Understanding Cyberbullying

"We focus so much on our differences, and that is creating, I think, a lot of chaos and negativity and bullying in the world. And I think if everybody focused on what we all have in common - which is - we all want to be happy." -Ellen DeGeneres After a series of serious, and at times disheartening, posts about the realities of cyberbullying, I wanted to end on a hopeful and uplifting note. I stumbled upon a post on the Cyberbullying Research Center's blog titled Flash Mobs and Lip-Dubs to Combat Bullying . The article talked about using the power of student voice to help create a positive and healthy school climate by capitalizing on students' interest in dance and music and on their skills with recording and editing videos. In addition to teaching students how to recognize, address, and prevent cyberbullying, it's equally important to cultivate a positive school climate through enjoyable and fun community-building activities. In reference to the joy that stu...

"Cyber bullies can hide behind a mask of anonymity online, and do not need direct physical access to their victims to do unimaginable harm." -Anna Maria Chavez This morning I read a post on the Cyber Bullying: Hiding Behind the Screen blog that included a list of times when you should report cyberbullying to law enforcement, including threats of violence, posting a picture/video of someone in privacy, stalking, and hate crimes. This post made me wonder about the legal requirements and ramifications surrounding cyberbullying, both as they pertain to schools and administrators as well as to people who engage in acts of cyberbullying. The website Stopbullying.gov lists applicable laws by state, including a detailed list of all Maryland Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies . In Maryland, anti-bullying school policies are required to contain the following elements: Statements prohibiting bullying, harassment, and intimidation in schools Statements prohibiting reprisal or re...

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." -Albert Einstein Now that we've established the severity and scope of cyberbullying, I'm sure many of you are wondering what you can do to prevent and address it. Below are concrete actions steps that parents, teachers, administrators, and students can take to deal with cyberbullying. What parents can do: Become familiar with social networking websites and ask your children if they'll show you their profile pages. Talk with your children about social media issues and make sure they know they can come to you if something is upsetting or inappropriate. Instruct your children not to respond to any cyberbullying threats or comments but not to delete the messages either. Instead, they should be printed out and include the cyberbully's screen name. What teachers can do: Explicitly teach your students what not to do online, such as sprea...

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." -Mark Twain According to The Cyberbullying Research Center, cyberbullying is "when  someone repeatedly and intentionally harasses, mistreats, or makes fun of another person online or while using cell phones or other electronic devices.” Before jumping into ways to prevent and address cyberbullying, I thought it would be useful to share some statistics as a way of providing some context and perspective around the issue. Below are 10 cyberbullying statistics to help you better understand the scope of the issue: 1. 34% of students between the ages of 12 and 17 have been the victims of cyberbullying in their lifetime. (Source: Cyberbullying Research Center ) 2. 12% of students between the ages of 12 and 17 admitted that they had cyberbullied others at some point in their lifetime. (Source: Cyberbullying Research Center ) 3. 80% of students who have been cyberbullied said mean ...

"Unless and until our society recognizes cyberbullying for what it is, the suffering of thousands of silent victims will continue." -Anna Maria Chavez Hi and welcome to my blog. I am currently a second year assistant principal at a private high school in Baltimore, MD. Over the past couple of years, we’ve had several issues that revolved around student misuse of social media, both during school hours and outside of school hours. Our principal and dean of students have been the primary ones to handle these issues, although through conversations with them, I realized I had a need to learn more about social media issues in schools, specifically about cyberbullying. As a new administrator, I want to make sure that I am as knowledgeable as possible about issues that impact our students. For this reason, I’ve started this blog with the goal of deepening my understanding of cyberbullying through research and discussion. I look forward to sharing information and insights wit...