REDLAND councillors have mounted a state-wide push against social media bullying.
Council will create a #pledgenot2sledge social media campaign and share it with the community to target vicious online behaviour.
All councillors voted for the move which has in-principal support from the Local Government Association of Queensland.
The hash tag – a way of funneling social media traffic to the anti-bullying program – will help victims fight bad online behaviour.
Mayor Karen Williams told today’s council meeting that it was hoped the hash tag would go viral.
Redland City Council, some councillors, federal and state MPs and residents have been at the centre of bullying allegations.
Cr Williams said the hash tag campaign was triggered by the death of teen Dolly Everett who died after being bullied.
She said social media conduct had become so nasty that council had to spend substantial amounts of ratepayers’ money to monitor and remove inappropriate comments from its public sites.
Angie Bowers from The Cage Youth Foundation told councillors that social media use had been taken up by extremely young people.
She said 12-year-olds were not equipped to deal with issues like bullying which was rampant.
It had a devastating effect on mental health and school children were taunted and bullied online as soon as they arrived home from school.
Ms Bowers said discussions about social media needed to start in the home and adults had to set a better standard for children to follow.
“I see adults beating up and bullying on line all the time,” she said.
Councillors pledged not to sledge on social media.
“Councillors have taken the initiative to launch this campaign in recognition of the significant influence community leaders and adults have on the behaviour of others – we need to set the example,” Cr Williams said.
“The #pledgenot2sledge campaign is designed to use the power of the community to create an expectation regarding how we interact on social media.
“...We hope to see the campaign grow and are planning to work with other local governments.”
Cr Paul Golle apologised to Cr Williams for sledging her before he was elected to council.
He said that since taking public office he had learnt about the impact on Cr Williams and her family from his vigorous social media comments.
How to get involved in the #pledgenot2sledge campaign:
1. Display the #pledgenot2sledge banner and profile images – available on council’s website – on your social media pages.
2. If you see instances of disrespectful behaviour, abuse or bullying on social media comment with #pledgenot2sledge. Do not engage beyond this with negative or disrespectful comments.
3. Share the campaign with your friends and family and encourage them to take the #pledgenot2sledge
4. Shoot a short video committing to not sledging on social media and upload using the campaign hashtag #pledgenot2sledge
5. Do not be disrespectful, sledge or abuse anyone.
If you are a victim of negative social media behaviour including cyberbullying, illegal content and
image-based abuse, more information on how to get help and where to report this can be found
at esafety.gov.au
