It’s no secret that in this age of burgeoning social media, cyber bullying is also on the rise. In response to this issue, MTV has launched an interactive visualisation tool called “Draw Your Line” to help kids band together to fight online abuse.
Draw Your Line is a part of MTV’s larger campaign, “
A Thin Line,” which focuses on keeping kids safe in an
increasingly digital
world, and was launched as a part of National Bullying Prevention Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month with support from Blue Shield of California Foundation.
In essence, the tool is a kind of interactive map that lets kids post ways in which they are fighting abuse, find resources if they’re suffering from bullying, and see where and how others are doing their part. They can also suggest resources that might be missing from the map.
As kind of an incentive to take part, MTV has also announced that anyone who posts an action between now and 2011 can enter for a chance to win a trip for two to the MTV Video Music Awards.
Draw Your Line — which was designed by 24-year-old Michael Bastianelli as part of MTV’s
“Redraw the Line” Challenge — isn’t the first digital tool in the network’s arsenal against abuse. Earlier this month, MTV launched an iPhone app called
Over the Line?, which lets teens submit stories of abuse and harassment to be read and rated by their peers. Kids can weigh in on whether or not the bully in question went “over the line” in any given situation.
Cyber bullying has been a term that’s been bandied around quite a bit lately, especially in light of events such the abuse of college student
Tyler Clementi, who killed himself after a roommate posted footage of his romantic life online.
In response to this suicide and other tragedies, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has
teamed up with Facebook to fight abuse on the social networking site, and sex columnist Dan Savage has created a
YouTube channel called
“It Gets Better” to help and support gay teens (
U.S. President Barack Obama even submitted a video).
Still, the issue isn’t just exclusive to gay teens — according to an MTV-Associated Press study, 50% of
14–24-year-olds claim to have been the victim of digital abuse.
How effective do you think campaigns like this are when it comes to fighting the dark side of the online realm? Are we doing enough? Head to the comments section to weigh in.
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