Apple Supports Anti-Bullying Campaign With New iOS 9.1 Emoji Symbol

[s1m]

Got even one cite that more kids kill themselves as a result of cyber-bullying than because of real-life bullying?

Did I state anything along those lines.? Shouldn't we tackle all forms of bullying with whatever means we have rather than only tackling one form?

Wrong. Unserious measures are easily detected by kids who will quickly turn the meaning of the emoji into something (probably the opposite) of what was meant by its well-meaning creators.

Care to cite your evidence on this?

Um...huh? Sneakily picking on a kid implies nobody knows the bully did it. Sending abusive messages leaves a "paper" trail. I think you're mixed up.

Hmm - a comment from DUCKofD3ATH - leaves a claer trail to teh person's identity doesn't it?

If even one kid gets bullied as a result of kids abusing the meaning of the emoji, what will you say then?

I would rather one kids was bullied than another killed themselves. Different values I guess.

Again many comments advocating violence as a way to stop bullying. That seems to have worked really well hasn't it? That was the solution in the past and we still have bullying - except we now hvae physical, psychological and cyber bullying.

 

[Apple Corps]

The pussification of America moves forward.
You stop bullying by learning to defend yourself and fighting back.
Bullies are cowards. Hit'em back and they'll leave you alone
and go after the wimps with "stop bullying" emojis.
The culture of weakness and victimization deserves to be punished.

I love it - pussification of America - spot on

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

Did I state anything along those lines.? Shouldn't we tackle all forms of bullying with whatever means we have rather than only tackling one form?

Why yes, you did:

Cyber bullying is rampant - and young kids kill themselves because of it....Times have changed - now insted of having to find time to sneakily pick on a kid whilst avoiding being caught by a teacher - you can now constntly message them abuse with little chance of being caught. Yeah things have changed​

As for tackling bullying, some kids are too aggressive and others are born followers. Given those natures, adults stepping in with ad campaigns and emojis does more harm than good.

Care to cite your evidence on this?

A lifetime of experience with the human animal. Do you disagree with my opinion that kids like to twist the meaning of words?

Hmm - a comment from DUCKofD3ATH - leaves a claer trail to teh person's identity doesn't it?

Well gee, let's see. If I were to hound someone to death with threatening messages, I assure you there would be an investigation and the record of my correspondence with the victim used against me as evidence. Seems like that contradicts your point, doesn't it?

I would rather one kids was bullied than another killed themselves. Different values I guess.

Not really, but I think my example is far more likely than yours. But you don't care about those being bullied, I guess.

Again many comments advocating violence as a way to stop bullying. That seems to have worked really well hasn't it? That was the solution in the past and we still have bullying - except we now hvae physical, psychological and cyber bullying.

The best way to make a bully stop is to stand up to him or her. Failing to do so just encourages them. Sending emojis and producing ad campaigns is not going to make a bully think twice, nor are they going to suddenly make bystanders realize that bullying is wrong.

 

[MvdM]

They shouldn't have included the middle finger.

 

[BellsWhistles]

Initially, I thought this was a silly idea. Something that really will have no affect on the other party. Than I thought again, if nothing else it can serve as a bullet point for highlighting the offending texts. If someone responds with the illuminati symbol, they (or participating authoritarian units) can easily locate when someones comment has offended them.

So, if your a bully that was trying to crush the spirits of someone else, think again. It will be be more easily traceable to sift through the texts to find where you were gratuitously invoking your free speech. How those comments get interpreted is the next challenge for the "soccer moms" in the world.

 

[Apple Corps]

They shouldn't have included the middle finger.

MvdM - come on now - Tim disagrees with pornography, anti-gay comments, violence, denigrating verbiage - giving people the middle finger emoji is so consistent - or is it :-;

 

[DTphonehome]

Seriously? There are people who don't understand what this means? It's saying to the bully "I see what you are doing" so they shouldn't think that they can get away with hurtful speech like that. A lot of times people think that they can get away with this type of talk because they feel anonymous on the Internet. They feel safe behind the computer saying things they would never say in real life. The Seeing Eye takes away that anonymity, hopefully encouraging more civil behavior.

 

[Jakexb]

So is this for all bullying or only the kind of bullying that bothers Apple/Silicon Valley?

