Special Project Cyber bullying Issues By: Abby Heim

Cyber Bullying Statistics 42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once. 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once. 21% of kids have received mean or threatening or other messages. 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. 53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once. 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online. Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students grades 4-8

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Video Watch the video called “ Cyber bullying: You can’t take it back”:

Cyber bullying Tips Cyber Bullying Tips Tell a trusted adult about the bullying, and keep telling until the adult takes action. Don’t open or read messages by cyber bullies. Tell your school if it is school related. Schools have a bullying solution in place. Don’t erase the messages—they may be needed to take action. Protect yourself—never agree to meet with the person or with anyone you meet online. If bullied through chat or instant messaging, the “bully” can often be blocked. If you are threatened with harm, inform the local police.

Victims of Cyber bullying In a recent study of students in grades 6-8 (Kowalski et al., 2005): Girls were about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying. Of those students who had been cyber-bullied relatively frequently (at least twice in the last couple of months): –62% said that they had been cyber-bullied by another student at school, and 46% had been cyber-bullied by a friend. –55% didn't know who had cyber-bullied them. Of those students who admitted cyber-bullying others relatively frequently: –60% had cyber-bullied another student at school, and 56% had cyber-bullied a friend.

What Can Educators Do? Educate your students, teachers, and other staff members about cyber-bullying, its dangers, and what to do if someone is cyber- bullied. Be sure that your school’s anti-bullying rules and policies address cyber-bullying. Closely monitor students’ use of computers at school. Use filtering and tracking software on all computers, but don’t rely solely on this software to screen out cyber-bullying and other problematic online behavior.

Educators Continued Investigate reports of cyber-bullying immediately. If cyber-bullying occurs through the school district’s Internet system, you are obligated to take action. If the cyber- bullying occurs off-campus, consider what actions you might take to help address the bullying: – Notify parents of victims and parents of cyber-bullies of known or suspected cyber-bullying. – Notify the police if the known or suspected cyber-bullying involves a threat. – Closely monitor the behavior of the affected students at school for possible bullying. – Talk with all students about the harms caused by cyber-bullying. Remember — cyber-bullying that occurs off-campus can travel like wildfire among your students and can affect how they behave and relate to each other at school. – Investigate to see if the victim(s) of cyber-bullying could use some support from a school counselor or school-based mental health professional.

Contact the police Contact the police immediately if known or suspected cyber-bullying involves acts such as: – Threats of violence – Extortion – Obscene or harassing phone calls or text messages – Harassment, stalking, or hate crimes – Child pornography

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