1. Texas School Safety Center Center for Safe Communities & Schools
Cyber Bullying 101
Texas School Safety Center
Center for Safe Communities & Schools

2. Technology Today
“The Internet has transformed the landscape of children’s social lives, moving cliques from lunchrooms and lockers to live chats and online bulletin boards, and intensifying their reach and power.” Source: Education: Cyberbullying stalks students, Rachel Simmons, November 9, 2003

3. 24/7 Playground
“The Internet is becoming the 24/7 playground for bullies looking to humiliate their peers. Cyber bullying is the latest trend in childhood harassment.”
Source:
Teri Schroeder, March 2005

4. What is Cyberbullying?
“Cyberbullying is the use of , instant messaging (IM), chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, or other forms of information technology to deliberately harass, threaten, or intimidate someone.
Cyberbullying is often done by children, who have increasing access to these technologies.”
Source: , March 2005

5. Other methods to cyberbully
Cyberbullies pose as their victim, doing things or saying things online.
They may break into their victim’s friends or even lock the victim out of their own account.

6. With the click of a mouse cyber bullies are…
Sending cruel, vicious, and sometimes threatening s, instant messages, or text messages.
Excluding someone from an instant messenger buddy list or blocking their for no reason.
Tricking someone into revealing personal or embarrassing information and sending it to others.
Taking a picture of a person in the locker room using a digital phone camera and sending that picture to other.

7. With the click of a mouse cyber bullies are…
Breaking into someone’s or instant message account to send cruel or untrue messages while posing as that person.
Creating websites to make fun of another person such as a classmate or teacher.
Using websites to rate peers as prettiest, ugliest, etc.
Source: & March 2005

8. Boys vs. Girls Cyber bullies
Threaten to fight
Threaten to hurt someone
Send message of a sexual nature
Girls
Spread rumors
Make fun of someone
Exclude others
Share secrets

9. Ways to Cyberbully
Blogs: Widely read diaries that publicly detail the social drama of young lives. They are often scoured for personal mention, and they spare no language of feelings.
Chat Rooms: A website or part of a web site where people can hold conversations in real time. In most chat rooms, users communicate with each other by typing messages.
Bulletin Boards
Changing Profiles
Photos Sources: March 2005 & Cyberstalking, Bocij, Paul, 2004

10. America’s Challenge
Cyberbullying is emerging as one of the more challenging issues facing educators and parents as young people embrace the Internet and other mobile communication technologies. Source: , March 2005
Cyberbullying can be a complicated issue especially for adults who are not as familiar with using the Internet, instant messenger, or chat rooms as kids. Source: March 2005

11. Quiz: Instant Messaging Lingo
LOL PAL
BFF S^
DIKU BU↑
BRB B4N
PM CUL
CTN NOYB
IHU URF
PG11 SM

12. Extreme Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can seem more extreme to it’s victims because of several factors including:
Occurs in children’s home. Being bullied at home can take away the place children feel most safe.
Can be harsher. Often kids say things online that they wouldn’t say in person, mainly because they can’t see the other person’s reaction.

13. Extreme Cyberbullying, Cont.
Far reaching. Kids can send s making fun of someone to their entire class or school with a few clicks, or post them on a website for the whole world to see.
Anonymity. Cyberbullies often hide behind screen names and addresses that don’t identify who they are. Not knowing who is responsible for bullying messages can add to a victim’s insecurity.
May seem inescapable. It may seem easy to get away from a cyberbully – just get offline – but for some kids not going online takes away one of the major places they socialize.

14. A World of Electronic Violence
Testimonial from a girl bully…
“It’s great! Over the internet you don’t really see their faces, and they don’t see your face. You don’t even have to look in their eyes and see the hurt!”
Source: Middle School Student, Girl Scout Research, April 2003

15. Let’s Discuss
Many schools decline to discipline “off-campus” behavior, the Internet has become a free-for-all where bullying and cruelty are rampant. What policies does your district have about cyberbullying?

16. Children Online
“About 45 million American kids ages 10 to 17 are estimated on be online, spending hours every day at their computers. With the click of a button, they can rumors to scores of recipients for instant viewing, permanently damaging in a peer’s reputation and social life.”
Source: Education, Cyberbullying stalks students
Rachel Simmons, November 9, 2003

17. Internet Safety Survey
63% of online teens received s from perfect strangers
60% of those ABOVE responded
58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once.
58% did not report the incident(s) to their parents or another adult about someone being mean or hurtful to them online
80% of youth ages receive inappropriate on a daily basis
86% of girls polled, report that they can chat online without their parent’s knowledge
Source: Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1, 500 students grades 4 – 8

18. Effects of Cyberbullying
Victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the same effects as children who are bullied in person such as:
Drop in grades
Low self-esteem
Change in interest
Depression

19. Strategies to protect your children
Learn about the new technologies Now is the time to start surfing the web.
Talk about values
Technology has changed, but kindness and decency should still be top priorities.
Guard passwords
Tell your child not to share passwords and to change passwords frequently.
Talk to your child if you believe he/she is the victim
Make sure your child knows he/she is not to blame for being targeted and should not be embarrassed to report any incidents.

20. Strategies to protect your children
Keep copies and document
Keep documentation, it will strengthen your case if you need to report it to school or other authorities.
Lobby your school
Even if the cyberbullying happens outside of school, the repercussions spill over into the classroom.
Stress the internet’s impact
An sent to one child can be forwarded to hundreds. Encourage your child to think before clicking.

21. QUESTIONS

22. CONTACT INFO
(Toll Free #)