Blaise Sings Out Against Bullying

Musician part of MTV anti-bullying campaign aimed at protecting kids and teens online

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Kid Reporter Cecilia Gault with singer-songwriter Blaise Sings at MTV Studios. (Photo courtesy Cecilia Gault)

Blaise Sings is a talented 17-year-old singer and songwriter. She is also a member of MTV's "A Thin Line" Street Team.

A Thin Line is a campaign aimed at ending "digital drama." Cyberbullying is just one form of digital drama. The campaign was created to help kids identify, respond to, and stop digital abuse in their lives and the lives of their friends.

A major part of the campaign is protecting yourself when you're online. "The best defense is a good offense," the A Thin Line website states.

Blaise told me she learned about the campaign while on Twitter. She's obsessed with the social networking site, she said. "And when I saw this tweet about signing up for A Thin Line, I thought this sounds perfect, this is definitely something that I feel passionate about, and I have gone through and I've seen others go through I wanted to join and be a part of it."

Blaise attends a cyber high school. She experienced bullying first hand at her previous school, which was a more traditional high school.

She noticed a friend mistreating others, and Blaise decided to no longer be friends with her. When she told her friend that she didn't want to be friends anymore, the girl began an organized bullying campaign against Blaise and some other students.

"I found that she began organizing this whole thing against me," Blaise says. "People who were friends with me from elementary school would no longer talk to me. I was bullied and I saw other people get bullied and that is why I am so passionate about this."

She's especially committed to standing up against cyberbullying because it's a vicious form of bullying.

"A lot of it is anonymous so you don't know where it's coming from," she says. "It can happen to anyone and it's all done on a computer or through text messaging."

A Thin Line offers resources for kids who are being bullied or want to stand up to bullies they see around them. One of these resources is the Digital Rights Project. It sets out the top five online rights kids and teens have, as voted on by kids and teens. Those rights are:

•    To live without pressure or abuse.
•    To step in and help if I see someone getting harassed.
•    To end unhealthy relationships.
•    To take control of my decisions.
•    To disconnect whenever I want.

There are numerous other tips, tools, and ideas for kids and teens to use on the A Thin Line website. And as one of the campaign's Street Team members, Blaise gets the word out about the program and how it can help.

"The best thing is whenever you see someone getting bullied, send out a positive message to them," she says. "That's the first step."

Kids who are concerned about bulling can go to the A Thin Line website to find links and phone numbers to experts and resources.

STAND UP TO BULLYING

Kid Reporters are talking to  kids, parents, teachers, and stars about how to prevent bullying and keep it out of kids' lives. Find all of their stories in the Stand Up to Bullying Special Report.

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