In class, we will view two videos of fathers who have taken to the internet to assert their parenting roles. Considering the video your group did NOT discuss, relate the father’s actions in that video to our course discussion about parenting and parent-child relationships. Do you believe that the father’s actions were right? Wrong? Why? Why not. How might you respond were you the same parent in the same situation?
After watching a video by a father named Brad, I was reminded of the complexity involved in parenting in a time in which nearly every aspect of life is somehow affected by technology use. In the video, Brad discusses how his daughter was cyberbullied by some of her peers, via Snapchat, in which the peers were calling her racial slurs and many other offensives and hurtful things (Dad Confronts, 2015). In response, Brad reaches out to the father of the children who bully his daughter and received more racial slurs from the father who was not apologetic for his children’s actions (Dad Confronts, 2015). Brad’s response to this was to post a video of this story on Youtube and call the father out by name (Dad COnfronts, 2015).
I was very conflicted while watching this video as to whether Brad did the right thing. Brad is a father who is parenting in a time in which there is a heightened complexity to parenting due to technology and social media. Although “Digital connectivity offers many potential benefits from connecting with peers to accessing educational content, parents have also voiced concerns about the behaviors teens engage in online, the people with whom they interact”(Anderson, 2016). There are many reasons why parents worry for their children in terms of what they are exposed to on social media and online, such as cyberbullying, because of the limited control that parents have over who their children are in contact with (Anserson, 2016).
I believe that it is important to acknowledge that “many parents are now faced with the challenge of how to effectively monitor their child’s behavior, interactions and time spent in various online spaces”( Anderson, 2016). Even with this in mind, I have come to the conclusion that I do not think I would have taken the same action as Brad. I think that Brad posted this video to show others the possible dangers of social media and technology use and the bullying that can ensue. I also think that he did this as a way of seeking revenge on the father and the children who bully his daughter. The video appeared to in some ways to be a cry for help in the sense that he did not know what else to do about the bullying considering the fact that the father of the children stated that he did not think what his children did was wrong (Dad Confronts, 2015).
As we discussed in class, the family of the children that cyberbullied Brad’s daughter received so much hate that they were eventually forced to move out of state and the father lost his job (Dad Confronts, 2015). I believe that I would have handled this situation differently. I personally believe that Brad’s actions encourage cyberbullying in a way because he proved how powerful hateful words can be once posted online. I think that although Brad should have taken action to hold the children and the father accountable, he could have done it in through the school or the authorities. I think that Brad’s actions were in a way hypocritical because he was using the power of social media to hurt someone because someone else used the power of the media to hurt his daughter. In a way, I think that Brad was cyberbullying this family. Even though I believe that the actions of the family that bullied Brad’s daughter are wrong and deserve repercussions, I think that Brad is also acting out of hate and using technology to bully this family.
Work Cited
Anderson, M. (2016, January 7). Parents, Teens, and Digital Monitoring. Pew Research Center. (pp. 1-33).
Dad Confronts an Old American Evil Called Racism. (2015, January 25). Bone KNIGHTMARE. Retrieved April 5, 2020. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvWdVjAVdnM&feature=youtu.be
Technology and the Family 