1. National Crime Prevention Council 2011
Cyberbullying
National Crime Prevention Council
2011
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

2. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
What is Cyberbullying?
As participants “What do you think of when I say “cyberbullying.’” Write their responses on a flipchart.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

3. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is using the Internet, cell phones, or other technology to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.
Tell participants that cyberbullying can happen with any type of technology including but not limited to computers, cell phones, tablets (iPad), or gaming systems (Xbox Live, Playstation Network, etc.).
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

4. Examples of Cyberbullying
Starting rumors through instant messaging
Name calling in chat rooms
Forwarding private messages to others
Insults through social media websites
Posting demeaning pictures of someone else
Making fake profiles on websites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
Tell participants that cyberbullying can take many forms as described on the slide.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

5. Cyberbullying Differs From Traditional Bullying
Can be Anonymous
Direct/In person
May occur in child’s
home
Happens on school/community property
May seem inescapable
Can escape at home
May be an extension
of traditional bullying
Tell participants that cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying. The biggest factor is that it’s done via technology. Tell participants that cyberbullying can be completely anonymous. Traditional bullying happens in person and the perpetrator is known.
Tell participants that cyberbullying can actually happen in victims’ homes, on their home computers or phones, often making it feel inescapable. Traditional bullying is done on school yards or community property, offering the home as a safe haven to escape the bullying. Cyberbullying, however, can take place in the child’s home and is often an extension of tradition bullying. The victim may be getting physically bullied in school and cyberbullied at home.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

6. Cyberbullying: The Facts
Things posted online are visible to the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Cruel messages can be sent, forwarded, or viewed by virtually anyone.
Messages can be sent in a split second.
Cyberbullying can be an extension of bullying that youth are experiencing in school.
It can be harsher because people tend to act differently online than in person.
Stress how things posted online are always there. Once they are posted they never truly get deleted and can be viewed by virtually anyone who has access to the Internet.
Also explain that because cyberbullying happens via technology and not in person, it can feel harsher. People tend to act differently online than in person because they can hide behind a computer or cell phone.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

7. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
Facts and Figures
Teens spend an average of 26.8 hours a week online.
72 percent of teens have some type of social networking profile.
60 percent of teens use instant messaging.
91 percent of teens have an address.
Source: Cox Communications 2009
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

8. Facts and Figures (continued)
43 percent of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying victimization is higher among females than males.
36 percent of females report having experienced some form of cyberbullying compared to 33 percent of males.
16 percent of females and 18 percent of males report that they have cyberbullied.
Stress how cyberbullying is an increasing problem. More and more children and teens are dealing with it.
Tell participants that cyberbullying is higher among females than males. Explain that females are more likely to be bullied socially and emotionally and males are more likely to be bullied physically.
Source: NCPC 2007
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

9. Why Do Youth Cyberbully?
81 percent think “it’s funny.”
64 percent say “they simply don’t like the person.”
45 percent “view the victim as a loser.”
58 percent “probably didn’t see the action as a big deal.”
Source: NCPC Teens and Cyberbully Survey, 2007
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

10. Why Prevention Matters
Bullying is not a rite of passage.
Youth who are cyberbullied may lack a safe retreat.
It can be emotionally damaging.
You can empower youth to seek help and not suffer alone.
Stress that cyberbullying prevention is a key step to addressing the issue of cyberbullying. Bullying is not simply a rite of passage for children while growing up. No child deserves to be bullied or cyberbullied.
Explain how youth who are cyberbullied may lack a safe retreat if they are bullied in their own home. It may feel inescapable to them now that the bullying has moved into the privacy of their own home.
This would be a good spot to illustrate the seriousness of cyberbullying by citing national or local news stories.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

11. Why Prevention Matters
Victim service providers report why youth chose not seek help:
61 percent report that youth feel they can handle the situation on their own.
52 percent report youth are concerned about retaliation if they report.
37 percent believe youth are ashamed of the incident.
38 percent believe youth fear getting into trouble because of the incident.
Source: NCPC 2010 Cyberbullying Prevention Research
Share with participants the statistics on the slide on why youth do not seek help or report incidents of cyberbullying. Let them know the source of the statistics is a 2010 NCPC Cyberbullying Prevention Research study that surveyed victim service providers on their feelings toward cyberbullying.
Stress that because youth are not reaching out, it is our job as victim service providers to conduct outreach and implement prevention strategies to encourage victims to speak out and not suffer in silence.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

12. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
Youth Testimonies
“I think I could put up with a certain amount of bullying, but if it got really hurtful, I would speak out.”
“Unless they are threatening your life or the life of someone you know, it shouldn’t matter.”
“I think most kids are reluctant to tell someone because they think it makes them look like a little kid who is ‘tattling.’”
Read these youth testimonies aloud to participants.
Ask participants how they feel about these statements. Lead a discuss about how victim service providers could encourage youth to report.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

13. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
Who Cyberbullies?
Can come from any economic, cultural, or religious background
Lack empathy
Are concerned with their own desires rather than those of others
Find it difficult to see things from someone else’s perspective
Are willing to use others to get what they want
Tell participants that a cyberbully can be anyone. Explain again how cyberbullying is different from traditional bullying in the sense that it can be anonymous and not in person but via technology.
Explain how the victim today could be the bully tomorrow and visa versa.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

14. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
How Does it Feel?
Youth who are cyberbullied report
55 percent feel angry
43 percent feel helpless
42 percent feel scared
36 percent feel vulnerable
23 percent are looking for revenge
Source: NCPC 2010 Cyberbullying Prevention Research
Share with participants the statistics on the slide. Let them know that these statistics come from the NCPC 2010 Cyberbullying Prevention Research. Explain how these statistics are what victim service providers report on how youth feel when they are cyberbullied.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

15. © 2011 National Crime Prevention Council www.ncpc.org
How Do Victims React?
Victims of cyberbullying have
Asked the bully to stop
Blocked the communication
Talked to friends about bullying
Signed offline
Did nothing
Least likely response: talk to parents about the incident
Discuss how youth have come up with a number of ways in which they react and deal with cyberbullying. Explain how the reactions are the slides are the most common reactions (except for the final bullet).
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

16. Is cyberbullying an issue for Watertown High School?
YES! According to our administrators, they deal with issues related to cyberbulling—offensive and/or hurtful comments made through texting and social media—multiple times a day.
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council

17. Small Group Discussion
Question 1: What are some things victim service providers, SROs, or school counselors can do within the school to prevent cyberbullying?
Question 2: What is your school or community doing to address the issue of cyberbullying? What do your parents do? What do you do?
Question 3: What more could be done?
© 2011 National Crime Prevention Council