Problem: 

Studies have shown that deviant behaviors of cyber bullies are strongly correlated with anonymity, distance away from victims, sense of unreality within the cyberspace, as well as other psychological factors. However in our society, the media seldom addresses the underlying causes, and is always obsessed with emphasizing the victims’ sufferings. Such negligence gives misleading belief to the public that all cyber bullies are genetically predisposed to be evil and cruel. The aim is help the public view this problem with a new perspective, and to be able to see other issues with perceptive intellect, that there is never a one-way rule for everything.

Challenges: 

- How to visualize and translate a conceptual idea that tapped into the mind of the cyber bullies and the virtual environment of the online setting with lack of technical support and knowledge in coding? 
- How to help audience understand that cyber bullies are not born evil? 

Solution: 

I created an interactive installation that used the idea of a dart-throwing game to visualize the process of cyber bullying. The dartboard is covered with “profile photos” of strangers, and the flight of each dart had different reasons of bullying transferred on it. The “fun” process of shooting at the dartboard served to let the audiences experience what is happening in the cyberspace by taking on the role as a cyber bully. After throwing the dart, the audience could choose to leave their feelings on a commentary card, a way for me to understand if my work was successful at delivering the messages.