It is a well understood paradigm where I work, that finding an open Facebook account usually leads to status updates consisting of declarations of homosexuality, giving everyone the day off, offers to work all weekend and on holidays and many other amusing anecdotes.
Much hilarity usually ensues, until people learn to log off or not use it at work at all.
Facebook has partnered with Justin Bieber and MTV’s A Thin Line to help stop digital abuse (cyberbullying, online stalking, textual harassment, and so on). Bieber wants his fans to take action against digital abuse and then post about what they did on Draw Your Line, MTV’s virtual map tracking actions taken across the United States. There are three major ways in which you can “take action against digital abuse:”
- Get the facts. The line between what’s okay online and what’s not gets blurrier every day. More information on issues like constant messaging, online spying, and digital disrespect are available on Facebook’s Safety Center. If you like it on Facebook, you’ll get safety updates in your newsfeed.
- Be smart. Your Facebook password should be 8 or more characters that include a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and at least one other symbol. If your password doesn’t meet these requirements, you should change it, and never share it.
- Help others. Be supportive of your Facebook friends. If they’re getting harassed on the social network, step in. If it’s really bad, report the abuse.
Every time you post an action of something you did, from now until the end of March, you’ll increase your chance to win one of several prizes:
- The Grand Prize - A trip for two and backstage passes to a taping of MTV’s “The Seven” and a personalized voicemail greeting recorded by Justin Bieber.
- Three First Prizes - A personalized voicemail greeting recorded by Justin Bieber.
- Ten Second Prizes - 250 Facebook Credits.
You have to be at least 14-years-old and a legal resident of one of the 50 US states or D.C. to enter. To learn more about the contest, check out the official rules.
Facebook doesn’t seem to have a very critical role in this initiative. Still, the fact that the website is promoting the contest should help counter critics that say the social network is not doing enough to spread awareness of cyber bullying.
