CYBERBULLYING: A New Type of Bullying?

Are cyberbullies the new type of bullies?

According to i-SAFE [1] bullying is no longer about the strong picking on the weak in the schoolyard. With the rapidly growing and easy use of technology, students now have access to instant messaging (text messaging or online), e-mails, chat rooms, and websites such as Facebook and Twitter to humiliate a peer. Statistics have shown that 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mails or other messages but what is more shocking is that 53% of kids have admitted having said something mean or hurtful to another person online and more than 1 in 3 have done it more than once. Cyberbullying can be seen as worse than regular physical and verbal bullying at school. This is because cyber bullying does not end at school, it can stick with the child 24 hours a day. In many cases kids often change roles, going from victim to bully and back again [2]. Cyberbullying is usually not a one time communication incidence, it is usually an ongoing process over time [2]. In some instances this has gotten to the extreme where children have committed suicide [2].

Why kids cyberbully:

• Motivated by anger, revenge or frustration
• Entertainment due to boredom
• Technology is available to them
• For laughs or to get a reaction
• To torment others and ego
• To remind others of their own social standing
• Think they are righting wrongs and standing up for others

Everyone's motive are different, there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to cyberbullying. Motives, nature of cybercommunications, demographic and profile of a cyberbully usually differ from their offline counterpart. Which means that anyone can be a cyberbully because the stereotypes are not there.

How to prevent cyberbullying:

• Educate kids about the consequences (losing their accounts)
• Teaching them to respect others
• Keep personal information private
• Take a stand against bullying of all kinds
• Teach kids to not stand silently while others are being bullied
• Have the parents be the one trusted place kids can go to talk about bullying
• Step away from the computer or cellphone
• Avoid the overuse of social media

STOP! BLOCK! and TELL!

STOP! - Don't do anything. Take 5 minutes to calm down.

BLOCK! - Block the cyberbully or limit all communications to those on your friend list.

TELL! - Tell a trusted adult, you don't have to face this alone.

DON'T BE THE PROBLEM, BE THE SOLUTION!

Information and Help:

• http://www.antibullying.net/
• http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
• http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_cyber_bullying
• http://kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/InfoBooth/Bullying.aspx?gclid=CLOu0vzHvqwCFawaQgodDn5Hnw
• You can call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868

By: Jaime Yen

References:

[1] i-SAFE. (2009). iSAFE The Leader in e-Safety Education. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_cyber_bullying

[2]STOP Cyberbullying. (2011). STOP Cyberbullying. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html