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Cyberbullies' torments have much wider reach
To grown-ups, the word bully may evoke the memory of a sixth-grader who looked old enough to vote or a 13-year-old who advertised a classmate's phone number "for a good time" on the girls' bathroom wall. But in the wireless age, who needs fists when you've got instant messaging? And while the ink on the bathroom wall may fade, a personal Web site can last for years. Today's young cyberbullies don't bother with face-to-face intimidation. Children everywhere have figured out that they can be far more vicious bullying through the Internet, cellphones and other high-tech mediums. And they are less likely to get caught. In Last month, at Authorities say such examples are no longer rare. They may soon become the bully's preferred method of torment. "This is coming to a school near you," said Glen Stutzky, a "I think within the next year or two, it'll be a major issue." The extreme cyberbullying cases that make headlines overshadow the minor ones that occur more often, such as forwarding private e-mails without the writer's permission or spreading rumors on message boards. Although physical harm is rare, cyberbullying can be more damaging psychologically than traditional bullying, experts say. "It used to be if you had a bad day of school, usually you could come home and have a safe haven," Stutzky said. "Now it follows you home." Cyberbullying also creates a barrier between bullies and their victims, reducing the likelihood that the bullies will feel guilty about what they've done. "You're separated from the target, and you can't see the effect it's having. You can just keep going on and on and on," Stutzky said. It can also bring out the bully in those you least expect. School counselor Sandy Neeson began seeing cyberbullying cases at In the past two years, cyberbullying has become increasingly common among area students, primarily in middle schools, according to school resource officers, police officers assigned to secondary school campuses. "I call the parents when kids have issues with it, and they're
floored. They just can't believe it's their children saying things like
that," said Amy McClellan, a school resource officer assigned to Mari Maricelia, a school resource officer at However, with cyberbullying, it's almost impossible to take action against the transgressor, she said. That's because accused bullies usually deny having made the threatening statements and insist that others are impersonating them online, Maricelia said. Long-distance damage The story of Ghyslain Raza is one of the most publicized cyberbullying cases. The Canadian teen-ager's nightmare began when he videotaped himself wielding a golf club like it was a light saber, pretending to be a Jedi knight. Classmates found the tape and put it online. It quickly became one of the most downloaded images on the Internet. For Raza, who became known as "The Star Wars Kid," the taunting from classmates was so bad that he dropped out of school and entered a children's psychiatric ward, according to the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail. An even more extreme case of cyberbullying occurred
in In 2001, a former student at Soon, the girl's car was egged, and a crass insult identical to one from the Web site was said to have been written in shaving cream in front of her house. Then, a large plastic bottle filled with acid was apparently thrown at her front door. When the student's mother opened the door, she received minor burns, investigators said. Authorities said they believed the actions are linked to the Web site. School officials' ability to intervene in cyberbullying is limited, because it's hard to identify the bully and the threats are usually made outside school. And with the rising popularity of camera-equipped cellphones and text messaging, cyberbullying is expected to become more common and the bullies more innovative. Many school districts have adopted rigid cellphone policies and have placed filters on school computers. Almost immediately after encountering her first case in 2003, Neeson began addressing cyberbullying in her Bully Busters program. It hasn't become a serious problem at "Students might just think this isn't happening at school [and] it's online, so it's just something they have to deal with," Neeson said. "If it affects their emotional stability, it affects us." IN THE KNOW What parents can do • Learn everything you can about what your children are doing online. Be aware of what they are posting to Web sites, including personal home pages. • Encourage your children to come to you if anybody says or does something online that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. • Emphasize responsible Internet use. Teach children to never post anything online that they wouldn't want others to read. • Create an online agreement or contract for computer use with your children's input. Make sure the agreement contains clear rules about ethical online behavior. • If the bully is a student at your child's school, meet with school officials and ask for help in resolving the situation. • Report online harassment and physical threats to police and your Internet service provider. • If your child is bullied via cellphone, report the problem to your service provider. What young people can do • Guard your contact information. Don't give people you don't know your cellphone number, instant messaging name or e-mail address. • If you are being harassed online, log out of the site or stop the activity. Immediately tell an adult you trust. • If you are being bullied through e-mail or instant messaging, block the sender's messages. Never reply to harassing messages. • Save harassing messages and forward them to your Internet service provider or e-mail provider (example: Hotmail or Yahoo). Most ISPs have appropriate-use policies that restrict users from harassing others via the Internet. • If the bullying includes physical threats, notify police. • Speak out whenever you see someone being mean to another person online. Most teens respond better to criticism from their peers than to disapproval from adults. SOURCE: www.bewebaware.ca This
Report Includes Material From Salon.Com and The Record of ACTIVITY: Open a new Word document and
write a response to this article. (Just a couple of paragraphs). Do you think that Cyberbullying
is as big a problem as this article suggests. Have you had any personal experience
of it, or do you know of anyone who has?
What is your opinion of the advice this article has for parents and gyoung
peopleh? Do you think we need
laws to control this problem?
What suggestions do you have about cyberbullying? |
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