Bullying & Cyberbullying ◦What is it? ◦Examples ◦Impact and support for students ◦Bystander effect ◦Prevention

Bullying “Bullying is the intention to repeatedly harm someone over time. It occurs in a relationship where an imbalance of power exists. It includes unwelcome physical contact, verbal and /or emotional abuse with the intent to harm, embarrass, or demean another person.”

Examples of Bullying Physical Acts -Unwanted touching, hitting, tripping, making someone drop books, stealing or damaging items Verbal Abuse -Teasing -Name-calling, put-downs -Harmful gossip, threats Emotional Abuse -Intimidation -Humiliation -Exclusion or Social Isolation Cyber -Texting, internet, facebook, twitter, instagram, blogs

Helping By Students: Report all instances of bullying to your parent, teacher, and/or administrator Walk away and refrain from fighting Walk with a group of students Don’t confront the bully head-on Don’t carry a weapon Ask for help from adults to learn how to improve social skills

Cyberbullying “An aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself.” Smith et al., 2008

Examples of Cyberbullying Repeatedly sending offensive, rude and insulting messages Distributing or posting derogatory information about another Posting or sending digitally altering photos Impersonating another and sending offensive messages Tricking someone into revealing embarrassing information and forwarding to others Teasing Spreading rumors Defamation

Bullying Bullying A bully says something nasty and its only heard when he/she says it. The bully makes him/herself known to the victim. The primary bully is usually physically stronger. Bullies are usually limited to attacking at certain hours of the day. Often bullies attack face-to- face. In most physical bullying attacks, there are relatively few witnesses. Cyberbullying A cyberbully can say something damaging online and it may be accessed practically forever. Often times the bully can be anonymous. Physical stature of the bully is not relevant. Cyberbullying can be done 24/7. Cyberbullying is never face- to-face. Witnesses of cyberbullying can be within the school, country or even world-wide.

Reasons for Cyberbuylling Retaliation Entertainment Gain social status Assertion Jealousy Boredom Peer pressure Anonymity

Other Ways of Helping By Bystanders: Choose not to be a part of the problem Help the target get away or distract them Comfort the victim of cyberbullying/sexting Don’t contribute to a blog or web poll that attacks a target Don’t forward or copy and paste harmful, hurtful or derogatory s, text messages or pictures to another site. Save, copy and print out examples of cyberbullying and give them to the target so he/she can be aware of what is happening and report to an adult. Tell a caring adult you trust who will keep your identity

Helping By Parents: Stress respect in your home by modeling positive regard for everyone Teach & model appropriate interpersonal skills Teach your child to seek help from a trusted adult Explain bullying and why it is wrong Hold regular family meetings for discussion of issues Talk to your child Listen, Listen, and Listen to your child Discuss and role play positive strategies to use Encourage your child to stay with a group Record details-who, when, where, and what happened Request a conference with the teacher, counselor, & principal Monitor your child’s friends