Cyberbullying



Cyberbullying is a problem in the world today. Children will get online and try to hurt another child. Cyberbullying is becoming more and more of an issue, which transfers into becoming a school issue. Although schools cannot really do anything about cyberbullying because of legal issues, the problems that stem from cyberbullying affect children during the school day. There are many reasons why children cyberbully and many ways it can be done. Children who are being cyberbullied need to know that they are not alone. There are many resources for them to get help. Cyberbullying needs to be looked into as a school issue. Cyberbullying is defined as electronic bullying or online social cruelty through email, instant messaging, or other forms of technology when both included are minors. There is not just one side of the bullying because it effects everyone involved. There are different types from a more mild form which is just mild language to a more serious case where a hacking/password/identity theft are involved. There are many ways that kids cyberbully one another. An Investigation into Cyberbullying, its Forms, Awareness and Impact, and the Relationship Between Age and Gender in Cyberbullying, found at [], says the most common forms of cyberbullying are phone calls, text messaging and emails (Smith, P. et al, July 2006, p. 2). Other forms include stealing passwords, blogs, web sites, sending pictures through e-mail and cell phones, internet polling, interactive gaming, sending malicious code, sending porn and other junk e-mail and IM impersonation. The ways kids bully others using technology is only limited to the technology available and their own imagination. No one really knows why kids and teens do anything; however, experts on bullying have some ideas of why some choose to cyberbully. According to [|www.stopcyberbullying.com] “they [kids and teens] are often motivated by anger, revenge or frustration. Sometimes they do it for entertainment or because they are bored and have too much time on their hands and too many tech toys available to them. Many do it for laughs or to get a reaction. . . The Power-hungry do it to torment others and for their ego.” Even though most of the time cyberbullying is intentional, there are those few cases where the child or teen is unaware that they are cyberbullying. This can occur if a message is sent to the wrong person, or the child/teen could be an accomplice to a cyberbully and not know it. Joan E. Lisante (2005) suggests, “[a]dolescent impulses frequently find release through computers, multi-use cell phones and PDAs. Often, there's no time for reflection—questionable messages go rocketing off to as many names as you can cram into a contact list.” [] There are many ways in which cyberbullying can be prevented. The most helpful and easy way to prevent cyberbullying is talking to the children. If adults discuss why this is wrong and how it can hurt people with the children, it may put a stop to cyberbullying before it starts. Children need to learn the consequences of their actions. If children are thinking about cyberbullying, sometimes it can be prevented by talking to them beforehand about how they could lose their IM accounts and facebook accounts if they cyberbully. It may also help just to talk to children about respecting one another. The children need to know that they are hurting others feelings and that it is wrong to cyberbully, or bully in any way. Schools can teach children cyberethics. They can also teach about laws dealing with cyberbullying. Schools cannot do much else to prevent cyberbullying because law suits often occur. Cyberbullying is a major problem today and may be easily prevented. Cyberbullying can be overwhelming and stressful, but can always be dealt with. It is important to remember that you are not alone; cyberbullying can happen to anyone. If you find yourself being bullied online, first of all remember not to respond or engage in any form of communication with the bully. He or she will lose interest if there is no response. Secondly, keep all forms of online abuse. Comments, e-mails, and messages should be kept as evidence should the need arise. Also, it is important, especially in young people, to get help. Talk to someone you trust about the bullying and your feelings. Keep an eye out for any form of provocation. If a cyberbully is not getting the attention desired, he or she may go to extremes to create a reaction. Do not let yourself be sucked into this immature behavior. It can be helpful to separate yourself from the bullying by becoming an observer. Carefully take in each form of bullying and the tactics used. Once it becomes less personal, it will make the experience less painful. Finally, if you choose to take action, plan thoroughly and do not back down. To effectively stop a cyberbully, you must have a hard defense and argue your point aggressively. Cyberbullying is a problem that can be taken care of in and out of school. It is any message that is electrically sent. It is unknown why the students bully each other. There are many ways to prevent it like teaching online cyberethics. If this is happening to someone they should know that there is help out there and people to talk to.

Article Edited by: Jenny Nalley, Adrienne Yoder, Katherine Zarate, Kristy Reed, and Kelsey Frydl

Notes:

Jamie's Notes

Website 1

Cyberbullying is when a child is tormented, harrassed, threatened, or embarrased by another child using the internet or other technology. Some cyberbullying is done just through messages sent to the child. Children cyberbully for a variety of reasons, including revenge and even boredom. It can be prevented through education. Some children will not cyberbully if they know the consequnces such as getting their accounts taken away from them. Teaching children to calm down before they do anything they will regret can also be very beneficial. Children need to remember that everyone has feelings and they need to be respectful of others.

Aftab,P.(2009).Stop Cyberbullying.Retrieved September 10, 2009, from Wired Kids Inc. Website: http://www.stopcyberbullying.org

Website 2

Children are cyberbullied in many ways. These can include, but are not limited to, pretending you are someone else to trick a person, spreading lies, send mean messages, post photos without consent. Victims react by blocking the bully, deleting messages without reading, seaking revenge, and bullying back.

(2009). Cyberbullying. Retreived September 9, 2009, from National Crime Prevention Council. Website: http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying

Website 3

The government is posting legislation to teach children grades 3 and up about cyberbullying and why it is wrong. There are many ways parents can prevent cyberbullying. One way is by using computer technology controls. There are many prgrams that can be used to block children from going on certain websites and cyberbullying. Also if parents talk to their children about cyberbullying, they may respond and not do it. This website offers videos about cyberbullying as well. Cyberbullying can affect anybody. It can affect adults as well as children.

