By: Steve Jackson and Patrick Lovette Cyber bullying By: Steve Jackson and Patrick Lovette

Definition "Cyber bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.“ – Bill Belsey http://www.cyberbullying.org/

Origins Cyber bullying started becoming very prominent with Mark Zuckerberg’s creation of facebook The widespread popularity of social networking sites contributed to the rise of cyber bullying More cases of cyber bullying started to pop up with the rise of YouTube

Texting The rising popularity of text messaging has also helped contribute to the rise of cyber bullying. Teens use text messages as ways to attack a person or even ways to spread rumors about other teens. Text messages are also used to spread pictures that could be considered forms of cyber bullying

Instant Messenger Another popular way of cyber bullying is by instant messenger Yahoo, AIM, and Msn Messengers are all used to bully

Facebook/MySpace Facebook and MySpace are also popular ways to cyber bully. These social networking sites allow users to post messages. Users sometimes post hateful or menacing comments

Facebook/MySpace Users can post many things on Facebook that can be considered cyber bullying. They can post pictures, write hateful messages to people, or make there statuses about certain people. All of these can be considered forms of cyber bullying

Effects of Cyber bullying Depression Alcoholism Drug Addiction Weight Gain/ Weight Loss Social Issues Fear of exclusion Suicidal thoughts Avoiding friends and activities

Depression A state of low mood and aversion to activity. The victims of cyber bullying start to get depressed just like victims of regular bullying Usually depression leads to worse problems for the victim

Alcoholism Any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences. This is a way of coping for most victims of cyber bullying. Alcohol abuse usually leads to harder substances such as drugs.

Drug Addiction Another form of coping for the victims. The victims usually see drugs as a way out of there problems brought on by cyber bullying They do not realize that doing drugs will lead them to even more problems

Weight Gain/Weight Loss Some victims of cyber bullying see eating as a way out of their problems. Other victims see not eating as a way to cope with their problems. This is also a side effect of depression. These two problems usually lead to even more bullying either in the form of cyber bullying or just regular bullying

Suicidal Thoughts Some cyber bullying victims get so upset by the bullying that they consider suicide. Megan Meier was a victim of cyber bullying in 2006. She committed suicide due to being bullied on MySpace by a friend. This is one of the most well known cases of cyber bullying and has caused a rise in awareness of the effects of cyber bullying.

Megan Meier Megan Meier was a regular 13 year old girl until she started getting bullied by a mother of a former friend on MySpace. The mother of her friend made up a fake profile for a 16 year old boy. The woman’s name is Lori Drew Lori then spent time sending Megan messages posing as this boy Megan soon developed an attraction to this boy

Megan Meier Lori was using the emails Megan sent to collect information to later use against Megan in an attempt to humiliate her. Lori thought that Megan was spreading rumors around school about her daughter. On the day of Megan’s death she received messages from Lori (posing as the boy) that told her she was an awful person and the world would be a better place without her.

Megan Meier Soon after this last message was sent Megan’s body was found hanging in her closet. She killed herself because of cyber bullying and the effects it had on her Due to Megan’s death there has been a movement to stop cyber bullying and many states have either looked into or passed laws against bullying. http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/

Megan’s Law The Missouri State Legislature recently passed a law stating. “The law makes it a felony for someone 21 years or older to communicate with someone 17 years or younger by phone or electronic means in order to recklessly frighten, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to that person.” This law was passed to protect children in hopes that cases like Megan Meier will not become more frequent

Ryan Halligan Ryan was a 13 year old boy who committed suicide after being the victim of cyber bullying for a long time Ryan was being bullied via instant messenger as well as at school These students picked on Ryan due to his learning disorder. Ryan then enrolled in a Taebo class to learn how to deal with the bullies.

Ryan Halligan Ryan fought one of his bullies later on and the bullying then stopped at school. The bullies then befriended him on the internet and acted like his friends. They then used information he told them online to start a rumor that he was gay. Due to this rumor a girl he liked decided to make fun of him and pick on him even more.

Ryan Halligan Ryan was later found hanging in the family bathroom. The family later discovered how much he had been bullied online and are now involved in the fight to cut down on cyber bullying. Due to Ryan’s death the Vermont Legislature enacted a Bully Prevention Policy. Ryan’s father was one of the lead policymakers on this act and he is now involved in the anti bullying movement. www.ryanpatrickhannigan.com

Ways to stop cyber bullying Monitor children’s online activities. Limit the amount of time that a child can spend online. Teach the children to never give out personal information to anyone online Limit the use of social networking sites.

Ways to stop cyber bullying Discuss rules of the internet with children and let them know what is acceptable and unacceptable Do not allow kids to have instant messenger services until a certain age. Sit down and talk to kids and find out about there online activities.

Statistics According to an ABC News poll taken in 2006 42% of children have been bullied online at some time 25% have had this happen more than once 35% have been threatened with physical harm while online Almost 20% have had this happen more than once 21% have received mean and threatening emails 58% have said that they have been told something mean or hurtful while online

Statistics More than 40% say that they have been told mean or hurtful things online more than once 58% of kids being bullied have not told their parents about these threats In a 2006 Harris Interactive survey 43% of teens admitted to being bullied while online A Canadian study performed in 2006 found that 23% of middle school students have been bullied via email

Statistics 35% have been bullied while in chat rooms 41% via text messages 41% did not know the identity of the bullies Isafe.org

Cyber bullying among adults In recent years cyber bullying has become more prominent among adults It is often referred to as cyber stalking with adults but is still considered bullying It is becoming common in the workplace

Cyber bullying among adults In a recent study 1 out of 10 United Kingdom employees believe that cyber bullying is a problem in the workplace. Some workplaces have now started to hold seminars discussing cyber bullying and are enacting policies to prevent it. The bullies use posts, journals, and other online means to pick on their co-workers. They pick on them based on salary, job security, and other reasons

References Alabama Virtual Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2009. <http://www.avl.lib.al.us/>. Www.cyberbullying.org -conceived of, and created by Bill Belsey, creator and facilitator of www.bullying.org. Web. 5 Nov. 2009. <http://www.cyberbullying.org/>. Halligan, John. Ryan's Story Presentation, LLC. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.com/>. STOP cyber bullying: Cyber bullying - what it is, how it works and how to understand and deal with cyberbullies. Web. 5 Nov. 2009. <http://stopcyberbullying.com>.

References Surdin, Ashley. "In Several States, A Push to Stem Cyber-Bullying." Student research center. Alabama Virtual Library, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.avl.lib.al.us/databases/public.html>. "Megan Taylor Meier - The Story." The Megan Meier Foundation - Preventing Bullying and Cyber-Bullying. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/story/>. I-SAFE Inc. Web. 5 Nov. 2009. <http://isafe.org>.