Cyber Bullies

If you are going to read one thing today, read this. It's short, painless and a good reminder. "...the pen -- or, more likely the keyboard stroke -- is still mightier than the sword, it seems."

http://lifestyle.msn.com/FamilyandParenting/raisingkids/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=171311&GT1=7608

The article doesn't light on it, but the following words apply to more than just the youth population:

"On the one hand, IMing exposes kids to technology, which is a good thing," she says. "But the down side is how distanced they become from face-to-face interactions." IMing also makes it faster and easier to spread vicious gossip.

"...there's a certain anonymity associated with sitting in front of a screen."

The lesson I'm taking from this is to remember that a real genuine human being is sitting on the other side of my screen, taking in my words at face value and ofttimes deeper. I have been bolder and braver with a screen to hide behind. I've witnessed others do the same. I've seen the aftermath of the war of words. And it's not worth it. You've heard it before- "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it." Well, it works here too. "If you don't have something nice to type, don't type it." It'd be nice if online forums came with a disclaimer- Be careful what you type as your cyber words can (and will!) be misinterpreted as many ways as there are people in this world.