How to protect children from "SNS bullying" with little sense of guilt Remove LINE and spoof on Instagram or Twitter

Photo: Toyo Keizai education × ICT

Do you know "Remove LINE"? In the upper grades of elementary school, the number of children with smartphones begins to increase, and bullying becomes apparent through SNS. Last year, there was a sad incident about bullying using the chat function of the terminal distributed under the GIGA school concept. Such "SNS bullying" is a problem that is difficult for adults to see and deal with. How should schools and parents face each other? We asked Yuko Kuma, who is familiar with bullying, to tell us about the current state of SNS bullying and what adults can do. See the image in this article Schools that have trouble managing passwords for terminals Last year, with the GIGA school concept, one terminal was installed in each public elementary school and junior high school nationwide. The GIGA school concept is an initiative to distribute (rent) one terminal to each child, promote digital environment and education, and realize education utilizing ICT (Information and Communication Technology). is. Not only school teachers but also parents may have more opportunities to hear the word GIGA school concept and to see and hear education using ICT. In some homes, your child may have brought home a device that was distributed at school. While there are expectations for new learning methods, unfortunately, there are various things at present because the terminal is handed over to children without sufficient guidance on how to use the computer correctly and how to use the Internet. I'm having a problem. One of the headaches of every school is managing device passwords. Since everyone has the same password on the device, there is also the problem of logging in to a friend's account with half a prank. Even if each person has a different ID and password, elementary school students will share their IDs and passwords and log in to their friends' accounts. In addition, the teacher reads out the password one by one and speaks in the classroom like "The password for XX is XX", and the password is set for the individual's birthday, but behind the classroom is "Everyone's birthday". There is also a school where a paper with "" is affixed and parents ask "Is it okay?" Especially in the lower grades of elementary school, it is difficult to manage IDs and passwords, so this may happen, but it is important for both schools and parents to properly recognize the importance of IDs and passwords. .. Last year, there was a sad incident about bullying using a school terminal. Children have no deep meaning and are only conscious of playing with computers and tablets, but not only the school but also parents must teach how to use it together. The reason why SNS bullying is easier to escalate than real bullying In the upper grades of elementary school, the number of children with smartphones begins to increase, and SNS bullying becomes apparent at once. There are many events such as creating a group with LINE and not joining the group, or removing one person from the group to create another group and talking badly about the removed child. Junior high school students have the most troubles with SNS bullying. This is because many children from junior high school students use smartphones. It is also an age group with a strong sense of fellowship, and "bullying" that criticizes or ignores a specific person as a whole stands out. In high school students, "out of friends on SNS" has calmed down to some extent, but on Instagram and Twitter, you can post photos by pretending to be someone, write abusive miscellaneous words (barizogon), and write insults. There is a problem with more pinpoint, relentless, and insulting "invisible bullying" escalating. I am often asked what is the difference between cyberbullying and real bullying. Basically, I think that cyberbullying and realism are continuous, but SNS bullying is less guilty of being "bullying", and the content of bullying is easy to escalate. One girl uploaded a picture of herself, and another child who originally thought she didn't like the girl wrote, "I'm proud of this level?" I wrote something that ridiculed the girl, and it gradually intensified, and the remarks that struck me thoroughly continued. I don't know who wrote it, everyone wrote it, so I thought it would be okay, so I escalated to a false accusation that completely attacked the other party with a joke, which is typical of SNS bullying. This is an example. In some cases, cyber-bullying tends to be anonymous, the perpetrator's self-control is lost due to group psychology, and he or she is unaware or unaware of his or her malicious consciousness as "bullying." Bullying is a "past thing" on the part of the perpetrator, but it is a long-term scar for the person who has been bullied. On the Internet, writings and photos remain forever. Every time I see it, the victim's wound gets deeper. Victims are afraid to gouge their wounds with a knife left on the net for a long time. One of the characteristics of SNS bullying is that you cannot use the solution by physically moving away from the perpetrator like real bullying. When I was closed in Corona last year, I didn't go to school, so real bullying may have decreased, but consultations on SNS bullying have increased. If you are already connected to the internet, bullying may occur mainly on the internet even if you do not meet. How to deal with SNS bullying that is difficult for adults to see Both teachers and parents say that SNS bullying is difficult to see. It certainly happens in a closed place, so you can't know everything. The morals of each child are important because we cannot see each and every statement. First of all, parents should think "not to make my child a perpetrator". If there is no perpetrator, no victim of cyberbullying will be born, so not making your child a perpetrator of cyberbullying will eventually be a means of protecting your child from cyberbullying. Many adults think that children do not have net literacy (knowledge and ability to use the Internet properly and properly), but some junior high school and high school students make use of their mistakes so far and say, "That's too much. Some children are accustomed to dealing well, such as "I can't say this," and "I use the minimum necessary usage because chat has a lot of trouble." Since it is important to start using it, especially for elementary school students, when the terminal is distributed at school, it is necessary for parents and children to discuss how to use the Internet and SNS firmly at that point, and once my child asks, "How do you use it at school?" Please ask if you are using it. There is a high possibility that you are using the device more than your parents imagined. Then, occasionally try to throw up the topic of the Internet and SNS. When you start using LINE, if you exchange LINE with your child, you will understand how your child is using it and their habits. At the same time, regarding the risk of using SNS, abstract stories such as "If you write something strange on Twitter, don't do it" will not tell your child what is strange and will not convey your fear. There was a tragic incident that killed me because of false accusation on the internet. I think it's important to give a concrete example and discuss this at home, saying that the content you write with ease will hurt the other person's life. I would like school teachers to create an opportunity for everyone to think about problems related to the Internet as an example during a short time during class. With the progress of the GIGA school concept and the spread of terminals for each person, the current situation is that there is not enough so-called net literacy instruction, there are few teachers who can teach, and there is not enough time to teach. Schools alone cannot teach you how to use the Internet, SNS, and terminals. In the first place, there are increasing opportunities to use it at home, so parents are also responsible for teaching their children net literacy. If used well, the Internet and SNS are convenient and fun tools. However, as long as it is a tool, if you use it incorrectly, you can hurt someone or yourself, which means that you have to teach repeatedly at home instead of leaving it to school. (Photos without notes: taa /

Written by: Yuko Kuma, Toyo Keizai education × ICT editorial department