What is Cyber-Bullying?

Dan Olweus, a researcher involved in intervention work in the area of bully/victim problems among school children and youth for approximately 30 years, has defined bullying as someone who “is exposed repeatedly and over time to negative actions on the part of one or more other students" (Olweus, 1993, 9). Other researchers believe that there must be a power differential between bully and victim, either real or perceived, (Coloroso, 2002), and that bullying involves an intention to hurt the victim (Pepler, 1997). Since the end of the 20th century a new world of social communication has emerged. People are not only using the post office and telephones to communicate with each other but e-mail, web sites, chat rooms, instant messaging and text messaging. While most of these interactions are positive, children are increasingly using these communication tools to torment, threaten, harass, humiliate, embarrass or otherwise target others. This is what has become known as cyber-bullying.


Be Web Aware: Challenging Cyber Bullying. (2008) Retrieved October 12, 2008 from
http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/CyberBullying.aspx

Coloroso, Barbara. The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Pre-school to High School: How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2002.

Cyberbullying: About Cyberbullying. (2005) Retrieved October 11, 2008 from http://www.slais.ubc.ca/COURSES/libr500/04-05-wt2/www/D_Jackson/what.htm

Olweus, Dan. Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1993.

Pepler, Debra J. et al. Prevalence of Bullying and Victimization among Canadian Elementary and Middle School Children. (1997). Available from ERIC, http://eric.ed.gov 427834.

Cyber-Bullying and the Canadian Law

People should be aware that some forms of cyber-bullying are considered criminal acts. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is a crime to write something that is intended to offend a person or likely to harm a person's reputation by exposing him or her to hatred, contempt or ridicule. This is referred to as publishing a "defamatory libel". It is also a crime to communicate continually with someone if your contact causes them to fear for their own safety or the safety of others. A cyber-bully may also be violating the Canadian Human Rights Act, if he or she spreads hate or discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or disability.

Be Web Aware: Challenging Cyber Bullying. (2008) Retrieved October 12, 2008 from
http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/CyberBullying.aspx

Examples of Cyber-Bullying

With all the new technology in place, cyber-bullying can come in many different forms. Listed below are some of the most common.

E-Mail: Cyber-bullies can send unsuitable content to others including degrading pictures, or videos of other teens. Harassing and/or threatening messages can also be sent. Accessing someone else’s account to forward personal emails or delete emails is another way email can be used. Cyber-bullies will often use their victim’s email address and sign up for e-mailing and instant messaging marketing lists, particularly to porn sites.

Instant Messaging (IM) / Texting: With instant messaging and texting through cell phones, cyber-bullies can send harassing, threatening, and hateful messages to their targets. Text attacks can happen which is when kids gang up on the victim, sending numerous amounts of text-messages to the victims’ cell phone or other mobile devices. A child can create a screen name similar to his/her victims’ which can then be used to say inappropriate things to other users while posing as the victim. Videos and images can now also be sent to others with instant messaging and cell phones.

Web sites: Cyber-bullies sometimes create web sites that insult, mock or endanger another child. Posting other children's personal information and pictures is one way to put a child at risk.

Blogs: Blogs are online journals. Children sometimes use blogs to damage other kids' reputations or invade their privacy. Sometimes children set up a blog or profile page pretending to be their victim and post things designed to humiliate them.

Internet Polling/Voting: Some web sites offer users the opportunity to create online polling/voting booths. Questions such as who is the ugliest, fattest, dumbest at ***** school are found too often on the Internet and are yet another way that children can "bully" other children online.


STOP cyberbullying: Direct attacks. Retrieved October 11, 2008 from http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/how_it_works/direct_attacks.html

www.cyberbullying.ca: Examples. (2007) Retrieved October 11, 2008 from http://www.cyberbullying.ca/

Prevention (What Can Children Do?)

There are many things that can be done to prevent and/or stop cyber-bullying.

• Protect your personal information. Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or personal web sites.
• Never give out your passwords to anyone except your parents and that includes friends.
• If someone sends a cruel or threatening message, do not respond. For a bully, a reaction signifies victory.
• "Save any harassing messages and forward them to your Internet Service. Most service providers have appropriate use policies that restrict users from harassing others over the Internet" (Be Web Aware).
• "Tell an adult you trust [like] a teacher, parent, older sibling or grandparent" (Be Web Aware).
• If the bullying includes physical threats, tell the police.
• "Take a stand against cyber-bullying with your peers. Speak out whenever you see someone being mean to another person online. Most [children] respond better to criticism from their peers than to disapproval from adults" (Be Web Aware).

