Free Talk: Smart Phones and the Rise of Cyberbullying Among Youth

Since the rise of smart phone usage among adolescents, Japanese students have encountered an enormous amount of online violence ranging from suicides provoked by cyber-bullying, sexual assaults caused by the use of dating websites, and Internet addiction. 

Kazuo Takeuchi, Associate Professor of Education at University of Hyogo, will be presenting his findings on the situation of online violence surrounding Japanese adolescents and the positive result of his attempt to apply peer support theory for combating this situation as well as the collaborative effort of the government, private sector and academia in Japan. 

His peer support approach emphasizes planting “seeds of autonomy” within adolescents in order to help them think critically about the use of smart phones and beyond.

The United States is catching up with Japan in its spread of smart phones, and hence its encounter with online issues. 

Kaito Abe, President of Internet Literacy Education at Wesleyan University, will be presenting the rise of online issues caused by the recent spread of smart phones among adolescents in the United States. Before, American and Japanese adolescents encountered online violence through different media— computers and cell phones respectively. 

A collaborative effort, not only within a nation but also across the nations, is crucial to combating these online violence issues globalized by the introduction of smart phones. Why do kids want to cyber-bully rather than bully one another physically? Examining the underlying causes of online violence can allow us to get to the bottom of a prevalent issue adolescents face in current society.