Not sure what you mean. People can use it for whatever they want. It's not like it automatically detects bullying and pops up on its own.

 

[itguy06]

Bullying goes far beyond the physical realm.

Social media can be used to spread terrible lies and rumours about someone, and that can literally ruin someone's life. A constant stream of nasty text messages, Facebook posts, and Tweets can destroy someone's self esteem.

Someone who spent their youth playing with a computer in a basement may not understand this, but someone who thrives on having a social life would.

And this is different than the rumors at school, passing of notes, whispering when you walk down the hall, etc. how? You can turn off text messaging, block them on Facebook, get off Twitter, etc.

And if your self esteem is that shallow you need more help from your parents, friends, teachers, shrink, whatever.

I was the fat kid in grade and middle school that got picked on a bit. Had my core friends and didn't listen to those ******s. My self esteem was not measured by what those idiots thought. Grew up, dropped the weight, made new friends in college and afterwards and live a great life. Successful in both business and personal lives.

The sooner you learn not everyone is going to like you and many will trash talk you behind your back and that none of that BS means anything to you the better off you will be.

 

[DTphonehome]

And this is different than the rumors at school, passing of notes, whispering when you walk down the hall, etc. how? You can turn off text messaging, block them on Facebook, get off Twitter, etc.

And if your self esteem is that shallow you need more help from your parents, friends, teachers, shrink, whatever.

I was the fat kid in grade and middle school that got picked on a bit. Had my core friends and didn't listen to those ******s. My self esteem was not measured by what those idiots thought. Grew up, dropped the weight, made new friends in college and afterwards and live a great life. Successful in both business and personal lives.

The sooner you learn not everyone is going to like you and many will trash talk you behind your back and that none of that BS means anything to you the better off you will be.

I think you're underestimating the importance of social media in the lives of children and young adolescents. Sure, you can turn it off and not listen, but when literally all of your friends and the rest of your social circle are plugged in to this constant stream of abuse, it can be extremely damaging to a young person's psyche. You are an adult who has the benefit of retrospection. Young people do not possess the same mental faculties that you do to tune this constant chatter out.

 

[BernyMac]

Again many comments advocating violence as a way to stop bullying. That seems to have worked really well hasn't it? That was the solution in the past and we still have bullying - except we now hvae physical, psychological and cyber bullying.

Human nature is wrought with violence, such is the nature of existence...survival of the fittest. We may have been gifted with logic but the call of our baser instincts is something we have yet to evolve against.

 

[sn]

I can't help but wonder how an emoji will stop bullying. Will the person who enjoys tormenting people suddenly stop because he sees this emoji

Definitely. I can't see how this could fail to make a difference.

While we're at it, could we have an empty wine glass emoji? My friend has a drinking problem and I'd like to help them out.

 

[Four oF NINE]

I don't understand these people that kill themselves because they were cyber bullied. Is this even a real thing?

They need to visit New York City. I'll make them feel right at home. Honest.

They'll learn what bullying really is. Not that I would do that, but they would learn what it is.

 

[Knowimagination]

Sad to see how many people are completely clueless as to how damaging cyber bullying actually can be.

 

[itguy06]

I think you're underestimating the importance of social media in the lives of children and young adolescents. Sure, you can turn it off and not listen, but when literally all of your friends and the rest of your social circle are plugged in to this constant stream of abuse, it can be extremely damaging to a young person's psyche. You are an adult who has the benefit of retrospection. Young people do not possess the same mental faculties that you do to tune this constant chatter out.

We had the same thing in the 80's and 90's. It was the passing of notes in class, the whispering, the cliques, etc. Go to an after school activity, same thing. Boy/Girl Scouts, etc. I remember having troubles with it as a kid. But my parents guided me and I had/have a small core circle of awesome friends today. Some of which I had back then.

But my parents were PARENTS and worked with me on it. They were not my "best friends" but parents first and foremost. Something that is lacking today.

 

[bking10]

So rather than teach people to put down the phone and ignore the bullying we want them to continue to interact? I was taught as a kid that words didn't matter. Just ignore them. Seems like we are giving words power with this new style of handling bullies. We really shouldn't attempt to bubble wrap everything. We will get a society that gets outraged at everything. Thought police

 

[s1m]

We had the same thing in the 80's and 90's. It was the passing of notes in class, the whispering, the cliques, etc. Go to an after school activity, same thing. Boy/Girl Scouts, etc. I remember having troubles with it as a kid. But my parents guided me and I had/have a small core circle of awesome friends today. Some of which I had back then.

