The Effectiveness of a Bullying Intervention Program: Did It Reduce Existing Bullying Problems An Ac

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CYBERBULLYING

• Michele Robbins
• College of St. Joseph
• Summer 2005

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WHAT IS IT?

Cyberbullying is sending or posting harmful or
cruel text or images using the Internet or other
digital communication devices.
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What Does It Look Like?

• Sending cruel, vicious, and sometimes threatening
  messages.
• Creating web sites that have stories, cartoons,
  pictures, and jokes ridiculing others.
• Posting pictures of classmates online and asking
  students to rate them, with questions such Who
  is the biggest ___ (add a derogatory term)?

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• Breaking into an e-mail account and sending
  vicious or embarrassing material to others.
• Engaging someone in IM (instant messaging),
  tricking that person into revealing sensitive
  personal information, and forwarding that
  information to others.
• Taking a picture of a person in the locker room
  using a digital phone camera and sending that
  picture to others.

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Key Miscellaneous Factsand Why Its a Problem

• Over half (51) of parents either do not have or
  do not know if they have software on their
  computer(s) that monitors where their teenager(s)
  go online and with whom they interact.
• 42 of parents do not review the content of what
  their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms
  or via instant messaging.
• 95 of parents couldnt identify common chat room
  lingo that teenagers use to warn people theyre
  chatting with that their parents are watching.
  Those phrases are POS (Parent Over Shoulder) and
  P911 (Parent Alert).
• Nearly three out of 10 (28) of parents dont
  know or are not sure if their teens talk to
  strangers online.
• 30 of parents allow their teenagers to use the
  computer in private areas of the house such as a
  bedroom or a home office.
• 82 of teens use the Internet, a cell phone,
  and/or pager in a routine week.
• It is estimated that up to 75 percent of middle
  school children have their own cell phone. This
  percentage rises in the high school years.

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• I-Safe America, an organization promoting Web
  safety, surveyed 1500 students in 4th through 8th
  grade, and found that 42 percent have been
  bullied online. And 53 percent admitted to saying
  something mean or hurtful to someone else online.
• Emerging as one of the more challenging issues
  facing educators and parents as young people
  embrace the Internet and other mobile
  communication technologies
• Cyberbullying allows for a wider scope of
  dissemination of hurtful material
• Much of the activity in the student online world
  will remain outside of the direct supervision of
  adults
• The number of kids using the Internet makes it
  the preferred way to communicate. The Pew
  Internet American Life Project reports that
  approximately 17 million kids aged 12 to 17 use
  the Internet. Teens have embraced IM74 percent
  of teens IM, compared to only 44 percent of
  adults

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Various Ways Cyberbullying Occurs

• Flaming-sending angry, rude or vulgar messages
  directed at target of choice
• Harassment-repeatedly sending an individual
  offensive messages
• Cyberstalking-harassment that is highly
  intimidating or includes threats of harm

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• Denigration-sending or posting harmful, untrue or
  cruel statements about a person to other people
• Masquerade-pretending to be someone else and
  sending or posting material that makes that
  person look bad or places that person in
  potential danger
• outing-sending or posting material about a
  person that contains sensitive, private or
  embarrassing information material often acquired
  via trickery
• Disinhibition-the tendency for technology to
  create the illusion of invisibility, users may be
  able to create a level of anonymity which
  promotes the mindset that they can do or say
  anything they want without the risk of
  consequences

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IMPACT OF CYBERBULLYING

• Low self-esteem
• Anger
• Depression
• School failure/avoidance
• School violence
• Anxiety
• Long term psychological harm
• Suicide

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LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Depending on the manner in which cyberbullying is
  occurring, school administrators and/or school
  districts might be liable for damages to students
  (laws vary from state to state)
• Key Factors would be
• -district policies
• -communication of policies to
• students
• -manner in which district
• allowed use of the district
• network
• -the degree of monitoring and
• supervision provided by the
• district

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• In most cases a school would have no standing to
  sue a cyberbully, but victims may be able to
  (school may be able to assist the victim)
• Grounds for suits
• -defamation
• -invasion of privacy
• -intentional infliction of emotional distress
• In most U.S. States, parents of cyberbullies can
  be held financially liable for the acts of their
  children

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What Schools Can Do To Help Combat Cyberbullying

• Discuss effective cyberbullying intervention
  strategies with students so they are empowered to
  provide assistance to others.
• Establish an anonymous reporting box where
  students can place downloaded material or
  information that demonstrates concern.
• Establish a relationship with your local police
  department, perhaps inviting cyber cops to your
  school to speak to parents and kids on proper
  Internet use.
• Encourage your school district to develop a
  clear, comprehensive policy on acceptable
  computer use, both on and off school property.
  The policy should spell out what constitutes
  cyber bullying, and list consequences.

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• Establish a student think-tank to generate
  possible solutions to the problem of
  cyberbullying as students are often more computer
  savvy than adults
• Increase awareness of cyberbullying concerns via
  communication with parents, students, and
  community members
• Provide warning to students and their parents of
  possible negative consequences for cyberbullying
• Increase supervision/monitoring of school network

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How Might You Know If Someone Is Being
Cyberbullied?

• Long hours on the computer
• Closes windows on their computer when you enter
  the room
• Is secretive about internet activities
• Behavioral changes
• Wont say who they are talking to
• May find unexplained pictures on computer
• Trouble sleeping
• Stomach and headaches
• Lack of appetite
• Hesitate or resistant to leaving home

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• Crying for no apparent reason
• Lack of interest in events that include other
  students
• Complains of illness before school
• Frequent visits to the school nurse
• Unexplained broken personal possessions, loss of
  personal items
• Telling stories that dont seem to make sense
• Decline in school work

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What Should Be Done When Cyberbullying Is Known
To Be Occurring?

• Conduct a threat assessment
• Save all messages as evidence
• Inform the internet service provider (ISP)
• Inform the local police
• Instruct parents to save any evidence on the home
  computer
• Support the victim

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What A Cyberbullying Victim Should NOT Do ?

• Do not reply to messages from
• cyberbullies
• Do not delete messages from
• cyberbullies
• Do not agree to meet with a
• cyberbully

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HELPFUL SOFTWARE

• EmailTrackerPro allows you to track emails back
  to the IP address of the sender, allows full
  internet traces on demand
• McAfee Parental Controls offers chat filtering
  protection for both instant messaging and chat
  rooms
• Predator Guard contains a database of red flag
  words/phrases, scans all text on computer screen,
  notices threatening text, captures and logs
  violations

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References

• http//cyberbully.org
• http//www.internetsuperheroes.org
• http//www.westchestergov.com/cybernet/main.htm
• http//www.bullyonline.org/related/cyber.htm
• http//www.mcgruff.org/Grownups/cyberbullying.htm
• http//www.cyberbullying.ca
• http//www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/lesson_plans/6
  8_04.asp

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Questions or Comments?