ERIC EJ902846: The School Counselor and the Tech Generation: Issues and Tips

2006·0.44 MB·English

by  ERIC

Georgia School Counserlors Association Journal, Volume 13, 2006
The School Counselor and the Tech
Generation: Issues and Tips
Sue Y. Dowling
ABSTRACT upload, download, create, and share like
experienced webmasters.At the same
School counselors should be time that they are working on research
knowledgeable about the influence of projects, they are playing games,
today’s technologies on common issues enjoying their MP3’s, and Instant
dealt with in counseling.This article Messaging eight of their friends simulta-
describes several of these issues and neously.Multi tasking is their way of life.
how they are affected by use of Unfortunately, few students have
technology.Suggestions are provided to positive role models to show them the
help counselors deal with the current ethical and wise use of technology.How
challenges posed by the use of many of your students have parents that
interactive communication technologies. blog, or text message, or belong to a
local guild in their multiplayer online
gaming community? In fact, how many
THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR AND parents even have a desktop that is not
THE TECH GENERATION: graced with a Windows background? Our
ISSUES AND TIPS students design their desktops to reflect
their personality.Technology is integrated
The old saying “Fools names and fools into their lives and self image, while
faces always appear in public places”is many of their parents are still learning
no longer totally accurate.With the how to save a file in a folder other than
advent of online blogs, many of our “My Documents”.It’s not that parents are
students’names and faces are in public not putting forth the effort to stay abreast
places – that is, the “public domain”. of technologic change;it’s just that it
Wherever interactive technologies are takes time and support to learn about
used, issues that concern school this new social change.In the meantime,
counselors may occur. students are learning by trial and error.
Students deserve admiration for The older student is the model for the
the clever ways they use these new younger student.The risks and dangers
technologies.They network better than are numerous, and often the student is
most CEO’s of large companies.They simply unaware of these risks.As a
Sue Y.Dowling is Internet Safety Coordinator/Forensic Computer Specialist with the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation in Decatur. [email protected]
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Georgia School Counserlors Association Journal, Volume 13, 2006
result, school counselors must be around and made fun of him in a locker
prepared to address online issues. room, they left the situation and told
fellow students about what they had
COUNSELING ISSUES AFFECTED done.The student was ashamed to walk
BY TECHNOLOGY down the hall because others had heard
about what had happened.After a few
The issues or concerns brought to the days, most students had forgotten the
school counselor are not new.However, incident.Now, those same students may
computer technology affects, and push another student and tease him, but
sometimes exacerbates, these issues. the bullying doesn’t stop there.They use
their camera phone to document the
Bullying incident.Then they email it to everyone in
Bullying itself is not new, but in the past, their address book, and post it to a
students had physical confrontations at website with degrading comments for the
school, at the bus stop, during lunch, and world to read.The student has nowhere
in other places when the bully was to go for escape and this bullying is
physically in their presence.They had perpetuated by the fact that once an
safe places in the classroom, at home, or image is posted online, it can never be
other places during the day.Cyber retrieved.It’s difficult if not impossible to
bullying using text messaging, web find refuge from today’s cyber bullying.
posting, blogs, or email provides no The counselor must be aware of these
escapefrom the tormentors…it is often important factors when dealing with
present 24/7. students facing such harassment.
• Text messaging may be used
throughout the day and night to Relationships
harass the bullied student. Instant messaging, blogs, email and text
• Unauthorized photos may be taken messages are used to start relationships,
of the student in an embarrassing build relationships and end relationships.
situation and then shown to other These relationships quickly develop,
students. become intense and are abruptly ended.
• Photos may be morphed, or altered Breaking up is hard to do, but it’s even
in a way that embarrasses the harder on the students when their
bullied student, and put online. attempts to communicate with their ex-
• Blogs may be created in the boyfriend, or ex-girlfriend, are blocked.
student’s name and then groups of These fast, intense, and abrupt
other students may comment to relationships produce residual emotions
that blog using nasty and that the counselor must understand in
degrading messages. order to be effective.
• Students may use the Internet to
spread falsehoods about the Rejection
bullied student. Isolation can be intensified by online
Additionally, the scope of the practices.Social networking, or blogging,
harassment is much larger.In the past, focuses around the number of friends
when a group of boys pushed one boy one has on his/her site.When a specific
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Georgia School Counserlors Association Journal, Volume 13, 2006
individual is targeted to be excluded, offer support for behaviors such as self
their friend request can literally be injury, eating disorders, or suicide are
rejected.If rejected by a whole group of among the many accessible sites.These
people, that individual suffers from online groups may validate antisocial or
exclusion and humiliation.The same destructive tendencies in addition to
phenomena occurs when an individual’s providing directions for carrying out
communication is consistently blocked counterproductive measures, such as
when instant messaging or text cutting.
messaging.
