The CHIEF January 2019

BY OFFICER ENDERLI

In the last several years, Law Enforcement has experienced a significant increase in a wide variety of cases, with one common denominator: social media. Technology, and social media, over the past decade, has made it so much easier to bully someone. Sometimes, people are getting bullied by people they have never seen before. The cyberbullying concept was not a term in my vocabulary when I was a student at PTHS. To put it in perspective, the coolest phone at the time I was a senio, was the Motorola Razor… Yes, a flip phone. So, you are probably asking yourself, “Why is he talking about this?” I feel it is important to talk to you about the issues arising from the misuse of social media, and give you some tips on how to protect yourself.

My first piece of advice is to those who may not have any social media accounts. If you do not have any, do not get any. I realize it is now more uncommon to not have any type of social media, but what are you really gaining from having it?

The most common problem arising from social media complaints is the “Susie said this about me on Facebook, and it’s not true.” Or the “If you don’t give me back my stuff, I’m calling the cops.” To start, neither one of those two statements are a violation of a law. Morally, they probably are things that should be left unsaid. What tends to happen is we get into a Facebook war and posting back and forth. Now both people are equally involved. If either of these are something you have experienced, are experiencing, or if you experience it in the future, remember these things. It is best to not respond to any posts made about you, because that will lead you to becoming more stressed about the entire situation. Think about who is seeing all of that, do you really want everyone seeing the nasty things you are saying back? I have always said, the stronger person in a fight is the one who walks away without throwing a punch. Same goes for social media. So what else can you do if ignoring it does not help? Consider blocking people or deleting your account all together. I understand the frustration with that as well, “Why should I delete my account, I shouldn’t have to delete mine?” I look at it like this: if Facebook, or whatever your chosen platform is, is causing you so much grief and anxiety, what is the harm in getting rid of it? Double check your privacy settings. Make sure only the people you want to see you are seeing you i.e. do not have your account set to public. You can find tutorials on YouTube and through general Google searches on changing these settings. An SRO in California started a program called “Pause Before You Post” which really sums up this next section. Once you put it out there in cyberspace, it is there to stay. Things can always be recovered, even after you think you deleted it. The most common problem is posting of nude pictures. Several issues arise from this. Employers are using social media to conduct background checks now. Do you really want someone who may hire you for your dream job turn you down because they found nude pictures of you from high school? Or pictures of you from a drinking party? Good luck getting hired with that company. Another issue is, if you are in possession of nude pictures and the subjects in the pictures are under the age of 18, you are now in possession of child pornography, a felony, and could face criminal charges. If you are not familiar with the Amanda Todd story, I want you to go to YouTube and search for “Amanda Todd” and watch the video as her story is told through flashcards. It is an emotional 9 minute video, but worth the time to understand what so many people have gone through, and are currently going through. Amanda became a victim of “sextortion,” a new term, which is a form of blackmail, where sexual images or information are used to extort for sexual favors from the victim. Amanda was 15 years old when she became so hurt from the ongoing bullying, she committed suicide. My goal with this was not to scare you, but to simply make you aware of what your decisions can lead to. Social media does not have to be a bad thing, but it can be a dangerous world if the wrong choices are made. I truly want to help as many people as I can, which is one of the main reasons I volunteered to be your School Resource Officer. If you know of someone who is being hurt like this, and not asking for help, or maybe you need some guidance, please come talk to me. If you are unable to find me in the building, send me an e-mail benderli@pontiac90.org.