CYBER BULLYING‘Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber

Bullying’Barbara Trolley, Ph.D. CRC

Connie Hanel, M.S.E.d & Linda Shields, M.S.E.d.

What we learned…

Bullying is sometimesverbal…

Bullying is sometimes emotional…

We also learned…

Bullying can be sexual harassment… making fun of someone.

CYBER BULLYING IS…

Being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful

material using technological means; an individual or group that usesinformation and communication involvingelectronic technologies to facilitatedeliberate and repeated harassment orthreat to an individual or group.

Also known as: ‘Electronic Bullying’ & ‘Online Social Cruelty’

CYBER BULLIES’ TECHNOLOGY

E-mail Cell phones Pager text messages Instant messaging Defamatory personal web sites Defamatory online personal

polling web sites Chat rooms

DIFFERENCESBULLYING

DIRECT

Occurs on school property

Poor relationships with teachers

Fear retributionPhysical: Hitting, Punching & ShovingVerbal: Teasing, Name calling & GossipNonverbal: Use of gestures & Exclusion

www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

CYBERBULLYING

ANONYMOUS

Occurs offschool property

Good relationships with teachers

Fear loss of technology privileges

Further under the radar than bullying

Emotional reactions cannot be determined

{McKenna & Bargh, 2004; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004}

CYBER BULLY CATEGORIES

“Inadvertent” Role-play Responding May not realize it’s

cyber bullying“Vengeful Angel” Righting wrongs Protecting themselves“Mean Girls” Bored; Entertainment Ego based; promote

own social status Often do in a group Intimidate on and off

line Need others to bully; if

isolated, stop

“Power-Hungry” Want reaction Controlling with fear“Revenge of the

Nerds” (“Subset of Power-Hungry”)

Often Victims of school-yard bullies

Throw ‘cyber-weight’ around

Not school-yard bullies like Power-Hungry & Mean Girls

{Parry Aftab. Esq., Executive Director, WiredSafety.org}

CYBER BULLYING TYPES

“Flaming’: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language

“Harassment”: Repeatedly sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages

“Cyber stalking”: Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating. Engaging in other on-line activities that make a person afraid for his or her own safety

“Denigration”: ‘Dissing’ someone online. Sending or posting cruel gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships

CYBER BULLYING TYPES

“Impersonation”: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material online that makes that person look bad, gets that person in trouble or danger, or damages that person’s reputation or friendships

“Outing and Trickery”: Sharing someone’s secret or embarrassing information online. Tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information which is then shared online

“Exclusion”: Intentionally excluding someone from an on-line group, like a ‘buddy list’

{Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D., Director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use}

CYBER BULLYING STATISTICS

*Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students nationwide.

Gaining acceptance by having recognition in the community… Newspaper article Local TV Local Radio Program Community groups

Effects of Bullying

People who are bullied: Have higher risk of depression and anxiety

including these symptoms that may persist into adulthood:

-Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness -Changes in sleep and eating patterns -Loss of interest in activities May have increased thoughts about suicide Are more likely to have health complaints Are more likely to retaliate through extreme

violent measures.

stopbullying.gov.,2011

More Effects of Bullying

People Who Bully Others:• Have a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other drugs

in adolescence and as adults.• Are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property,

and drop out of school.• Are more likely to have convictions and traffic citations

as adults.• Are more likely to be abusive toward their romantic

partners, spouses or children as adults.

stopbullying.gov.,2011

The victim of cyber bullying

Warning signs of cyberbullying bully or

victim:1. Quickly switches screens or closes programs when

someone walks by2. Uses the computer or phone until all hours of the night3. Gets unusually upset if she/he cannot use the

computer or phone or after using the computer4. Laughs excessively while using the computer5. Appears nervous or jumpy when an IM message

appears.6. Avoids discussions about what they are doing on the

computer7. Becomes withdrawn from friends and family

CURRENT CYBER BULLYINGPROGRAMS & RESPONSES

What Everyone Needs to Know About Cyber bullying’ (Aftab)

