scheme in which a group of teenage girls in central Florida posted the videotaped beating of a 16-year-old victim online. In April, a group of middle-school girls in Clarksville videotaped an assault on a 12-year-old girl and posted it on the Web site PhotoBucket.

Nancy Willard, executive director for the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, said such postings are becoming too common. "There's definitely an online social-norm aspect to this," she said. She added that the prevalence of the postings seems related to the attention teens receive. Willard believes schools should play a significant role in trying to control such behavior.




 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bullies are like well formed stools. Their personalities and values are formed as they emerge from the orifice of family character.