What Parents/Students Need to Know

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CYBERBULLYING

• What Parents/Students Need to Know
• Kenneth Hanson

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What is Cyberbullying?

• Cyber bullying is when a child or teenager is
  tormented, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or
  otherwise targeted by another child or teenager
  using the Internet, interactive and digital
  technologies, or cell phones. (www.stopcyberbullyi
  ng.org)
• Cyber bullying is the willful and repeated harm
  inflicted through the use of computers, cell
  phones, and other electronic devices. (Hinduga
  and Patchin (2009))

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Why Should YOU Care (The Pew Internet and
American Life Project 2007)

• 97 of youth use the Internet and more than half
  use it daily
• Nearly 20 of middle school students have been
  cyberbullied in the last 2-3 months (Kowalski
  Limber 2007)
• The greatest change in online activity is between
  the 6th and 7th grade (Be Prepared Ahead of Time)
• Almost 50 of youth have cell phones
  (increasing!!)
• 75 of youth use text-messaging daily
• 25 of social networking sites belong to minors
• 61 have a personal profile
• ½ include a picture (often provocative)

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Cyber Bullies Weapons and Sources

• Social Networking Sites (MySpace, Facebook, etc)
• Chat rooms
• Text-messaging (cell phones)
• Personal Websites
• E-mails
• Pictures sent through cell phones and posted to
  the web

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Examples of Cyberbullying

• Sending mean, vulgar, or threatening messages or
  images
• Posting sensitive, private information about
  another person
• Pretending to be someone else in order to make
  that person look bad
• Intentionally excluding from an online group
• (stopbullynow.hrsa.gov)

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Examples Cont'd (Bloomenfield and Cooper 2008)

• People sending hurtful, cruel, and threatening
  messages
• People stealing other peoples screen names and
  sending inflammatory messages to other people
  using their identity.
• People creating online polling booth to rate a
  schools girls as hottest,, ugliest, or most
  boring. (Harmon, 2004)
• Individuals taking pictures of others in the
• locker rooms with digital phone cameras
• and sending those pictures to others or posting
• them on the Internet.

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DIFFERENCES

• Bullying

• Cyberbullying

• Direct
• Occurs on school property
• Poor relationships with teachers
• Fear retribution
• Physical Hitting, Punching Shoving
• Verbal Teasing, Name calling Gossip
• Nonverbal Use of gestures Exclusion

• Anonymous
• Occurs off school property
• Good relationships with
• teachers
• Fear loss of technology
• privileges
• Further under the radar than
• bullying
• Emotional reactions cannot be
• determined

McKenna Bargh, 2004 Ybarra Mitchell, 2004
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Cyberbullying Categories

• Inadvertent
• Role-play
• Responding
• May not realize its cyber bullying
• Vengeful Angel
• Righting wrongs
• Protecting themselves
• Mean Girls
• Bored Entertainment
• Ego based promote own social status
• Often do in a group
• Intimidate on and off line
• Need others to bully if isolated, stop

• Power-Hungry
• Want reaction
• Controlling with fear
• Revenge of the Nerds
• (Subset of Power-Hungry)
• Often Victims of school-yard bullies
• Throw cyber-weight around
• Not school-yard bullies like Power-Hungry Mean
  Girls

Parry Aftab. Esq., Executive Director,
WiredSafety.org
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Effects on Young People

• Increased school absenteeism
• School difficulties
• Perpetrators of school violence
• Increased risk of alcohol and drug use
• Linked to serious mental health problems
• Depression
• Anxiety Disorders
• Fear and Withdrawal
• Low Self Esteem
• Substance Abuse

Blumenfield Cooper 2008
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Cyberbullying Statistics (Parry Aftab)

• Typically starts around age 9 and ends after 14
  years of age
• 65 of students between 8 14 have been
  involved directly or indirectly in a cyber
  bullying incident as the victim or friend
• 50 had heard of a website
• bashing of another student
• 15 of parents polled knew
• what cyber bullying was.

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Statistics Cont'd (i-Safe.org)

• 42 of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in
  4 have had it happen more than once.
• 35 of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1
  in 5 have had it happen more than once.
• 21 of kids have received mean or threatening
  e-mail or other messages.
• 58 of kids admit someone has said mean or
  hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of
  10 say it has happened more than once.
• 53 of kids admit having said something mean or
  hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in
  3 have done it more than once.
• 58 have not told their parents or an adult about
  something mean or hurtful that happened to them
  online.Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500
  students grades 4-8

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Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students
nationwide.
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Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students
nationwide.
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Peru 5th 6th Grade Statistics

• 85 have access to the internet outside of
  school
• 40 of students claim parents do not always know
  when they are on the internet
• Approximately 50 of 5th graders and 60 of 6th
  graders have used MySpace or other social
  networking site.
• 20 claim they share personal information over
  the internet
• 55 own a cell phone and over ½ use text
  messaging
• 35 HAVE RECEIVED THREATS OVER THE INTERNET OR
  CELL PHONE

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Parents Role in Preventing Cyberbullying

• Keep your home computer in easily viewable
  places
• Talk regularly with your child about on-line
  activities
• Specifically about cyber bullying and encourage
  child to inform you immediately
• Encourage child to inform you of other victims
  they might know
• Explain cyber bullying is harmful and
  unacceptable behavior
• Consider installing parental control filtering
  software
• Stay involved in your childs life
• Report immediately any concerns of cyber bullying

www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov
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Warning Signs (www.cyberbullying.us)

• A child may be a victim of cyberbullying if he or
  she
• unexpectedly stops using the computer
• appears nervous or jumpy when an Instant Message,
  text message, or Email appears
• appears uneasy about going to school or outside
  in general
• appears to be angry, depressed, or frustrated
  after using the computer
• avoids discussions about what they are doing on
  the computer
• becomes abnormally withdrawn from usual friends
  and family members

• A child may be cyberbullying others if he or she
• quickly switches screens or closes programs when
  you walk by
• uses the computer at all hours of the night
• gets unusually upset if he/she cannot use the
  computer
• laughs excessively while using the computer
• avoids discussions about what they are doing on
  the computer
• uses multiple online accounts or using an account
  that is not their own

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Tips for Students (i-Safe.org)

• Tell a trusted adult about the bullying
• Dont open or read messages from cyber bullies
• Tell your school if it is school related
• Dont erase the messages- they may be needed to
  take action
• Protect yourself never agree to meet with the
  person or with anyone you meet online
• If you are threatened with harm, inform local law
  enforcement

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Helpful Resources and Websites