Be Web Aware: Challenging Cyber Bullying. (2008) Retrieved October 12, 2008 from
http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/CyberBullying.aspx

Prevention (What Can Parents Do?)

As a parent/guardian it is your job to keep your children safe. Below are some steps that you can use in order to prevent and/or put a stop to cyber-bulling affecting your child.

• "Talk to your [children] about responsible Internet use" (Be Web Aware).
• "Learn everything you can about the Internet and what your [children] are doing online. Talk to them about the places they go online and the activities they are involved in" (Be Web Aware).
• Be aware of what your children are posting on Web sites, including personal home pages.
  
• Discuss cyber-bullying with your children and ask if they have ever experienced it or seen it happen to someone.
  
• "Encourage your [children] to come to you if anybody says or does something online that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened" (Be Web Aware). Make sure to stay calm and keep the lines of communication and trust open and most importantly be supportive during this time.
  
• "Watch out for signs that your child is being bullied online" (Be Web Aware). An indication may be an unwillingness to use the computer or go to school.
  
• If your child is being bullied online, do something.
  
  • "If the bully is a student at your child's school, meet with school officials and ask for help in resolving the situation" (Be Web Aware).
  • "Report incident[s] of online harassment and physical threats to your local police and your Internet Service Provider (ISP)" (Be Web Aware).
  • "If your child is bullied through a cell phone, report the problem to your phone service provider" (Be Web Aware). If it is a repeated problem, the phone number should be changed.

Be Web Aware: Challenging Cyber Bullying. (2008) Retrieved October 12, 2008 from
http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/CyberBullying.aspx

STOP cyberbullying: What's the Parents Role in This? (2008) Retrieved October 11, 2008 from
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/prevention/parents_role.html

Prevention (What Can Educators Do?)

Even though the actual time of the cyber-bullying may not occur during school hours; educators can still help the situation. Education is the key to prevention of cyber-bullying. Educators need to teach students, parents and even colleagues about the seriousness of cyber-bullying. Below is a list of ways educators can help.

• Update the school parent handbook.
• Add a section about cyber-bullying to the school website.
• Update and enforce the school board computer use policy to prohibit using the Internet for bullying.
• Write an article about cyber-bullying in the school newsletter.
• Address the issue of cyber-bullying at school council meetings.
• Integrate curriculum based anti-bullying programs into classrooms.
• Make sure parents know who to contact at the school if a problem occurs.
• Encourage students and parents to report and intervene if cyber-bullying occurs.

*SAMPLE LETTER
The following sample letter was found "Cyberbullying", a book written by Robin M. Kowalski, Ph. D., Susan P. Limber, Ph. D., and Patricia W. Agatston, Ph. D.



*Kowalski, Ph.D., Robin M. et al. Cyber Bullying. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2008.

Simcoe County District School Board: Cyber Bullying. (2007) Retrieved October 14, 2008 from
http://www.scdsb.on.ca/parents-corner/safe-schools/cyber-bullying/

In the End

Cyber-bullying is a term more and more people are hearing. For those that are experiencing it first hand, the term and the memories it leaves will last a lifetime. Cyber-bullying is very similar to the traditional form of bullying that we are all aware of, except that the offender uses e-mail, instant messaging, web sites and many other forms of technology to bully their victim. It has been said that kids can be cruel, but “kids with technology can be cruel on a world-wide scale.” (Sullivan, 2006). Parents, educators and children need to learn everything there is available about cyber-bullying, including how to prevent it and how to put a stop to it.


Sullivan, B. (2006, August 9). Cyber bullying newest threat to kids. Retrieved October 17, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14272228/

Please Click here for a complete list of the works cited

Personal Experiences

This blog post has been created for others to share their personal experiences of cyber-bullying. The questions below are intended to help organize your thoughts and to trigger your memories. Your input will be greatly appreciated by all, thank you.

What was your initial reaction when you saw the e-mail messages/web site/etc.?
Did you show it to anyone right away?
How did your friends and family react when they heard about this incident?
How do you feel about what happened?
What was the hardest thing for you?
What was the course of action that you took?
Would you do anything different if it were to happen again?

Possibilities and Problems

The blog presented regarding cyber-bullying can be used in the classroom as a tool of knowledge. The blog is filled with useful information about Canadian Law, cyber-bullying topics in general, as well as different forms of cyber-bullying and prevention tactics that can be used specifically by students, parents and educators. The “personal experiences” post can be used in the classroom to share feelings and thoughts to all children/students which in turn could help prevent and/or deal with possible future attacks towards others. One problem that could be seen with this blog would be possible harmful, negative or unjust comments left by viewers. As the blog moderator, each comment would be reviewed before being permitted to be posted online for others to see.