Taking Aim at Cyber-bulling for Teachers & Students

Think quick — what’s the most prevalent danger facing your students on the Internet today?

If your thoughts immediately turned to sexual predators, then you may be in for a surprise. According to surveys of high school students, educators and parents conducted in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, one in five middle school and high school students report being a victim of cyber-bullying.

The prevalence of Internet use among young people has opened up a new stomping ground for the playground bully, a playground where there are no teachers and few adults to help draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The ease with which most teenagers use technology like cell phones and computers makes it far too easy for one child with a grudge to turn life into a living hell for another student.

What is Cyber-bulling?

“I was online one night talking with friends when I got an IM from someone I didn’t know. It said they saw me leaving the library at 2 o’clock described what I was wearing. Then they logged off. It really creeped me out.”

- Nicole, 19

“Some girl thought her boyfriend liked me so she pretended to be me and gave my phone number to a hunch of guys on a chat line. I got like 40 phone calls all day long from complete strangers. And I couldn’t be mad at THEM— they thought I asked them to call.”

- Emilee, 15

“When I broke up with my girlfriend, she gave the address of my deadjournal (a popular alternative blog site among teens) to her new boyfriend and abunch of his friends’. They started spamming the comments with death threats and calling me fag and other stuff It got so bad I had to move it and get another name there.

-John, 16

In a nutshell, cyber-bullying is the use of email, text messaging, web sites, discussion forums and other technological means of communication to intentionally hurt, defame or intimidate another. Any of the following may be used to bully another via cyberspace:

Sending threatening, intimidating or derogatory emails, instant messages or phone text messages
Posting derogatory comments about classmates on an internet bulletin board
Using comments to a classmate’s blog to make fin of them and encouraging others to join in
Creating a web page or web site devoted to insulting another classmate or classmates
Posting personal information about another student on a public web site, or sharing it via cell phone or email
Using another student’s email address or TM name to send messages that make the student look bad or will get them into trouble
Posting embarrassing photos of another on a web site for others to view

What Fuels Cyber-bullying?

Cyber-bullies are motivated by the same things that motivate their offline counterparts - bullying gives them power over the victim. Cy+her bullying also carries fewer consequences and risks for the bullies. They can hide behind the anonymity of a screen name or online persona. They can carry out their attacks from the privacy of their own bedroom or cell phone. The risk of being caught is slight - and the havoc that can be caused is enormous.

Because size and physical strength aren’t a factor, girls are as likely to join in the cyber-bullying as boys. Girls and boys also seem to he equally victimized by cyber-bullies, except in cases where the harassment is specifically sexual. In that case, girls are twice as likely to be victims as boys.

Psychologists also believe that teens are more likely to join in and engage in cyber-bullying than in real life. Because the bully doesn’t see or hear the effects of his taunts and threats, there is less empathy. Students witnessing an incident of real world bullying often report feeling uncomfortable about it, or sorry for the victim. Often, when the bullying takes place online, there’s less connection with the victim because it’s more impersonal.

What’s The Harm?

At the same time, cyber-bullying can be far MORE personal to the victim. The threats and taunts invade his personal space — his email box, his cell phone, his own bedroom or the kitchen table, Unlike schoolyard bullying, there is no ‘safety zone’ when you’re the victim of a cyber- bully. It’s almost impossible for the victim of a cyber-bully to control the situation by walking away from it. The effects of being virtually bullied are every bit as real as those of being made the laughingstock in a real world situation.

What Can You Do To Stop Cyber-bullying?

If your school or school system isn’t already addressing the problem of cyber-bullying, get it on the agenda. Discuss it with the school’s guidance office, the principal or the department. Point them to the resources at the end of this article to help them understand the scope of the problem.
Evaluate the problem. Get the subject out in the open. Survey the students to find out the extent of cyber-bullying in your classroom or school.
Talk about cyber-bullying to your class.
Walk the walk, Set clear guidelines for acceptable use of the internet in class, and clear consequences for misuse, and enforce them.
Strike at the assumption of anonymity that fuels a lot of cyber-bullying. Explain to your class how identities of users can he tracked through IP addresses, email headers and other information. No one is REALLY anonymous on the web — there are always ways to track malicious users down. Make sure that your students understand that if they send email, post on a bulletin board, send text message or otherwise harass another student, they CAN be caught.
Attack the notion that ‘it’s all just a prank’. Students should be aware that it is illegal to make threats of physical harm via email, text messaging or the internet, and that it may be illegal to post derogatory information about someone with the intent of doing them harm.
Emphasize kindness and courtesy in all communications. Bring the effects of online bullying home in a way that students can understand. Use news stories about cyber-bullying to open discussions with students and ask questions like:
- How would you feel if this happened to you? What would your mother think if she knew you were doing this?
- How would you feel if you posted a web page like that, and the newspapers reported that you did it?
Make it easy for students to report cyber-bullying that they witness or are part of without fear of retaliation. Provide a way for them to report abuse anonymously. Let them know that any report made - anonymously or not - will he taken seriously and investigated, and that their privacy as a reporter will be respected.
Educate parents about the seriousness of cyber-bullying. Send home literature and suggested reading about bullying and cyber-bullying to all parents.
Make lessons about internet safety a part of your regular curriculum. Don’t stop with ‘don’t reveal personal information’, though. Make sure that students know the steps to take if they are being harassed, intimidated or targeted for ridicule through IMs, email, test messages or on web sites.

The internet opens new worlds for investigation. communication and cooperation. Your actions in the classroom can help your students to take advantage of all the opportunities it offers without fear of becoming a victim.

Source: www.canadianteacher.com