It’s Everyone’s Responsibility

Bullying Eyed in NJ Teen's Apparent Suicide: Sources NBC New York, March 31, 2012

 Over one half of adolescents and teen report being bullied online.  Over one half of teens and adolescents have engaged in cyber bullying.

Cyberbullying Continued After Teen's Death CBS News, March 29, 2010

 Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.  1 in 3 adolescents and teens have received cyber threats.

Teen Commits Suicide Due to Bullying: Parents Sue School for Son's Death ABC News, April 2, 2009

Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs.

What is Cyberbullying?  Cyberbullying is using the internet or other technologies to deliberately target people and cause them harm.  Cyberbullying can happen 24/7. It does not stop when the school day ends.  Cyberbullying takes many forms.

Forms of Cyberbullying  Hateful messages  Bashing Websites  Threats  Hacking  Password Theft  Trickery  Harassment

Hateful messages Instant messaging, cell phone texts, social networking sites are all outlets for harmful messages or threats such as:  I hate you!  No body likes you!  You’re ugly!  You should die!

Bashing Websites Sadly, there are websites that allow people to post comments, photos, or videos of people for the purpose of bashing them. People can “vote” on others solely for embarrassment or harassment.  Who is the ugliest boy at SoSo School?  Is Susie J. Gay?  People who should drop off the planet:

Death threats Sometimes called cyber-threats or cyber stalking, these forms of bullying inspire genuine fear in victims or encourage them to harm or kill themselves.  I know where you live and I’m going to kill you when I get you.  Why don’t you just kill yourself? No one cares anyway!

Hacking Teens have had their accounts hacked which allows the hacker to post inaccurate information, send fake messages, spread rumors, bully someone else or send out computer viruses. This is common on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace and online gaming sites.

Password theft Passwords can be stolen or guessed which can allow a bully to lock victims out of their own accounts. It also allows them to harass others using someone else’s identity. This is also common on social networking sites.

Trickery Clever bullies have been known to impersonate someone or create a fake account to chat with someone in order to gain information about them. They then use the personal information or private thoughts to “out” someone.

Harassment Bullies will harass their victims by spreading false rumors, posting pictures, posting gossip, or excluding them from groups The intent is to destroy the victims friendships and/or relationships. Girls have sent provocative or nude photos of themselves to boyfriends who later repost these images or send them to others.

The Data  Pervasive use of technology by adolescents and teens makes cyberbullying easy.  Cell phones, texts, and instant messaging are the most common media for cyberbullying.

 Girls are more likely to be victims of Cyberbullying than boys.  Girls are more likely to cyberbully than boys.  Girls spread rumors more frequently than boys.

Victims don’t tell  Big problem with cyberbullying is that victims do not tell others what is going on.  Victims feel afraid to tell or that the problems will escalate if they do.  Tormentor can often be faceless. Anonymity of the internet can leave victim unsure of who is doing the tormenting.

Schools’ Responsibility Senate Bill 250 (Georgia) includes definitions on bullying and harassment, cyberbullying, and requires the Georgia Department of Education to develop a model policy which prohibits bullying, requires reporting of incidents and procedures for investigating incidents, an age-appropriate range of consequences, procedures for providing information on a bullying activity, prohibition for retaliation, and immunity from liability for those acting in good faith.

 The bill also includes in its description of bullying acts that occur by use of data or software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, computer network or other electronic technology.  Local school boards are required to adopt policies for grades 6-12 that prohibit bullying of a student by another student and include them in the student code of conduct.

Federal Law  18 USC § 875 – INTERSTATE COMMUNICATIONS This is the United States penal code that makes threatening someone via the internet a criminal act. Persons found guilty of threatening someone can be fined or imprisoned for up to two years.

Problems for Schools  Schools must be careful when taking measures to stop cyberbullying. Parents have files law suits against school systems for exceeding their legal rights to punish students for cyberbullying that takes place off of school property.  Parents of cyberbullying victims have sued schools for failure to protect their child.

Library Media Specialists’ Role  Monitor computer use in your school library.  Post signs and/or banners about cyberbully laws.  Develop online internet safety courses  Educate parents of the dangers of cyberbullying and unmonitored Internet use.  Develop tolerance lessons and include resources in collection

Where to find help  A Thin Line  Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use  Cyberbullying Research Center  Olweus Bullying Prevention Program public/index.page public/index.page

 Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center  Stay Safe Online (National Cyber Security Alliance)  Wired Safety

References  18 USC § Interstate communications. (2012, current as of Feb. 12). Legal Information Institute.  Anderson, T., & Sturm, B. (2007). Cyberbullying: from playground to computer. Young Adult Library Services, 5(2),  Bullying Eyed in NJ Teen's Apparent Suicide: Sources (2012, March 31). NBC New York. Baldwin-Morristown-NJ-Death-Investigation htmlhttp:// Baldwin-Morristown-NJ-Death-Investigation html  Cyber-bullying Continued After Teen's Death. (2010, March 29). CBS News.  Cyberbullying Research Center

 James, S. (2009, April 2). Teen Commits Suicide Due to Bullying: Parents Sue School for Son's Death.  State Laws and Info: Georgia. Violence Prevention Network  What is it? Stop Cyberbullying.  Whelan, D. (2011). The bully in the backpack: there’s no limit to the cruelty of online bullies. Here’s what you can do. School Library Journal, 57(10),  l18 USC § Interstate communications. (2012, current as of Feb. 12). Legal Information Institute.