Cyber Bullying Presented by Detective Toth A Guide For Parents, Students and Teachers Tonawanda Middle School

Cyber Bullying Defined When one minor is tormented, harassed, threatened, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise made uncomfortable by another minor using the Internet or other form of digital communication Once an adult engages in this behavior against a child or another adult – it is cyber harassment or stalking

More Info… 42% of teens polled reported saying mean things to others in the last month Of those kids who are bullied either on line or face to face, 58% of them NEVER report it to their parents! If you are bullied, you MUST tell someone – The FIRST time it happens!

More Information… Who get’s bullied more boys or girls? Right! More girls reported being cyber bullied than boys. 21% of girls reported being bullied, while 10% of boys reported being bullied…

Methods of Cyber Bullying Cyber Bullying is not limited to the Internet It can occur through ANY means of digital communication that kids use These methods may include…

Digital Methods of Bullying Text Messages on Cell Phones Any Instant Messenger Software MySpace Pages Blogs Wiki’s Personal Web Sites

Cell Phone Bullying This can be done by either one person or a group of people who send many text messages at once to another single person Kids can be bombarded with hundreds of unwanted messages at one time Bullying no longer stops when kids go home from school

The “Good” News… When bullying is verbal, the record of what is said usually ends up being a he said/she said situation With cyber bullying, there is usually a written record of who, what, and when the bullying takes place Victims can now have written proof of the actions

What Should You Do If You Are Being Bullied? First and most important - Tell someone! You can contact your guidance counselor, teacher, friend, parents…it doesn’t matter WHO – just tell someone! Keep a record of your s, instant messages, texts, etc. This will give you proof!

Solutions Continued… You can also – –Ignore the bully (many times if you don’t give a reaction, they will stop) –Ask the bully to stop, tell them that you are saving a record of what they are doing –Your school has procedures in place to deal with this behavior! Tell someone what is going on and get the problem resolved.