Cyber-bullying has become a huge threat to teens, and with the negative comments and posts that occur behind the computer, it’s hard to find positivity. However, Kevin Curwick, 18, of Osseo, Minnesota, has taken a stand against bullying using Twitter.
After some nasty Twitter pages circulated around Curwick’s High School, he decided it was time to counteract the negative things with compliments and confidence boosters.
Curwick created the account @OsseoNiceThings and began helping out kids who had been by the cyber bullies.
Curwick receives direct messages on Twitter that include compliments people would like to be posted about another person. Curwick makes sure to keep them anonymous.
Curwick says, “It’s cool because obviously I don’t know everyone, but I get to learn about the underclassmen and their talents.”
Curwick’s actions have not gone unnoticed. Using social media to counteract cyberbullying has degraded bullying and made it uncool. Curwick says his page takes the focus away from the attention-seeking bullies and places it on nice tweets that get more favorites and retweets than the negative tweets anyway.
Curwick says, “It definitely exploded a lot more than I expected. Many other schools have created their own nice pages after seeing it.”
Evidently, Curwick has not only made a lasting impression in his high school, but he has also spread the positivity all over his community.
Curwick gives advice to victims of cyberbulling, “Don’t respond. Instead, focus on your positive qualities. Find people who will support and love you.”
Curwick has created a great thing and taken a bold stand against bullying, and once he graduates, he doesn’t plan on stopping the movement.
Curwick says, “It would be cool to hand it down to another student who can carry it on. It can be anonymous again. And I can just keep going from there!”