Cyber Bullying-How To Be Safe Presented by: George Street Middle School Beyond the Hurt

Could This Happen in Your Home? O net-safety/Video.do?ident=cyberbullying-0 net-safety/Video.do?ident=cyberbullying-0

What is… O Cyber bullying is when a student is being bullied behind a screen. O This can occur over text messages, on the computer (chat rooms), or any other conversations involving technology that isn’t a face to face conversation. O Even if your child is on webcam it is still considered cyber bullying.

“Sorrow can hide behind a smile.” O Notice actions of your children (changes), Ex: O Locking their doors (bedrooms and bathroom) O They are being more quiet then usual. O Ignoring being social in any way. Wanting to stay home a lot instead of going to malls and other public places. O (Only certain children) Have different eating habits, eating less, stop eating completely or indulging in their food (due to stress).

“Sorrow can hide behind a smile.”-Continued O They complain often of headaches, stomach aches, or other physical problems O They have trouble sleeping or suffer from bad dreams O They want to avoid going to school and seem anxious when you discuss school with them

Time Effects Everything O Here are a few other warning signs: O Their academics start to drop drastically. O They begin to tell you that most of their friends are on-line friends. This tells you that most of their social interaction is on-line, so bullying would be more common in their on-line lives. O They are easily agitated (or secretive and/or argumentative) when you check up on what they are doing on-line. (see skit) O All of these warning signs can lead to very serious consequences including self-injury, depression, extreme anxiety and addictions.

Time to start talking O Know what your child gets into, have all their passwords, usernames and websites that they go on. You’re the parent so take charge and don’t let them say no. O If you’re talking to your child about being cyber bullied and they say that they’re not being bullied, don’t ALWAYS assume this is true. (sometimes you can, but double- check with them)

Safe Websites? O Certain websites aren’t what they seem….. O Omegle (chat rooms) this website has webcams that a lot of users utilize to show inappropriate content. Also, PornHub, Chat roulette, Pen Island and RedTube. O On Facebook there could be people pretending to be who they’re not and hackers are fairly common.

Texting and Bullying O Tell your child that they should not respond to the bullying, but instead should save it to report to a parent. O Consider having a cell phone use contract with your teen that forbids text bullying, including forwarding mean messages, even if someone else starts it. O Encourage your child to think before sending messages, and not to send a message they wouldn't want everyone else to see since they don’t know if the person they send a message to may forward it to others, or if they are even texting the person they think they are. O Help them block numbers that are sending mean text messages. O Tell them not to let anyone else use their phone to send messages. O If the teen knows who the bully is, let the bully’s parents know what they are doing.

Statistics of GSMS O 400 students were surveyed on cyber bullying: O 90% say that their parents don’t know of everything they do on-line. O 14% say their parents don’t know ANYTHING AT ALL about what they do on-line. O 88% say bullying is very common or somewhat common on-line. O Only 8% tell their parents of every bullying incident on-line.

If This Can Happen At a School, Imagine What Could Happen On-Line O 6GqY&feature=related 6GqY&feature=related The internet is often anonymous, impersonal and apathetic. No wonder some people don’t want to get involved in reporting on- line bullying. This needs to change and we hope that this presentation has at least allowed us to take one step in the right direction.

Thank You Parents O Any Questions? O None of this means that your child can’t protect themselves or be cautious on the internet. Remember…