Trustworthiness of Different Online Mediums

Cyber-Bullying Media

The author of this report has been asked to compare and contrast three different forms of media that all pertain to the same subject, that being cyber-bullying. The three types of media that will be singled out for analysis and research are podcasts, blogs and videos. For each source, the author will assess the source's use of bias, validity and applicability of information. Beyond the compare and contrast mentioned above, the author will examine the influence of web-based information on global citizenship and multi-cultural understanding. Lastly, there will be a listing of three factors that should be considered when evaluating Internet sources for use in researching information. While there is a lot of "good" when it comes to internet research and the data that is present, there is also a lot of "bad" that muddies up the proverbial waters.

Analysis

The podcast media that was selected for this report was found on the National Crime Prevention Council website. They have an entire page dedicated to cyber-bullying, how to deal with it, how to report it and so forth. The solutions offered are comprehensive, detailed and there are a lot of other useful links on the same page tht also related to safety. A lot of it pertains to children but there is plenty of adult material as well including senior safety, hate crimes and so forth. Anyhow, there are five podcasts listed on the website near the bottom. The topics covered in each podcast, in order, are the basic facts of cyber-bullying, taking action, creating change, students speaking out and improving public safety. There are no signs of bias in the site or the podcast because it is clearly a public sector and agency-driven initiative. The information is valid and applicable. However, there are surely some kids that could do all of these things but they still suffer because parents, administrators and so forth are simply not doing the ethical or legal thing. However, that is no fault of the NCPC (NCPC, 2015).

When it comes to blogs, the author of this report found the "stopbullying.gov" website. The page relates to both in-person and cyber-bullying but both are covered quite well. The page in question is a sub-page of the broader website in question. One article that was posted (back in April 2015) relates to how law enforcement should respond to cyberbullying incidents. This can be a bit of a gray area because simple taunts and teasing are usually not illegal unless there are threats and assaults behind the words. When the harassment is online, it gets even more complicated. However, in an age where children are being endlessly harangued and bullied to the point where some of the victims are killing themselves or otherwise following a path of self-destruction, the law and other people are reacting in kind and dealing with the perpetrators of said bullying in the form of new laws and reactive/proactive techniques, per the website. As with the NCDC website, it is very valid and seemingly free from bias. It is very realistic and common-sense because they are asking questions that others have surely asked rather than just saying "just do this and everything will be fine" (StopBullying.gov, 2015).

For the video part of this analysis piece, the author decided to go with a non-traditional source. Indeed, the author did a search for "cyberbullying" on YouTube and picked the very first video that came up. It was posted three years ago and is called "The Cyber Bullying Virus." It has been a popular video as it has been seen nearly two million times. The video basically refers to cyber-bullying as a virus and that the condiuit to spreading it is often social media outfits like Facebook. One major thing that this video points to that the other two sources did not really touch on (at least not based on what was actually seen) was that peer pressure and such often lead people to turn negative and become bullies themselves. This is extremely valid and applicable because people that are bullies are often insecure and self-loathing. It is not the least bit biased to point this out. However, the video does only focus on other kids as being a source of this but bad parentage and insidious school personnel would certainly be a cause as well (YouTube, 2015).