Gambling
Sexual solicitation and exposure Romer (2005) found that an estimated
Exposure to sexual content is a concern 7,900,000 American teens are addicted
of parents and educators.Research by to gambling, which is more than half of all
the National Center for Missing & people in the United States with
Exploited Children (Finkelhor, Mitchell, & pathological gambling addictions.
Womak, 2000) revealed that 19% of According to estimates from another
students 10-17 years of age were study (Christiansen Capital Advisors,
sexually solicited online and 25% were LLC, 2004), nearly $12 billion was
exposed to unwanted sexual material.It wagered worldwide on the Internet in
is common to experience conversations 2005, increasing at a greater rate than
about cybersex and have the opportunity any other form of gambling.Teenage
to view webcams of naked individuals betting is growing so fast that Gamblers
when visiting chatrooms as a young teen. Anonymous on Long Island is reaching
This type of exposure at younger ages, in out directly to teens for the first time in its
explicit detail, and in such high quantities history.This is the first generation that is
may have consequences for the raised in a society of legalized gambling.
student’s sexual development.The Online gambling only complicates the
research that documents possible problem with more than 2000 web sites.
consequences is lacking at this time.It is McNulty (2006) stated that out of 37
reasonable to assume that some randomly selected online gambling sites,
students being counseled have been a minor was able to register, play, and
exposed to graphic sexual content on the pay at 30 of them.Considering these
computer.These students may have facts, it would be prudent to anticipate
questions, may be experiencing difficulty that some students may be wrestling with
resisting the urge to return to those sites, gambling problems.
and may be feeling guilty for engaging in
those behaviors. Virtual versus real world substitutions
The line between reality and fantasy is
Other content and information blurring.The following are some
Sexual content is not the only type of examples of that confusion.
information that is freely available to • Virtual community – People
students.Information regarding cults, disengage from social and work
hate groups, prejudice, violence, illegal commitments to spend time on the
or inappropriate material, and gangs is Internet, prompting the new label
freely available.In addition, sites that “mouse potatoes”.Students that
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Georgia School Counserlors Association Journal, Volume 13, 2006
may have difficulty in real world or cybersex with the child.However,
social situations may find community many are interested in the meeting and
online in the virtual world.Online groom the child to lower his/her inhibition
gaming communities form tight in order to arrange a face to face
bonds and have even hosted online meeting.The enticement and grooming
memorial services for gamers that of students by predators has become
have been killed in real life.Although easier to do with the advent of interactive
these services are touching, in communicative technology.A predator is
reality they are virtual funerals. able to groom his/her victim at a much
• Virtual Property – Individuals buy faster pace and is able to groom multiple
virtual property for thousands of victims simultaneously.The predator
dollars (Terdiman, 2005).Film uses well defined grooming techniques
director and gamer Jon Jacobs paid that manipulate the victim in order to
$100,000 for a piece of virtual real establish a relationship, develop trust,
estate in the Sweden-based “Project and isolate the victim from support in
Entropia”.The property is in the his/her environment.Victims of online
Paradise V Asteroid Belt and comes grooming and subsequent physical
with mining and hunting taxation abuse continue to feel a bond to their
rights, mall deeds, a land abuser after prosecution and sentencing
management system, a billboard of the abuser.In 50% of cases studied by
marketing system, and space Wolak, Mitchell, and Finkelhor (2003),
station naming rights (“Gamer buys investigators found that victims believed
virtual space station”, 2005).This they were in love with or felt close
trend is not limited to adults.Young friendships with offenders.
children can purchase virtual hotel
rooms and parties at SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOL
www.habohotel.com. COUNSELORS
• Virtual Personality – Students may
assume any personality online.In Because of the prevalence of teens
some ways this is advantageous, as going online, it is behind the times to ask,
they can try on personas and then “Do you have an online life?”Instead, it is
delete them if they are not accepted more appropriate to ask, “How is your
by others.One characteristic that is online life?”, or to say “Tell me about your
commonly seen online is disinhi- online life”.Additionally, be aware that
bition, where the user does and many, if not most, of the cybersafety
says things that he or she would not issues that students are dealing with will
do or say offline. not be reported, even when students are
directly asked.Students do not want to
Sexual enticement and grooming risk losing the right to use their online
Online grooming is a procedure devices.Their answers will be influenced
facilitated by cyber-technologies to by how they think the counselor will react
prepare another person to be the victim to their disclosures (Gaunt, 2004).
