"Once an insult is read, the damage is done" is the tagline of Reword, a new Google Chrome extension designed to combat cyberbullying. The tool identifies insulting words in online posts and messages, and then crosses them out with a red line. Developed in Australia by Headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, and ad agency Leo Burnett Melbourne, Reword aims to address online abuse by preventing hateful messages before they're even posted. The tools will also be available soon on Firefox and Safari.
While certainly well intentioned, the most obvious impediment to the success of Reword is that internet users must choose to install the extension on their computer. While the installation process itself is relatively easy, it might not be as easy to get people who are writing hurtful things online to download the tool. Another tech-based effort to fight cyberbullying is the social-awareness emoji that's supposed to "get the invisible bystanders to speak up against mean things on the Web." Called the "I Am A Witness" campaign, the emoji is meant as a way to "give teens a way to say something when they don't know what to say." Unfortunately, neither of these campaigns seems to be catching on so far.