A Staff Development created by Martha Littles CYBER KIDS, CYBER BULLYING, AND CYBER BALANCE BY BARBARA TROLLEY AND CONSTANCE HANEL Image: corwin.com

 Being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful or embarrassing material using technological means CYBERBULLYING - DEFINITION Image: cnn.com

 Blogs   IM  Chat rooms  Smart phones  Personal web sites CYBERBULLIES’ TECHNOLOGY

 Exponentially more far reaching and cruel  Empathy is removed  Often occurs off school property  Permanence, impulsivity, and anonymity  “A sense of invisibility, coupled with inexperience, sets the stage for tragedy.” HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM “TRADITIONAL” BULLYING

STATISTICS

Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students nationwide

 Vengeful angel  Righting wrongs  Protecting themselves and others CYBERBULLY CATEGORIES Image: glogster.com

 Power-hungry  Want a reaction  Control others with fear  Revenge of the nerds – getting back online when they can’t do so face-to-face CYBERBULLY CATEGORIES Image: etcjournal.com

 Mean girls  Bored  Ego based  Often group based  Cannot work in isolation CYBERBULLY CATEGORIES Image: examiner.com

 Entitled  Put down those to whom they feel superior  Feel they have the right to harass and demean others who they deem different or inferior CYBERBULLY CATEGORIES Image: babble.com

 Inadvertent Bully  Does not realize it’s wrong or harmful  Role-playing CYBERBULLY CATEGORIES

 Flaming  Online fights using messages with angry and vulgar language TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING Image: whatknows.com

 Harassment  Repeatedly sending offensive, rude, or insulting messages TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING

 Denigration  “dissing” someone online  Sending or posting cruel gossip, rumors, or pictures about a person to damage his or her relationship or friendships TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING Image: standard.co.uk

 Impersonation  Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material online that makes a person look bad, gets that person in trouble or danger, or damages that person’s reputation or friendships TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING Image: sfgate.com

 Outing and Trickery  Sharing someone’s secrets or embarrassing information online  Tricking them into doing the same TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING

 Exclusion  Intentionally excluding someone from online groups or “buddy” lists TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING Image: successforkidswithearingloss.com

 Problem Bystanders  encourage or support the bullying or do nothing to help  Solution Bystanders  speak up against bullying, provide support to victims, tell adults BYSTANDERS

 DO NOT turn incidents back to the families  Families and schools must work together in a cooperative approach  DO NOT react with zero-tolerance policies  Assess each situation individually and carefully HOW TO RESPOND

 Internet safety education at home  Stay up to date on technology  Foster communication and trust with children  Limit and monitor computer, phone, and other device usage  Work with the school as a partner to solve problems  Mediate between children and the school when necessary PARENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

 Clear guidelines and policies  Educate parents, teachers, and staff  React individually to each incident and look to support all parties concerned SCHOOLS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

 Do not rush to judgment  often the party reporting the incident or providing documentation is deemed the victim when it is often a circular event  Impersonation must be considered  Collect as much data as possible  Determine any potential threat or harm  Suicide  Homicide ASSESSING AN ALLEGATION

 Interventions must occur at all levels  Individual  Classroom  School  Family  Community  Character education  create a caring school environment  Move beyond isolated disciplinary responses which are often determined beforehand with no thought to the individual situation with no comprehensive assessment HOLISTIC APPROACH

 Psychological, Educational, and Social Response  Directed to meet the needs of all the parties affected by cyberbullying  Two main components  Assessment  Therapeutic response  Proactive rather than reactive PEAS PROGRAM

 Address the issues of the cyberbully  needs that the bullying satisfied  work through emotional conflicts  Mediation  Develop healthy, adaptive skills with all involved  CYBER BULLIES NEED HELP, NOT BANISHMENT “P” - PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE

 Provide education about cyberbullying and its consequences  Parents  Teachers  Staff  Community members “E” - EDUCATIONAL RESPONSE

 Teach conflict resolution  Teach social competence and social skills  Provide access to moral and supportive role models  Provide constructive outlets for free time AND “S” - SOCIAL RESPONSE

 Model nettiquette  Keep lines of communication open  Teach youth to respect technology  Provide clear, definable technology boundaries at home and at school  Working on impulse and thinking later is not an option when every action is documented. AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION…

 Teach students to Stop, Save, and Share when confronted with something unfamiliar or upsetting  Stop what you are doing. Do not react. Do not be impulsive.  Save what you’re working on. Do not delete.  Share the information with a trusted adult. STOP, SAVE, AND SHARE

Trolley, B. C., & Hanel, C. (2010). Cyber Kids, Cyber Bullying, Cyber Balance. Thousand Oaks: Corwin. BIBLIOGRAPHY