I am saddened and horrified at the tragic death of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who committed suicide after learning that two of his fellow students had broadcast his sexual encounter with another young man over the internet. I grieve with Tyler's family as they move through this difficult time. And I also hold the students who participated in this as well as their families in my heart. I again sit and wonder what kind of world have we created for our children and how we could have omitted to teach them tolerance and responsibility.
We have and continue to develop technology that most of us consider necessary to our everyday living. I admit that having internet access keeps me from feeling isolated from friends and colleagues both near and far. I certainly don't want to give up my cell phone-it also keeps me in touch with friends and especially my children who no longer live close by. It's comforting to be able to feel that even when we are far apart we are constantly connected.
Yet this ended up not being Tyler's experience. His most private moments were broadcast for others to see. I can't imagine the humiliation and mortification he must have felt-nor the hopelessness that caused him to finally take his own life.
Cyberbullying is a major problem in particular among teens. I watched my youngest daughter as she dealt with cruel text messages on her cell phone on numerous occasions. She was a relatively popular young lady in high school, well liked by nearly everyone in her class. Yet on several occasions, someone would send her cruel messages that were hurtful. At one point the harassment became such a problem that I had to step in. And this was a minor thing...
Cell phones in schools have become quite a problem. Children are not supposed to have cell phones in school at all, although the majority do. My youngest daughter faced disciplinary action at one point for having her cell phone out in class. When I talked to the principal about it, he told me he knew nearly all the students had cell phones and admitted that technology has advanced faster than the school administration could keep up with. He didn't know what to do about the problem.
Technology is a wonderful thing. I don't know anyone who would want to get along without it, nor do I think we should. Yet we, the adults, are responsible for teaching our children tolerance and how to use technology responsibly. All of us have heard the story of Atlantis and the advanced technology that civilization developed. We are close to that stage of advancement ourselves. I believe that ALL technology can and should be used to better our world. Surely we have evolved spiritually so that our technology will not be used for our demise.
I am grateful to Tyler Clementi. He was one of the world's children-our children. I'm grateful for the short life he lived, and I'm grateful that he brought to our awareness a growing problem for our children that we must deal with and rectify.
Namaste!
