In American schools, where school violence is rampant, 'filming violent videos with smartphones and spreading them on social media' is fueling further violence.



In recent years, the increase in violent incidents in schools has become a problem in the United States. According to a survey released by

the Washington DC teachers' union in 2023, 42% of teachers responded that 'violence has increased significantly in their schools in the past year,' and 55% responded that 'they have witnessed violence between students at school.' A report by the daily newspaper New York Times reports that students are filming school violence with their smartphones and spreading it on social media, which is encouraging further violence.

How Student Phones and Social Media Are Fueling Fights in Schools - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/technology/school-fight-videos-student-phones.html



Opinion: Youth violence is on the rise. Is social media to blame? - The Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-kids-are-growing-more-violent-is-social-media-to-blame/

One day in April 2024, a brawl broke out in the cafeteria of Revere High School in Revere , Massachusetts, involving a dozen teenagers. According to Ricardo Martinez, a graduate who was at the scene, many students were filming the students punching each other and flipping tables and chairs over. 'It was like a video frenzy,' Martinez told The New York Times. 'Everyone was trying to get the best angle.'

The commotion did not end there. A few minutes after the brawl broke out, the word spread through social media and chat to students who were not in the cafeteria, and dozens more students rushed to the cafeteria to watch the fight. Teachers blocked the entrance to the cafeteria to prevent students from gathering there, ordered students to wait in their classrooms, and administrators were forced to call the police. As a result, the high school suspended 17 students involved in the brawl.

The New York Times states, 'Across the United States, smart phone technology - text messaging, video, social media - is fueling and sometimes intensifying school fights, disrupting school and disrupting learning. Videos of school fights often ignite new cycles of cyberbullying, verbal attacks and violence among students.' It explains that videotaping on smartphones is fueling violence.

In fact, the New York Times investigated more than 400 violent videos taken in schools in dozens of states, including California and Texas, and interviewed more than 30 teachers, police officers, students, and parents. As a result, it was reported that a pattern was found in which junior and senior high school students used smartphones and social media to film and spread brutal violent videos, and in some cases the victims of the violence were killed.



The Canadian daily newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that violent incidents have also increased by 114% over the past five years in Ontario, Canada, and teachers' unions across the country have said that student violence is reaching unprecedented levels. The background to this is that isolation policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to children becoming immersed in social media, creating an environment in which 'violent content' can become popular.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, students have been using social networks to plan and instigate violence, with videos of students being punched and kicked, or fighting with multiple people, spreading across social media. Instagram and TikTok have also seen accounts that collect videos of school violence taken at schools in specific districts and post them with the initials of the high school's name, and these violent videos are attracting a lot of attention.

In May, a group of girls at a junior high school in

Novato , California, discussed plans to attack a classmate in a video posted to Instagram, then filmed themselves punching a classmate. Novato Police have charged eight girls between the ages of 12 and 14 with conspiracy to commit violence in this case , four of whom have also been charged with felony assault. Novato Police Lt. Alan Bates said, 'The attacks begin with technology, the attack is planned, and culminate in a physical confrontation.'

In November 2023, a fight broke out at a high school in Wake County, North Carolina, but students who were filming the incident prevented administrators from mediating, resulting in a 15-year-old male student being stabbed to death . Chris Hegarty, chairman of the Wake County Public School System's Board of Education, said, 'Many students were filming with their smartphones and posting to social media. They were putting themselves and others at risk in an attempt to get the best possible video.'



To adults, it may seem strange that ordinary students would film and spread violent videos, but for the students themselves, violent videos are becoming a part of daily life. Luna Guerrero, 16, a student at Revere High School, commented, 'Kids are very used to violent videos. I don't think it's something that adults should be surprised by.' Endurance Nke, 17, also a student at Revere High School, said, 'Fights quickly become entertainment. There's no guilt or sympathy there,' expressing concern that the videos will desensitize students to violence.

Another problem has emerged in response to the videos of violence that have been shared online, where people who are not involved in the violence have made derogatory remarks about the students, calling them 'animals' and trying to blame the violence on immigrants. 'Instead of caring about our safety, our mental health, and our feelings, we saw adults calling us 'animals,'' said Elta Ismahiri, an 18-year-old student at Libya High School whose parents are immigrants.

Revere High School hired additional school police officers in September and teachers began enforcing a ban on smartphones in classrooms, which has helped to calm school violence at the time of writing.

TikTok, which was cited for spreading violent videos, told The New York Times that it actively removes content depicting violent acts and accounts posting such content. Instagram also said it does not allow bullying on its platform, and removed content depicting physical violence and 16 accounts posting videos of school violence flagged by The New York Times.

As the Chinese government faces an intensifying technological race with the United States, it is said that it is encouraging the incorporation of artificial intelligence into the educational curriculum for six-year-olds.

Beijing urges Chinese schools to prioritize teaching AI amid US tech trade war | Semafor
https://www.semafor.com/article/12/15/2024/beijing-tells-chinese-schools-to-make-teach-ai-a-priority-amid-tech-trade-war

Related Posts:

in Web Service, Posted by log1h_ik