Facebook Pledges Funding in ‘Digital Ambassadors’ to Help Anti Bullying Training in Schools

Can ‘Digital Ambassadors’ really work?

Facebook is in the middle of a PR quagmire. Following allegations of being utilized for political influence or the spread of hate speech, they are also regularly criticised for the enabling of cyberbullying.

In the last 6 months alone, Facebook has spent a lot of tackling its major problems. For instance, the hiring of staff to monitor the source of advertising since it fell in for criticism by the US Senate of allowing 3rd parties to exercise political influence.

This was even a matter in which Facebook has to directly answer the Senate. Not exactly the PR story you want for a company.

One of the most common ‘day-to-day’ issues Facebook has, however, is bullying. I consider myself somewhat fortunate to have grown up in a simpler time. Any bullying you might have experienced at school ended when school ended. Internet-capable mobile phones, Facebook, and social media as a whole barely existed. These days, however, bullying can be taken home and it is a serious problem.

What is Facebook going to do to tackle bullying?

Facebook has pledged to train ‘Digital Ambassadors’ to help educate children in UK schools about cyber-bullying. Specifically, how to deal with it reports the BBC.

It will be children themselves who will be trained as these ‘ambassadors’ as their research indicates that children/teens are more likely to talk to others than to teachers or parents. Imagine the irony if a bully got this role?

Considering that Facebook itself recently engaged in ‘Jew-Hating’ target advertising, there is some irony in this.

Facebook has pledged £1m for this training, so clearly a decent sum, however, a matter in which I feel can be dealt with in one sentence.

If you don’t like someone, don’t add them to Facebook, if you don’t like what they are posting to you, block them. Do not feed the troll. Do not engage with those who you do not like.

Hopefully, these ambassadors will spread such training, it is, after all, common sense.

What do you think? Is cyber-bullying a problem and what is the best way to deal with it? Are trained Ambassadors the answer? Let us know in the comments!