Help Prevent Cyberbullying
By Janet Hughes, School Social Worker
Cyberbullying involves using information and communication technologies in a mean or hostile way. It is emerging as one of the more challenging issues facing educators and parents as young people use technologies to interact with each other.
Ways young people harass each other are by sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the cell phone, Internet, IM (instant messages), Chat Rooms, blogs, websites, discussion boards and interactive gaming such as x-box live. They may steal a password and pose as that person, sending mean emails or suggestive information to others. They may send inappropriate pictures, or do Internet polling where other students give names of who they think is bad or who is sexually active, or other embarrassing titles. Young people may send hateful or thretening messages to other students that they normally would never do because of the cloak of anonymity.
What can Schools Do?
Schools can educate students to think first before they text. Also, to let students know what is illegal. Parents and Schools need to let children know how hurtful these messages can be. To think twice about forwarding harmful messages. We can teach them not to stand by silently. Not to take matters in their own hands but to come to adults and discuss it. We need to teach our children to cool down before quickly firing off an angry response to someone. And last but not least that serious laws are being broken if they try and pass as someone else, steal a password or harass someone.
What Can Parents Do?
Parents need to let their children know they can come to them to brainstorm what to do. Children need to know you won't overreact and make things worse, such as calling the other parents, blaming the victim, taking away Internet privileges. Take it serious, listen to your child, and come up with a plan. If it continues, talk to your school counselor, and possibly your family counselor or clergy for support. Your actions have to escalate as the threat and hurt to your child does. First make sure your child feels enough support that they are not at risk to hurting themselves or others. If personal contact information has been posted on line, contact your local law enforcement agency. Take print outs of the harassment. It is crucial to make sure any electronic evidence is preserved to allow the person to be traced.
www.wiredsaftety.org will help evaluate and advise you on what to do.
Talk to your children about never texting in anger. Cool down and think about what you write. Let them know it is against the law to post suggestive pictures, or mean threats. Monitor what they are reading and writing. Don't allow them to have a MYspace or Facebook Account without either allowing you in as a friend or having access to their password.
Let them know words can be hurtful and in your family it is not okay to participate in polls on who is not popular or who is sexually active or who is fat etc. Let them know it is mean, and illegal and is not to be tolerated. Teach them not to stand by and allow it to happen bu to let other people know it is rude and not okay.
Acknowledgments: www.stopcyberbullying.org, And Hazelton: Bullying 101
contact info: Hugheja@tcaps.net