The cycle of cyberbullying

Access to social media platforms has increased significantly throughout recent years. An article written by IncrediTools has reported that in the United States alone, 90% of teenagers between the ages of thirteen and seventeen use social media, 75% of which have an active social media account. This growing presence of people on social media platforms is not only prevalent in the United States, but also in the whole world. An estimated 4.76 billion individuals have been using social media worldwide as of January 2023.

As is often common, the rise in social media users has also led to a rise in the misuse of social media platforms. Cyberbullying poses a serious threat to the teenage population as it is associated with an increase in sadness, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. The unpleasant truth about cyberbullying is that, most of the time, the perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying are peers. This significant problem raises some serious questions regarding our school’s attempts to stop cyberbullying. LMSD, like many other school districts, have implemented policies against bullying. An example of this would be Policy 246, titled “Discriminatory Harassment, Bullying and Hazing.” Under this policy, LMSD states, “The purpose of this policy is to promote and maintain a safe, positive and respectful environment that is free from bullying, hazing, and discriminatory harassment.”

Despite using buzz words such as “bullying,” “hazing,” and “discriminatory,” LMSD does not necessarily make an attempt to inform students about this policy. If you’ve been a student enrolled in LMSD for many years, how often do you actually remember the school reminding you about their anti-bullying policy? On a random A-day during the year, you’ll probably watch a 10 minute film about cyberbullying during advisory. However, showing students pointless videos with dramatic sound effects and adult actors playing high school children does not genuinely address the root cause of the problem; rather, it makes mockery of cyberbullying. As a result of LM’s poor enforcement of the penalties for cyberbullying and of its own policies regarding bullying, an incident of cyberbullying had occurred at our school. The incident had involved a freshman student and the social networking platform, discord. An anonymous LM sophomore student had reported, “I remember when I was on Instagram earlier this year and there was a post made by an LM student. The post says something about their freshman sister being bullied in discord by a classmate in her Spanish class. I re member this was extremely controversial due to the fact that LM did not speak on or report this incident.” In addition to establishing ineffective “anti-bullying” policies, LM has always attempted to persuade children to speak with counselors on issues that they might have.

What LMSD fails to realize is the fact that victims of cyberbullying oftentimes have issues on speaking out, in fear of being labeled as a “tattle-tale” by their peers. Even when students actually speak out, a counselor might not always be the best option for students. Cyberbullying is an up and coming issue. It is only with the recent rise in popularity of social media platforms within the last few decades that cyberbullying has been something necessary to tackle on behalf of our schools. Counselors might have gone through school during an era where it was uncommon for students to have accessibility on the internet. Although guidance counselors are certified in understanding emotions, it is quite dif ficult to truly comprehend another person’s emotions, especially if they have been the vic tim of cyberbullying. Evidently, LM has not been transparent about cyberbullying, which unfortunately increases the likelihood that students may engage in or be the target of cyberbullying. The district has simply applied a “band-aid” to a bullet hole of a problem.

When I wake up in the morning, where I spend my time, what I eat for lunch, what I can wear, the quality of my education, and whether I have to live on constant alert for bigotry, climate disaster, or violence are all out of my control. Instead, much of that control goes to a board of adults with no real expectation of listening to me or my needs.

The Lower Merion School Board has more power over the average day to day lives of students than any state, local, or federal government. As school board elections approach, the LM student body should be paying close attention to the candidates on the ballot.

As anyone currently in the midst of cramming for an AP Gov Test can tell you, citizens in a democracy are allowed a voice in the rules that govern their life. But while the phrase “Government By the People, For the People” is cliche to the point of meaninglessness, the school board is totally disconnected from the people they serve. From what I’ve witnessed, school boards run more like businesses by and for their stakeholders aiming to bolster property values, than a government by and for its people.

The school board’s constituency is a body of taxpayers, including almost none of LMSD’s 8,700 students and over 1,400 staff members, many of whom live outside the district. The vast majority of students are under the age of eighteen, and there are few if any established channels for receiving student input on board policies. While the recent student survey regarding later school start times is a step in the right direction, the school board categorically fails to listen to the concerns of LMSD students. Staff, who largely live outside of the district and commute to LMSD schools, are hardly more represented. Until that changes, the best, and only, tools students have is to look into the candidates running for school board, endorse the ones that align the closest with our values, and push for the creation of more avenues for student voice.

There are five open seats up for election next November, and candidates will first compete for party endorsements in the Primary Election on May seventeenth. Of an original slate of eight Democratic candidates and five Republicans, the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion and Narberth has endorsed five: Jason Her-