Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is defined as the posting of frightening, harassing, humiliating text or images on the internet, cell phones or other digital devices. Cyberbullying includes harassment, denigration, impersonation, trickery, and cyberstalking. Cyberbullying differs from schoolyard bullying. Teachers can't intervene on the Internet. Cyberbullies don’t witness their victims' reactions, the way they might if they insulted others to their faces. This may make it easier for them to continue. It’s estimated that one in five kids, ages 11-19, has been electronically bullied in some fashion. This is what can happen to a pre-or early teen.

• Someone takes a dorky or compromising picture of a child on their cell phone and it gets sent around to everyone.
• Mean or threatening or humiliating e-mail or cell phone text messages are anonymously sent and distributed to everyone.
• “Text wars” are waged on a victim, inundating him/her with cruel messages and a horrific cell phone bill.
• Confidential, revealing, embarrassing e-mails are sent all around.
  
• A fake, horrible e-mail is sent by an impersonator under your child’s name to others.
  

Schoolyard bullying is bad, but cyberbullying is more pernicious. The bully is often anonymous and untouchable. The humiliation can occur 24/7 without relief. Everyone in the child’s world is a witness to the humiliation, and adults are generally unaware and unhelpful about this form of harassment.

Prevention of Cyberbullying
Here is what the experts suggest you teach your kids as an ounce of prevention:

• Use generic and anonymous user names and on-line profiles.
• Don’t put your picture online.
• Be careful to whom you send pictures and emails
• Be careful how personally revealing you are when using the internet or cell phone (THINKB4UCLICK)
• Google yourself. See what’s out there before it blindsides you.
• Remember your family values of kindness and respect. Don’t be hoodwinked into joining up with bullies.
• If you are being victimized, get offline, ignore the messages, save the evidence and report it to your parents, school, internet provider, and/or the cell phone company.
• To keep others from using their email and Internet accounts, kids should never share Internet passwords with anyone other than parents.
• If children are harassed or bullied through instant messaging, help them use the “block” or “ban” feature to prevent the bully from contacting them.
• If a child keeps getting harassing emails, delete that email account and set up a new one. Remind your child to give the new email address only to family and a few trusted friends.

Cyberbullying Resources

Websites

www.cyberbullying.org
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
NetSmartz411: Internet Safety Help Desk
Bully OnLine
www.stopbullynow.com
www.safeteens.com
www.childrenonline.org
www.bullyingspeakup.com
www.glsen.org/bullying
www.adl.org/combatbullying
www.wiredsafety.org
www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject
www.pacer.org/bullying

Books and Readings

“Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress” by Nancy E. Willard, M.S., J.D.

“Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens” by Nancy E. Willard, M.S., J.D.
As our children and teens race down the onramp to the information Superhighway, many parents feel left behind in the dust. News stories about online sexual predators, child pornography, cyberbullies, hate groups, gaming addiction, and other dangers that lurk in the online world make us feel increasingly concerned about what our children are doing (and with whom) in cyberspace.

In Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens, internet safety expert Nancy Willard provides you with the need-to-know information about those online dangers and gives you the practical parenting strategies necessary to help children and teens learn to use the internet safely and responsibly.