Technology and Relationships What about marriage? What about friendship? What about harming other people?

A New Issue “Cyberbullying” involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others

Instant Messaging IM-ing can go from fun chat to an obsession with dire consequences if parents and kids are not aware. Ryan Patrick Halligan’s story is a tragic example of how cyber speech can have unalterable consequences even for kids with loving, concerned parents. Ryan was a very typical boy just entering his teen years and the unique challenges it brings. At school, he was rejected and harassed by the “in” crowd who thought of themselves as better than anyone else. In most ways, it wasn’t any different than what happens in most schools. And for Ryan, this was a bummer. It made life unpleasant and more difficult than it should have been for such an innocent and loving boy. What made the difference was how his use of the Internet silently fed the negative thoughts that the bullying prompted in Ryan–self-doubt, worthlessness, disappointment and sadness. Instead of a nuisance, the harassment became his focus.

Instant Messaging Kids are often unable to realize how great their impact is on another person. Online, they cannot see a facial expression or see a person’s anguish. The boy chatting with Ryan–encouraging him to commit suicide–was not a stranger. He claims that he didn’t take Ryan’s threat serious. These were Ryan’s Instant Messages on his computer. Most parents do not have the technical know-how to find and retrieve these messages. However, Ryan’s father stumbled on a rare feature in their son’s Instant Messaging software that saved the messages. Unfortunately, he discovered them too late to save Ryan.

Ryan’s Story

Internet and Marriage Did you know? - A recent survey in the UK found that married couples filing for divorce are increasingly citing FACEBOOK in their petitions - 33% cited FACEBOOK activity as a partial cause of their divorce, compared to 20% in 2009 WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS?

What Were Their Spouses Doing? Sending inappropriate messages to members of the opposite sex on FB Posting nasty messages about each other Reporting other spouse’s conduct

Mark Sanford, South Carolina Governor gets punked in ad for Ashley Madison.com

So what is wrong with that? Is there anything wrong with cheating on your partner? Is there anything wrong with companies providing a service so you can do it in private? What constitutes CHEATING anyway?

Read the article, “Is Chatting Cheating?” Tomorrow you will be doing an Article Summary in class. You need to find 4 pieces of evidence to discuss.