Education of Children: All actions have consequences Cyber bullying hurts They are just being used and manipulated

by cyber bully Cyber bully and accomplices often become

the target of cyber bullying themselves Care about others and stand up for what’s

right

Statistics – Napa County, CA 2007 87% of teens age 12-17 use the internet. 47% of children have received emails with links to

pornographic websites. 95% of parents cannot identify common chat room

lingo. 1 in 4 sixth grade students have become friends with

a stranger online and 1 in 10 have attempted to meet an online friend face to face.

86% of girls say they can chat online without their parents’ permission.

28% of teens say they use code words on a daily basis to hide their online conversations from their parents.

The Parent, Educator and Community Action Guide

Gaining acceptance by having recognition in the community… Newspaper article Local TV Local Radio Program Community groups

Effects of Bullying

People who are bullied: Have higher risk of depression and anxiety

including these symptoms that may persist into adulthood:

-Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness -Changes in sleep and eating patterns -Loss of interest in activities May have increased thoughts about suicide Are more likely to have health complaints Are more likely to retaliate through extreme

violent measures.

stopbullying.gov.,2011

More Effects of Bullying

People Who Bully Others:• Have a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other drugs

in adolescence and as adults.• Are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property,

and drop out of school.• Are more likely to have convictions and traffic citations

as adults.• Are more likely to be abusive toward their romantic

partners, spouses or children as adults.

stopbullying.gov.,2011

Still More Effects of Bullying

People Who Witness Bullying:

• May have increased use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs.

• May have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.

• Are more likely to miss or skip school.

• STOP! WALK! TALK!

stopbullying.gov, 2011

Warning signs of cyberbullying bully or

victim:1. Quickly switches screens or closes programs when

someone walks by2. Uses the computer or phone until all hours of the night3. Gets unusually upset if she/he cannot use the

computer or phone or after using the computer4. Laughs excessively while using the computer5. Appears nervous or jumpy when an IM message

appears.6. Avoids discussions about what they are doing on the

computer7. Becomes withdrawn from friends and family

CURRENT CYBER BULLYINGPROGRAMS & RESPONSES

Comprehensive Plan (Willard, 2005)Schools Policies concerning misuse of technology Evaluate how staff is and can more effectively

monitor Internet useParents Discuss cyber bullying Supervise and increase effective monitoring of

Internet useSince more adults supervise, more children will

hideactivities, strategies needed to change social

norms in these on-line works, empower the victim with knowledge how to prevent & respond, & to discourage bullies from engaging in such

activities

Fatal Results of Cyberbullying…….

14 year old Jamey Rodemeyer struggled with his sexuality and was repeatedly bullied at school and online. He posted an “It Gets Better” video on YouTube seemingly trying to convince himself as well as others that his situation would improve. Several anonymous comments on his Formspring page encouraged him to kill himself! He did on September 19, 2011.

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING ASSESSMENT

What Everyone Needs to Know About Cyber bullying’ (Aftab)

Assessment to differentiate between ‘rude communications’ and ‘cyber bullying’:

1- Kind of Threats 2- Frequency of Threat3- Source of Threats4- Nature of the Threats

… The more frequent, the greater the threat, the mention of more dangerous methods & the involvement of third parties tends to increase the seriousness of the threatKnowing the cyber bully may increase or decrease the threat

Another Fatal Example…

Fifteen year old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley, Massachusetts, committed suicide after experiencing months of bullying and cyberbullying, which included name-calling (e.g., “Irish Slut”) on Facebook and Twitter. (January 14, 2010.)

CYBER BULLYING PREVALENCE

Cyber bullying typically starts at about 9 years of age and usually ends after 14 years of age; after 14, it becomes cyber or sexual harassment due to nature of acts and age of actors {Aftab}

Affects 65-85% of kids in the core group directly or indirectly through close friends (Aftab)