DuMelle, P. (2009). Cyberbullying Prevention. Retrieved September 10, 2009, from Cyberbullying Prevention. Website: www.cyberbullying.us

Chrissy’s notes: Website 1: __[]__

This website gives excellent ideas for people who are already being bullied. It gives thorough suggestions of how to react as well as explanations of why this is a good idea. I found several websites that have these types of ideas, but this is easily the best. Some of the ideas are common sense, but some are not. I think it’s important to know that silence is the best reaction and that despite your silence, anyone who is being bullied should keep all e-mails and messages regarding this topic.

Website 2: []

This website also provided important steps to deal with cyberbullying in your own life. However, a few steps are different than the previous and I found this interesting. This websites suggests that the victim approach the bully in person to perhaps scare them off. Cyberbullies are “nothing when not behind their internet mask” and may be easily put off their task. Also, this site gives more detail concerning possible legal repercussions.

Website 3: []

This site gives lots of smaller sites as options for more in formation. There are several “Top 10” categories for not only teens, but teachers and parents. I like how the focus is on combining forces to stop cyberbullying and the pressure is not just on the student. Too often, students try to take on hard topics alone and this is not effective. Also, this site has cyberbullying blog entries and headlines from around the world concerning cyberbullying. I like how it shows that this issue is not just a local problem or even an American problem; cyberbullying is prevalent everywhere.

(2009) Cyber bullying, dealing with online bullies, flame mail, hate mail. Adapted from Bully Online, retrieved from []

Stevenson, J. (2009) Teen Advice on Cyberbullies, retrieved from [].

Rubenstein, B. (2009) How to Deal with Cyberbullying as a Child or Teen, retrieved from [] By: Chrissy Records

Websites by Amanda Rocus

The website shows the definition of the cyberbullying. It also shows different examples of cyberbullying such as outing and trickery and flaming. It talks about how to prevent it from the student and educator prescriptive. There is an opportunity to order books to help with lessons and information about cyberbullying. There is a section on how to help put a stop to the bullying on different websites such as myspace and facebook.

Agatston, P. (2007). Cyber bullying: Bullying in the digital age. Retrieved from [] The website defines cyberbullying. It gives tips to parents about how to stop it and prevent it. It gives tips for all school ages from elementary to high school. There is a list of related sites as well. The site is also available in Spanish.

Cyberbullying Tips. 2009. //Commonsense// Retrieved from [|http://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying-tips#tip_answer_0]

Stop Cyberbullying is a website that shows how to prevent cyberbullying for all ages. It allows they user to see it they are a cyberbully or if they are being cyberbullyied. It’s for ages 7-18 and there are special sections for parents, educators and law enforcements. For students it shows them the correct online etiquette so they can prevent cyberbullying. It shows them the dangers of online fantasies like pretending to be different people.

Stop Cyberbullying. N.d. //Wirekids, Inc//. []

Websites by: Rob Kesler

1. This site is not so much an article as it is a list. Basically the website lists about 15 facts dealing with cyberbullying. It talks about what percent of our youth deal with this issue. Who is targeted. How cyberbullies attack their victims, and the fastest growing problems with the issue. The website does not offer the authors name but it does give the organizations name. the website is by Cyber Bully Alert.

Cyber Bully Alert (8/27/2008). Cyber Bullying Statistics that may Shock You!. Retrieved September 19, 2009, from []

2. Preventing Cyberbullying Top Ten Tips for Educators was an interesting article by Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. and Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D. of the cyberbullying Research Center. The website gives 10 tips for educators to follow when dealing with cyberbullying. These tips are directions or suggestions for teachers to follow. They offer clear direct answers to many questions educators may have.

Hinduja, S., Patchin, J. W. (2009). Preventing Cyberbullying Top Ten Tips for Educators. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from []

3. This article by Joan E. Lisante titled, Cyber Bullying: No Muscle Needed, was very insightful and offered great case studies of a few incidents. Listane starts her article by showing legal action had been taken in a cyberbullying case. The result was a sentence handed out to the bully of 25 hours community service. Listane talks about some reasons why attackers choose to use technology to bully others. Anonymity for example. At the end of the article, Listane discusses counter technology to cyberbullying and some advice for parents and teachers. The article includes quality information that is helpful to anyone who deals with this issue.

Listane, J. E., (June 3, 2005). Cyber Bullying: No Muscles Needed. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from []

Darbi Rosdail +Cyberbullying is usually not a one-time communication. +There are two kinds of cyberbullying: -Direct Attacks: a message sent by the bully directly to the victim. -Cyberbullying by proxy: the bully uses others to help cyberbully the victim, either with or without the accomplice's knowledge. +Reasons for teens cyberbullying: -Anger -Revenge -Frustration -Entertainment -Ego +How they cyberbully: -pretend they are other people -spread rumors and/or lies -trick others into revealing personal information -send or forward mean texts -post pictures without consent http://www.stopcyberbullying.org http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying http://www.cyberbullying.us I Cyberbullying Defintion Cyberbullying is defined as elctronic bullying or online social cruelty through email, instant messaging, etc and both included are minors. There is not just one side of the bullying because the sides can switch back and forth. There is different types from a more mild form which is just mild language to a more serious case where a hacking/password/identity theft are involved. http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-cyber-bullying