Cyber Bullying can be worse than kicking a kid on the playground...
Glenn Stutzky, from Michigan State University defines cyber bullying as “the use of modern communication technologies to embarrass, humiliate, threaten, or intimidate an individual in the attempt to gain power and control over them” (2006). Bullying on the playground has always been a concern for teachers; however, cyber bullying is quickly becoming one of the greatest concerns for student safety, simply because computer and cell phone access and use are so prevalent in the classroom. Cyber bullying has become a major concern and is impacting on children to such an extent that child suicide is a serious factor.
In the 2010-2011 school year, Chignecto Central Regional School Board in Nova Scotia suffered the loss of two students to suicide. Cyber bullying has been put at the top of the list as one of the contributing factors of these suicides. With the increased use of computers in classrooms and at home, it is becoming difficult for teachers to monitor this form of bullying. Threatening and degrading messages, students being scared to walk to school because someone threatened them on Facebook, both girls and boys with self-esteem issues because they are constantly insulted on their computer screens are only a few examples of what children have to deal with while using their computers and cell phones.
Academic research on this current trend is lacking at best. A search for the term cyber bullying or cyberbullying in the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), a major education research database, only retrieved 18 articles related to cyber bullying. The general population on the other hand has started talking about cyber bullying at great lengths. A Google search revealed 7,240,000 results and 9,180 on YouTube alone. Amongst the messages of condolence for families who have lost children to suicide, videos created by students to stop cyber bullying, and other support sites, there lurks a nastier side. Comments posted under YouTube videos about stopping cyber bullying still show that there are some very unsympathetic people out there who just do not understand the harassing, detrimental effects of cyber bullying. Comments such as “just delete it,” “man-up, ignore it,” “get a life” and “committing suicide because of cyber bullying is just stupid” are actually examples of cyber bullying themselves. It is becoming more difficult for our children to believe in the old adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me” because now the name calling is in black and white and they can't get away from it as long as they are using communication devices.
If we are to put a stop to cyber bullying, we all need to work together. Parents need to work with their children at home to monitor and teach their children appropriate use of the Internet and to report when it is inappropriate. Teachers need to monitor computer use at school and administrators and policy makers need to create and enforce guidelines and consequences for Internet use and cyber bullying. There are hundreds of good resources out there, buried among the more than 7 million Google hits, to help people cope and deal with cyber bullying. It is hoped that this web site will act as a resource for teachers, parents and students for suggestions and resources to deal with and help stop cyber bullying.
Please click on the category links above. No more children should die because of this terrible harassment.
References
Stutzky, G. R., (2006). Cyber Bullying Information. Retrieved from: http://www.ippsr.msu.edu/Documents/Forums/2006_Mar_CYBER_BULLYING_INFORMATION_2006%20--%20Provided%20by%20Mr.%20Glenn%20Stutzky.pdf