Social networking and the rise of harassment. How can we get involved?

As technology increases and new social networking sites continue to be created, I wonder if this correlates to the increase in teenage depression, suicides, and sexual harassment. According to the National Study on Sexual Harassment article, 48% of students surveyed experienced some form of harassment in the 2010-2011 school year. The symptoms of experiencing such a serious matter are inevitably affecting school performance, "... 37 percent [girls] said they did not want to go to school after being harassed. Twenty-two percent of girls who were harassed said they had trouble sleeping, 37 percent of girls felt sick to their stomach..." (Anderson, NY Times). Bullying and harassment is all over the internet, which initially continues throughout the school environment where media use is not available. More recently, commercials have been preaching against the use of the internet as an online community for rumors and gossiping because of the fetal results that may occur. These statistics, if I were a parent, would personally want me to become engaged within the school community my son or daughter was involved in. With that said, an action plan needs to be implemented. As our generation becomes more technologically dependent, preventing the use of social networking sites almost seems unrealistic. Therefore, within the education system, especially in low-income neighborhoods where according to this article more harassment and bullying is occuring, educating kids about these statistics and the results this behavior is causing should be apart of the education curriculum. For instance, having auditorium meetings once a month where videos can be shown of this behavior and the social networking abuse, is a tool that can be so easily implemented and utilized that may influence perspectives and the continuing behavior. Hearing stories and lectures about this issue does not have the same affect on a teenager as visually seeing the harassment and bullying, whether it's cyber bullying or face-to-face; documentaries will catch the attention. Therefore, we should use the availability of new forms of media for better use, such as beginning this education on preventing harassment within the school system. Education on drugs and alcohol is apart of the elementary education system, utilizing programs such as D.A.R.E and encouraging kids to become apart of extra-curricular programs such as Cub Scouts. Both programs come to elementary schools for regular meetings and lectures, therefore approaching the administration system with the idea for middle schoolers to hold monthly video clips regarding harassment is a good idea that could very easily happen. The first step needed is just to gain support from the parents, the PTA, and the teachers. As social workers, this is where we come in! Don't talk about it, be about it!