CYBERBULLYING

CYBERBULLYINGAND THE SCHOOL

COUNSELOR

A recent survey of youths aged 12–18 years found that 97% of those

surveyed used the Internet at least once a week (UCLA Center for Communication Policy, 2003)

A recent study found that 6% of adolescents in Grades 6 through 10 who used the Internet reported they had been harassed in the past year. Of youth

who reported being harassed online, 33% of incidents took the form of instant messages, 32% occurred in chatroom exchanges, and 19% were

included primarily in emails. In cases in which the victims knew who the perpetrators of the electronic

bullying were, more than 63% of the bullies attended school with the victims

(Finkelhor, Mitchell, & Wolak, 2000).

A study of 1400 adolescents who had experienced online bullying found that

34% of respondents bullied online, 30% felt angry, 13% were threatened, 22% felt sad, 5% were scared for their

safety, 24% of victims were negatively affected at home, 17% have bullied others online, 18% of victims were negatively affected at school, and over 42% of victims did not tell anyone about the incident

(Patchin & Hinduja, 2005).

RYAN’S STORY

Presentation overview What is cyberbullying? Why do young people cyberbully? Who are the bullies? Who are the victims? What is the impact of cyberbullying? What are the legal/ethical issues

associated with cyberbullying? What can parents and educators do to

address cyberbullying?

What is cyberbullying? An anonymous, individualistic activity, which

primarily takes place at home. Using the Internet and/or cell phone to spread

rumors or send cruel messages. E-mail, chat rooms, cell phones, instant

messaging, pagers, text messaging, and online voting booths are tools used to inflict humiliation, fear, and a sense of helplessness (Strom & Strom, 2005, p. 35).

Types of cyberbullying Flaming: Sending angry, rude, vulgar messages

directed at a person or persons privately or to an online group.

Harassment: Repeatedly sending a person offensive messages.

Cyberstalking: Harassment that include threats of harm or is highly intimidating.

Denigration (put-downs): Sending or posting harmful, untrue, or cruel statements about a person to other people.

Types of cyberbullying Masquerade: Pretending to be someone else and

sending or posting material that makes that person look bad or places that person in potential danger.

Outing and Trickery: Sending or posting material about a person that contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing information, including forwarding private messages or images. Engage in tricks to solicit embarrassing information that is then made public.

Exclusion: Actions that specifically and intentionally exclude a person from an online group, such as exclusion from an IM “buddies” list (Willard, 2004, p. 2).

Cyberbullying methods Email

sending hate mail to an individual or group OR sending mass email to spread rumors or insults.

Chat Rooms and Instant Messaging Impersonating someone else Insulting or harassing someone involved in an

online conversation Emotions and cyberspeak

Cyberbullying methods Cell Phone

Nude or degrading pictures disseminated via email or website like MySpace

Web Sites/Blogs Used to mock and harass Post personal information and pictures LiveJournal.com, Diaryland.com, eCrush.com

Voting/Polling Booths Users vote online in polls designed to insult or harass the fattest, ugliest, dirtiest, etc.. boy or girl at school

Why cyberbully? Anonymity & Disinhibition

Illusion of invisibility and relaxed social norms creates an “anything goes” environment.

Cyberbullying can be viewed as a “game” because the lack of feedback and face-to-face contact makes it more difficult for bullies to experience empathy.

Lack of contextual cues and social feedback makes it easier to step over the line.

Individuals with poor behavior control and problem solving skills are more likely to react impulsively.

Who is a cyberbully? Ybarra (2004) found that those who have

experienced cyberbullying—whether they were bullies or victims—most were avid Internet users who spend a substantial amount of time online on a daily basis.

Cyberbullying is the weapon of choice for older adolescents (Raskauskas & Stolz, 2007).

Studies suggest that cultural differences play an insignificant role in shaping an adolescent’s experience with either bullying or cyberbullying.

Four types of cyberbullies1. Vengeful Angel: Independently commits an act of

cyberbullying in order to protect or retaliate against a friend or peer he/she views as having been wronged.

2. Revenge of the Nerd: This individual is marginalized or bullied at school so he/she uses online bullying as a way to obtain power.

3. The Mean Girls: These bullies tend to be immature and egocentric who bully in a group as a form of entertainment.

4. The Inadvertent Cyberbully: Bullying online is inadvertent and is usually in response to a role-playing activity or poor impulse control.

Bullies and victims Ybarra and Mitchell (2004) found that most bullies and

victims were linked outside of the cyberbullying relationship.

Strom and Strom (2005) report that cyberbullying, like regular bullying, can involve multiple bullies targeting one online victim. Typical of online polls (i.e. Who is the most likely to be

gay? Who has had sex with the most guys?). Adolescents mostly react to cyberbullying by

pretending to ignore it, by really ignoring it, or by bullying the bully (Dehue, Bolman, & Völlink, 2008).