of sexual abuse.Some predators’desired Students must be assured that unless
result is sexual discussion with the child they are facing imminent danger,
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Georgia School Counserlors Association Journal, Volume 13, 2006
committing a crime or causing harm to refused to chat, blocked unknown
someone else, they will continue to have senders and reported disturbing
online access. occurrences to adults.Unfortunately, a
Underlying problems of character fourth of the students said their parent
or lack of knowledge must be addressed have never spoken to them about
when a student has online issues.Many Internet safety.To complicate matters,
problems caused by the use of half of the high school aged students
technology are symptoms of the report that their parents or guardians
character of the user.If a student is a know “very little”or“nothing”about what
bully offline, that student may bully they do on the Internet.Parent internet
online.If a student cheats on a test by safety presentations are available in
copying someone’s test, that student Georgia and may be requested by
may text the answers to another student completing a presentation request
using the cell phone.However, some form through the website
misuse of technology is simply a matter www.familyinternet.info.
of ignorance.When a student does not Specific suggestions for
understand copyright laws, the cut and counselors may include the following.In
paste function is a convenience when instances of multiple relationship
writing a paper.Students who are problems, include students on the Instant
unaware that possession of child Messenger buddy list or the student’s
pornography is a felony may download blog (i.e.MySpace) friends list in the
child pictures along with adult session.Prior to approaching cyber
pornography when using their peer to issues, consider what should be done in
peer program.The attitude that if it is various situations, what you would
freely available online, it must be okay, is suggest regarding offline meetings, and
a common attitude among students.That what is legal and illegal online.Be aware
is the attitude that inspires downloading that instances of recording someone
music and movies, and sharing those without their knowledge with cell phones
downloads with friends.Students may or digital recorders have been reported.
not realize that what they are doing is In these situations, students record a
piracy. counseling session or a classroom
Parent involvement is vital; discussion.If baiting is used, the student
however, some parents feel that they may provoke the educator and then
don’t understand technology and they record the dialogue.Most importantly, do
hesitate to discuss or set rules for its use. not abandon the skills, experience and
A study conducted by the National intuitions you already have, but rather
Center for Missing & Exploited Children apply them to cyberspace (Gaunt, 2005).
and Cox Communications (“Statistics:
Teen internet safety study”, 2006) shows
that parental involvement in the child’s
virtual life is a deterrent to some of the
risks.Students who had parents that
addressed the online dangers tended to
refrain from posting pictures, ignored
messages from unfamiliar people,
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CONCLUSIONS Gaunt, N.(2004, December).Of digital-
birds and cyber-bees:having the
The advent of new interactive ‘cybersafety talk’with your child.
technologies introduces new challenges Retrieved 4/30/2006, from the
and issues for school counselors. NetSafe Web site:
Applying previous knowledge and http://www.netsafe.theoutfitgroup.
experience learned from offline situations co.nz/Doc_Library/download/Of_
to the current online situations is the key Digital-Birds_and_Cyber-
to the effective counseling of today’s Bees_Nathan_Gaunt.pdf
technologically sophisticated generation. McNulty, T.(2006).Teen gambling.
Retrieved 4/30/06, from Problem
Gambling Council of South
REFERENCES Carolina Web site:
http://www.pgcosci.org/wst_page
Christiansen Capital Advisors, LLC, 10.html
(2004, June 1).Internet gambling Romer, D.(2005, March 14).National
estimates.Retrieved 4/28/2006, annenberg risk survey of youth.
from www.cca-i.com Web site: Retrieved 4/28/2006, from
http://www.ccai.com/Primary% Annenberg Public Policy Center of
20Navigation/Online%20Data%20 the University of Pennsylvania
Store/internet_gambling_data.htm Web site:http://www.annenberg-
Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K.J., & Womak, J. publicpolicycenter.org/07_adolesc
(2000, June).Online victimization: ent_risk/2005_03_gambling_
a report on the nation’s youth. among_teens.pdf
Retrieved 4/28/2006, from The Statistics:Teen internet safety study
National Center for Missing & (2006).Retrieved May 17, 2006,
Exploited Children Web site: from NetSmartz Workshop Web
http://www.ncmec.org/en_US/ site:http://www.netsmartz.
publications/NC62.pdf org/safety/statistics.htm.
Gamer buys virtual space station (2005, Terdiman, D.(2005, November 25).
October 25).BBC Newsmaker:Banking on a virtual
News/Technology, Retrieved economy.Retrieved 4/30/06, from
6/15/2006, from http://news. CNET News.com Web site:
bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/ http://news.com.com/Banking+on+
4374610.stm a+virtual+economy/2008-1043_3-
Gaunt, N.(2005, September).Teaching 5974118.html?tag=nefd.lede
older dogs cyber-tricks:applying Wolak, J., Mitchell, K.J., & Finkelhor, D.
your offline skills in an online- (2003, November).Internet sex
world.Retrieved 4/30/2006, from crimes against minors:The
the NetSafe Web site: response of law enforcement.
http://www.netsafe.theoutfitgroup.c Retrieved 4/30/2006, from The
o.nz/Doc_Library/download/ National Center for Missing &
Teaching_Older_Dogs_Cyber_by_ Exploited Children Web site:
nathan_gaunt.pdf http://www.missingkids.com/en_
US/publications/NC132.pdf
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