Jianghui Qu
California State University Long Beach
Professor: Eduardo Perez
The internet and social media created the concept of “ Online Neighborhood”. But Cyberbullying will have a really bad influence on the Online Neighborhood. Hence, a Cyberbullying Experience and Exhibition Center are designed to let people become aware of cyberbullying and avoid it.
Cyberbullying Exhibition And Experience Center
In traditional neighborhoods, people live geographically close to each other, so the interaction and communication among them are frequent and will affect their daily life in many ways. Nowadays the internet and social media make it so the neighborhood is not solely defined by geographical location. On the internet, for example, people can have many interactions and communication with other people who are physically far away from them. A general fact is that nowadays most people’s lives are tied to the internet, and some people may have more communication with others on the internet than in their real life. So to some extent, people may be affected more by the “neighborhood” on the internet than the neighborhood within the few blocks around their homes. Hence, how people act on the internet really matters, and bad actions will really cause some serious influences in the “neighborhood” online.
According to stopbullying.com, Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. Compare with traditional bullying, cyberbullying is harder to recognize and easier to commit. In many cases, people will say the victims are so weak that they can be defeated by some verbal violence online. And when people talk about bullies, they will ask why they are so evil and bully others. In fact, most people have such comments largely because they are not involved. In order to help people become aware of cyberbullying and the danger it possesses, it is necessary to build an exhibition and experience center. The designed experience within this facility is where people not only learn about the reasons, the solutions, and the real cases of cyberbullying but also can experience the process of cyberbullying in the view of bullies or victims.
Cyberbullying Experience and Exhibition Center will be strategically located in downtown Los Angeles. This location will attract a large number of potential visitors from varied demographics. All of the people who use the internet are welcome to the cyberbullying Experience and Exhibit Center. However, teenagers over the age of 10, their parents, and younger adults are the primary target users.
When a person is cyberbullied, he/she may be facing an attack or slander by a large group of people on the internet. He/she is alone, but the bullies are numerous; he/she is exposed but the bullies are behind the screens. This situation is similar to the story of ” Little Red Riding Hood,” the inspiration behind my design concept. A little girl is going into a dark forest; All the beasts are formidable and dangerous and hiding in the dark…The concept of “Dark Forest” is transformed and developed into diverse forms and used in different places. These forms can bring intensely visual/ auditory impacts on people through aggressive forms, huge dimensions, metaphorical materials, colors, and electrical devices inside.
Cyberbullying usually happens in four main ways; “Peep Privacy,” “Follow the Crowd Blindly,” “Online Abuse,” and “Paid Trolls.” Peep Privacy causes disclosures of primary information and photos. Following the Crowd Blindly is when people comment or post without independent thinking and just follow what others doing. Online Abuse shows in vicious insults or belittling online. Paid Trolls are given money to comment, criticize or post something that they may not even know about.
Based on the characteristics of these four types of cyberbullying, four interactive showrooms are designed to imply each type of cyberbullying by their interior design and installation art.
The Experience Space is for visitors to have the feeling of being in a cyberbullying situation as bullies or victims. It is hard for someone to understand how easy cyberbullying will happen and how miserable the victims will feel when being bullied if they are never in a cyberbullying situation themselves. And The Experience Space provides them a chance to participate in a quick “Cyberbullying Game” in about 20 minutes. The Experience Space uses interior design and installations to simulate and imply cyberbullying. (More details on page 04). So by the end of the game, they will have a better understanding of what they will be like in a cyberbullying situation.
Cyberbullying, like other bullying behaviors of the strong against the weak, originates from people’s inner natural instincts. Attacking, peeping, fooling with, and belittling have no specific purpose but may bring pleasure to the bullies. Everyone has evil thoughts in their heart, but we are not supposed to put them into action. That is what we call morality, which is the foundation for the existence and development of human civilization. Evil thoughts are not evil. It is evil not to control them.
Resource:“What Is Cyberbullying”, https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it