What is the impact of cyberbullying?

Low self-esteem Depression Anxiety Anger

School failure School avoidance Suicide School violence

(Strom & Strom, 2005)

Like traditional bullying, cyberbullying can result in several negative consequences:

What is the impact of cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying may have longer lasting consequences than traditional bullying not only because bullies are less likely to be identified and punished, but also because cyberbullying creates a constant state of fear in its victims (Bocij & McFarlane, 2003; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).

Students who experience such intense stress, who do not have adequate support, and who do not seek help ultimately may commit suicide or respond by seeking revenge not online but at school (Juvonen & Gross, 2008; Ybarra, 2004).

What can students do? Future cyberbullying can be minimized if students learn

how to recognize the attacks, how to deal with them, and how to stop the bully from contacting them in the future (Anderson & Sturm, 2006, p. 26).

Avoid sending impulse messages or staying online when angry (Strom & Strom, 2005).

Ignore it. Block users or e-mail addresses, change screen names or e-mail addresses, and control who receives the new contact information.

It will be difficult for adolescents to completely avoid the Internet because it is a social networking tool, but they do not have to respond to bullies.

What can students do? Document all bullying incidents. Save IM

transcripts, emails, or blog posts can be used when working with schools or law enforcement.

Higher quality message boards often have moderators who will take action against bullying. Contact information for the moderator is usually available (Anderson & Sturm, 2006, p. 26).

What can parents do?

General monitoring and positive caregiver–child relationships is an important factor in Internet safety (Ybarra, 2004).

Parents should not underestimate their own children’s bullying behavior or the potential for their children to be victims of bullying (Dehue, Bolman, & Völlink, 2008).

Develop close communication with adolescents, including a discussion of cyberbullying concerns.

Negotiate an online agreement with their kids, setting up specific rules for Internet and cell phone use.

What can parents do?

Supervise child’s internet use. This could involve installing programs like NetNanny or SpyAgent.

Stay up to date on technological trends (i.e. understand the basics of cyberspeak).

Google child’s name. Regularly check MySpace or Facebook page.

Encourage their children to share online problems such as episodes of digital harassment (Strom & Strom, 2005, p. 40).

What can parents do?

Meet with school officials and ask for assistance in resolving a cyberbullying when it involves students from the child’s school.

Contact a mobile phone company to block certain numbers or turn off text messaging services.

If a cyberbully commits a serious offense, report the abuse to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) (Anderson & Sturm, 2006, p. 26).

Inform local police. More information can be found at CyberLawEnforcement.org.

What can administrators do? Cyberbullying represents a gray area when it

comes to school policy due to the fact that the bullying most often takes place off campus. However, recent trends suggest movement towards including cyberbullying in school discipline policy.

State departments of education now provide training for administrators in prevention and intervention strategies (Strom & Strom, 2005).

What can administrators do? Schools should assess their methods for supervising on

campus Internet use and consider more effective means of monitoring such use (Willard, 2004).

Enlist your local police department to help you get the message to students. Many city and suburban police departments are creating cyber-crime units and adding detectives who are well versed in cyber-criminal behaviors (Franek, 2006).

Law enforcement officials should be contacted whenever an educator becomes aware of cyberbullying that involves death threats, violence, destruction of property, excessive intimidation or extortion, sexual exploitation, or threats based any form of intolerance (Willard, 2004).

What can administrators do? Develop a school policy that includes:

A prohibition against the use of a school's Internet system or the use of a cell phone on school grounds in bullying and/or harassing other students (Whittier, 2006, p. 56).

Information on whom to contact if a student feels victimized.

Procedures that allow administrators to quickly follow up on all alleged incidents.

Specific consequences for violating school policies (Franek, 2006, p. 40).

What can administrators do? Establish a Safe School Committee with a

goal to regulate and respond to hate speech and cyberbullying (Whittier, 2006).

The Safe School Committee will: Work with the technology coordinator,

educational technologists, and teachers to develop resources needed to educate, prevent, cope with, and implement consequences for violation of policies

Make judgments on the meaning of a particular speech expression in context.

What can teachers do? Teachers, especially computer and technology

teachers, should include topics related to cyberbullying and general online safety into their curriculum.

acquaint students with etiquette on the Internet, methods of self-protection, and ways of responding to persecution (Strom & Strom, 2005, p. 39).

Teachers can partner with the school counselor to teach classroom guidance lessons that will help students gain the skills necessary to avoid and cope with cyberbullying.

What can teachers do? Curriculum should include:

How to assess risky situations Developing appropriate coping techniques Identifying ambiguous situations Taking appropriate steps to minimize vulnerability Making informed decisions for safe navigation online Avoidance techniques De-escalation skills Practicing responses to problematic situations

(Berson, 2000, p. 159).

