This information provided by the
National Crime
Prevention Council, Washington, DC
www.ncpc.org and the Arizona Attorney General's
Office www.azag.gov
Young people are using the Internet
more than ever and most have Internet access from
home. For many children, the Internet isn't simply a
convenient way to research or a fun after school
activity - it's a big part of their social life.
Emailing, instant messaging, text messaging and chatting with friends are children's
most common online activities, after studying and
playing games. More and more teens are frequenting
social networking sites, such as myspace.com.
This electronic forum has not only given sexual
predators unprecedented access to our children, it
has become a new, incredibly potent and potentially
toxic, method of spreading schoolyard gossip,
hateful statements, lies, threats and harassment.
Cyberbullying is highly varied and hard to define.
At it's core, it is sending or posting derogatory or
hateful material on the Internet or through cell
phones or emails, with the intent to harm another.
Cyberbullying can be defamatory to a group, a team,
a race or target a single victim. Bullies employ any
or all cyber communications, including posts to
social networking sites, chat rooms, email, instant
messaging and blogs, to harass, threaten, spread
lies or distribute embarrassing pictures. The
Internet gives bullies a worldwide audience for
taunting their victims while maintaining some
anonymity. Cyberbullies can be
classmates, online acquaintances, and even anonymous
users, but most often they do know their victims.
Some examples of ways kids bully online are:
Sending someone mean or threatening emails,
instant messages, or text messages.
Excluding someone from an instant messenger
buddy list or blocking their email for no
reason.
Tricking someone into revealing personal or
embarrassing information and sending it to
others.
Breaking into someone's email or instant
message account to send cruel or untrue messages
while posing as that person.
Creating websites to make fun of another
person such as a classmate or teacher.
Using websites to rate peers as prettiest,
ugliest, etc.
Both boys and girls sometimes bully online and just
as in face-to-face bullying, tend to do so in
different ways. Boys more commonly bully by sending
messages of a sexual nature or by threatening to
fight or hurt someone. Girls more often bully by
spreading rumors, sending messages that make fun of
someone or exclude other. They also tell secrets.
Cyberbullying is no joke, although it often starts
that way. Because of the vast reach of the Internet,
it has far greater impact and can cause much more
emotional damage than the same statements scrawled
in alleys or on bathroom walls. Damaging words and
pictures once posted are nearly impossible to
remove. Cyberbullying messages often contain threats
of violence, which can constitute a crime. Violent
threats and inflammatory statements in cyberspace
can turn into real world attacks. Last October, a
racist flier posted on myspace.com sparked a fight
between a white student and several Native American
students at a Mesa high school.
The Effects of Cyberbullying
Victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the
same effects as children who are bullied in person,
such as a drop in grades, low self-esteem, a change
in interests, or depression. However cyberbullying
can seem more extreme to its victims because of
several factors:
Occurs in children's home. Being bullied at
home can take away the place children feel most
safe.
Can be harsher. Often kids say things online
that they wouldn't say in person, mainly because
they can't see the other person's reaction.
Far reaching. Kids can send emails making
fun of someone to their entire class or school
with a few clicks, or post them on a website for
the whole world to see.
Anonymity. Cyberbullies often hide behind
screen names and email addresses that don't
identify who they are. Not knowing who is
responsible for bullying messages can add to a
victim's insecurity.
May seem inescapable. It may seem easy to
get away from a cyberbully-just get offline-but
for some kids not going online takes away one of
the major places they socialize.
Cyberbullying can be a complicated issue, especially
for adults who are not as familiar with using the
Internet, instant messenger, or chat rooms as kids.
But like more typical forms of bullying, it can be
prevented when kids know how to protect themselves
and parents are available to help.
What Parents Can Do To
Talk to teens about what they are doing on
the Internet, what sites they visit and who they
chat with.
Keep a record of any rude and harassing
emails, text messages or postings, but do not
respond.
File a complaint with your Internet Service
Provider (ISP) or cell phone company about any
cyberbullying messages.
If the cyberbully attends the same school,
notify administrators and school resource
officers or school security.
If the cyberbullying involves threats of
violence, coercion or intimidation, call the
police.
If a Web site is defaming or mocking a
person or group, contact your ISP and inform
police to get the Web site removed.
