I was sitting here this morning watching The Today Show and drinking my coffee when a story came on that caught my attention. Natalie Morales has been doing a series called 'My Kid Would Never Do That' and today she focused on cyber bullying. This caught my attention for obvious reasons but I thought it ties in perfectly with some of the posts I've seen this week about digital citizenship, specifically one I replied to by Emily May (@emilysmayy).
Here is the story
Three traits were chosen from Jason Ohler's rubric to use in order to critique this story:
1. Sense of Audience
2. Media Application
3. Story
1. Sense of Audience- How well did the story respect the needs of the audience?
I don't always have time to watch TV in the morning so I was not aware of this series that Natalie Morales is doing...although I love the idea because I know so many parents that have that mindset of 'my kid would never do that.' So I think the story appeals to all viewers because cyber bullying is a relevant topic and effects all age groups.
Score: 10/10
2. Media Application- Was the use of media appropriate, supportive of the story, balanced and well considered?
Obviously, being The Today Show, the media application was well done. They had hidden cameras, interviews that supported the story. They had a good mix of video from the hidden cameras, from Natalie's viewpoint and also from the parents.
Score: 10/10
3. Story- How well did the story work?
I love the idea behind this story but I think it could have been done a lot better. For example, when they say the focus group turns 'cyber' I was confused on who said 'weird girl likes Weird Al'. Where was it posted? How did the girls see it? Was it a text? I think more explanation would have helped there. Then towards the end of the story, Natalie says she turned the tables and she was the bully in front of the adults and "their reaction was priceless" but we never see it. Perhaps I need to watch Dateline to get the full story? This is such a huge topic that all kids and parents are going to have to deal with eventually and The Today Show is a pretty powerful show...I think this story could have been done better to get their point across. I would be curious on other's opinions on this story!
Score: 7/10
Overall: 27/30
Emily,
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great story!!!
As a high school teacher I see this all too often every day. I liked the part in the middle where the one parent talked about how the girls are pro - not partaking in the bullying but con - not stopping it either.
We need to teach our children to stand up for others and not allow that sort of thing to happen. But we can't be with them all day every day which is why I liked this video. The parents were even surprised at how their girls were responding.
I also agree with your confusion about the bullying turning "cyber". If it was a tweet for example then when or why did all the girls have each others accounts? Did the actors have to create fake accounts? Did they use their own personal accounts for this experiment.
I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually wanted this segment to be longer. I wanted to know more behind the scenes of this story.
Thanks for sharing!
Emily,
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great story!!!
As a high school teacher I see this all too often every day. I liked the part in the middle where the one parent talked about how the girls are pro - not partaking in the bullying but con - not stopping it either.
We need to teach our children to stand up for others and not allow that sort of thing to happen. But we can't be with them all day every day which is why I liked this video. The parents were even surprised at how their girls were responding.
I also agree with your confusion about the bullying turning "cyber". If it was a tweet for example then when or why did all the girls have each others accounts? Did the actors have to create fake accounts? Did they use their own personal accounts for this experiment.
I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually wanted this segment to be longer. I wanted to know more behind the scenes of this story.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comments, Erin, I agree 100%. I wanted the story to be longer too because I wanted to see the part where Natalie was mean to the other lady in front of the parents. I think it is good for parents to see what their kids are like when they aren't around. I am not a parent and don't have all the answers by any means but we do need to teach our kids to stand up to bullies!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, Erin, I agree 100%. I wanted the story to be longer too because I wanted to see the part where Natalie was mean to the other lady in front of the parents. I think it is good for parents to see what their kids are like when they aren't around. I am not a parent and don't have all the answers by any means but we do need to teach our kids to stand up to bullies!!
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, I appreciate you sharing this story. Bullying in all forms is becoming a major concern for parents and teachers. I spend a lot of time reading about it, thinking of possible solutions and ways to teach my kids to handle the situation when they face it (possibly they already experience it from one side or the other) and I must say: I still haven't found a good management program, or really effective professional advice about it.
ReplyDeleteSituations and possibilities are endless as well as personal reactions and personalities. To find a standard and socially acceptable reaction is extremely difficult and the consequences can escalate. Like Erin, I would like to know more about the story's details. I think it would be great to develop a space to discuss and direct students how to effectively react to this situation with specialized professional support. This is one important issue to focus on as a participatory community. I think you did a great job evaluating the story.
Hi Rosanna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I know what a tough thing it is to teach kids and it's so hard to prepare them and expect them to always do the right thing when there is so much peer pressure. You can do everything right and still have something go wrong. I think it will always be an uphill battle!