What can teachers do? For example, a classroom guidance lesson

might teach students how to deal with a cyberbullying incident (Willard, 2007, p. 213). Identify the Cyberbully Ignore the Cyberbully Calmly and Strongly Tell the Cyberbully to Stop Contact the Cyberbullies Parents Contact Your School

What can school counselors do? Comprehensive Bullying Prevention Programs

Involves the entire school community and includes several forms of intervention, including: education, counseling, peer mediation, school policy, etc.

Some examples:• Olweus, Bully-Proofing Your School, Second Step

Focus on the values of kindness and respectful human relations, enhancing student’s empathic awareness, and providing effective problem solving skills (Willard, 2004, p. 5).

Empower bystanders

What can school counselors do? Guidance Curriculum: develop a bullying

prevention curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and specifically addresses topics related to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying lessons would be delivered systematically

most likely at the secondary level as one part of a whole-school approach to bullying prevention.

Several online resources provide appropriate lesson plans. The best resource is wiredsafety.org.

This curriculum would be delivered by teachers.

What school counselors can do? Responsive Services: Provide counseling, consultation,

referral, peer mediation or information to students involved in cyberbullying incidents. Peer mediation can be used if both bully and victim attend the

same school. Individual counseling sessions can be used to address anxiety,

depression, low-self esteem, or other social-emotional issues caused by cyberbullying.

Information about online safety and cyber law can be distributed to interested parents and students through mailings, web pages, or brochures. One of the most important pieces of information to make available to students, teachers, parents, and administrators is how to recognize the signs of trouble.

What can school counselors do? The Signs of Cyberbullying Trouble

spending a lot of time on the computer a reluctance to use the computer or go to school having trouble sleeping or having nightmares crying without reason mood swings not feeling well becoming anti-social falling behind in school work

What can school counselors do? Systems Support

the school counselor can coordinate or sit on the Safe School Committee; and work with the administration to implement a comprehensive bullying prevention program and refer students for disciplinary action if they have violated school policy.

Coordinating Parent Education Programs Teacher Workshops Assembly Programs

Assessment Periodically assess bullying, including cyberbullying to

determine bullying rates and evaluate the success of existing prevention or intervention strategies.

What can school counselors do? Involve Students:

Programs that are too strongly based on the role of the adult authority are unlikely to be effective in generating the kinds of understandings and social norms that will be effective in addressing cyberbullying (Willard, 2004, p. 5).

Young people should be viewed as resources for crafting intervention messages (Ybarra, 2004, p. 1315).

Establish an anonymous reporting box where students place downloaded material or information that demonstrates concerns.

Establish a student court to address issues of face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying incidents that occur in school.

Ask your students for other suggestions.

Legal & Ethical issues Cyberspace represents new territory for peer

mistreatment, often leaving school administrators with doubts about the boundaries of their jurisdiction (Strom & Strom, 2005, p. 36).

School counselors and administrators can only intervene if cyberbullying is taking place through the district Internet system or via cell phones on campus. This is because it is difficult to impose discipline due to free speech protections, but if the target and bully attend the same school, there is a strong likelihood that cyberbullying is accompanied by face-to-face bullying (Willard, 2007, p. 215).

Legal & Ethical issues It is probable that if such a case came to trial, the factors

that would be considered would include the district’s policies, the communications of those policies to students, the manner in which the district allowed use of the district network by students for communication activities, the degree of supervision and monitoring provided by the district, and the procedures established for reporting and addressing cyberbullying concerns (Willard, 2004, p. 7).

For totally off-campus speech…school officials may intervene only when there is a substantial and material threat of disruption. This standard is likely only met in those cases that would justify contacting law enforcement officials. Therefore, the question of whether or not a school administrator can intervene may be moot (Willard, 2004, p. 7).

Legal & Ethical issues Cyberbullying may also meet legal standards for what are

called intentional torts (i.e. defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress). While a school would have no standing to sue a cyberbully under these standards, victims may be able to. School administrators may be able to use their understanding of these legal standards to either provide assistance to the victim or to strongly encourage a cyberbully to promptly remove material and/or cease his or her cyberbullying actions (Willard, 2004, p. 8).

Additional resources See handout.

CONCLUSIONCyberbullying is one of the many issues confronting

the next generation of school counselors. Young people are wired to the Internet and cell phones that

allow embarrassing gossip and cruel threats to be spread quickly. Even though bullies may be

desensitized to the effects of such harassment, cyberbullying can have a serious and lasting on its

victims. Thus educators, particularly school counselors, must be prepared to implement

prevention and intervention strategies to address the issues associated with cyberbullying. These strategies should include students, parents, administrators, and

law enforcement; and should be part of a comprehensive bullying prevention program.