But my parents were PARENTS and worked with me on it. They were not my "best friends" but parents first and foremost. Something that is lacking today.

In the 80s and 90s could you send a message about someone to 100 or 500 people instantly that could then be forwarded on to thousands more with the hashtag #s1misugly? or worse?

 

[s1m]

Human nature is wrought with violence, such is the nature of existence...survival of the fittest. We may have been gifted with logic but the call of our baser instincts is something we have yet to evolve against.

I have never once resorted to physical violence to get to the position in life or work that I am now. I thought we were trying to be better than that?

 

[DTphonehome]

We had the same thing in the 80's and 90's. It was the passing of notes in class, the whispering, the cliques, etc. Go to an after school activity, same thing. Boy/Girl Scouts, etc. I remember having troubles with it as a kid. But my parents guided me and I had/have a small core circle of awesome friends today. Some of which I had back then.

But my parents were PARENTS and worked with me on it. They were not my "best friends" but parents first and foremost. Something that is lacking today.

Listen, with all due respect I think you're very wrong on this. I'm a pediatric specialist. Kids today face pressures that simply did not exist when we were kids. The quick dissemination of information to literally everyone you know is not something that you would've experienced in the 80s or 90s.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Time to buy stock....cutting edge innovation like this is beyond words.

 

[dav1dd]

Colour me blind, but isn't this an Illuminati symbol?

You're right. Big brother will end up being all-seeing and everywhere purely by infesting people's thoughts with a single-minded PC lens view of the world, making it such that big brother doesn't need to be everywhere, because people police themselves. Anti-bully memes are an important part of the program.

What they should be doing is putting a picture of a Karate Gi. Take up martial arts you little sh$ts... bully problem solved.

 

[pat500000]

I think Apple needs to go through bully counseling....after these higher prices of products. Might as well have them use those icons.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Just can't stop thinking of last night's South Park while reading this story.

 

[Apple Corps]

Hey Tim - nice decision to provide such an emoji

Nobody is saying that this emoji is going to magically cure the world of bullying. Nobody is saying that every person who cries "bully" is a victim and needs to be coddled. Quite the opposite, actually. It's about letting kids know that they have the power to advocate for themselves, and the support of others to do so.

We always talk about how "kids these days" are screwed for various reasons, be it over-reliance on technology, lack of social skills, lack of work ethic, and on and on and on. But let me tell you, as a teacher, I see so many wonderful kids every day that give me hope for the future. Through the madness of today's world, there are so many bright young minds that will propel society forward farther than we could ever imagine. Anything that aims to help those kids, including this campaign, gets my support.

And how is the middle finger emoji consistent with that campaign?

 

[Tubamajuba]

And how is the middle finger emoji consistent with that campaign?

It's not. But freedom of expression is important, and sometimes that collides with what many of us agree is civil and acceptable behavior. Yes, you have the option to flip the bird online and in the physical world. But you have to decide if that's how you want to present yourself to other people. The whole point of anti-bullying campaigns is to get kids to really consider how others think and feel. Kids are bound to learn all sorts of rude words and gestures before they even reach age 10- we have to convince them why they shouldn't use those things. Sure, we can pretend that those words and gestures don't exist until they use them for the first time, and then throw the harshest punishments imaginable at them... and now you're creating adults that have no real understanding of how their actions affect other people. I mean really, how many adults do things for the sole reason of "my parents told me to do/not to do this"? At some point, we learn to think for ourselves. The things that were meaningful to us as kids and teenagers will carry on through adulthood. The things that were explained to us exclusively as "because I said so" will be thrown away, unless we find meaning for those things on our own.

My point is, it's on parents and teachers to set good examples* for kids by modeling appropriate behavior and helping them understand why certain behaviors are helpful or harmful. Apple, Google, and Microsoft shouldn't have to limit freedom of expression to make up for deficiencies in that area.

*I try to keep this in mind before making excessively snarky remarks on these forums. Often... I fail.