Cyberbullying
What is it?
Cyberbullying is when a person is threatened, harrassed, humiliated, and etc. through the internet, and other forms of technology, such as cell phones. It is not usually a one time thing but done repeatedly. Cyberbullying is basically bullying without physically being there and done through technology. It can be very threatening and have serious effects on a person's mental state. This is not limited to just children. Teachers and other adults are victims of this act as well so it is important to know what to do for yourselves as well as your children. There are two types of cyberbullying.
Direct attacks involves messages directly sent from the cyberbullying to the victim. Here are some examples of how someone can be directly attacked.
*Instant Messaging (IMS)/ Texting- Threats through messaging, sending inappropriate photos,
stealling passwords and posing as another person, and death threats
*Blogs- Although it may be fun to post things others can read, sometimes those things posted
are, unfortunately, about people and threatening to their lives and reputations.
*Websites- Websites have been actually been made to insult another person or group of people.
Sometimes personal information is involved and can get very dangerous.
*E-mailing- Junk mail and things such as porn can be sent unwantingly to someone.
These are only few of many examples of different forms of cyberbullying.
The other type is cyberbullying by proxy. An example of this would be the cyberbully having others join with them to kick off a person from the website by flagging a person or reporting the person's posts as a threat. If this is done enough, the internet source prohibits the person from using the site for a certain amount of time. Cyberbullying by proxy is considered very dangerous because when warnings are sent to the internet source, adults working for it are contacted and don't know the seriousness of the situation so they have to take all precautions. What they may not know is that the cyberbully could be manipulating the situation to make them look like victim instead of the actual one. This can lead to the rightful person not receiving the consequences rather, the victim does.
Why it happens?
Cyberbullying happens because of our constantly changing society. Technology is improving more and more and children are being open to the cyber world and its negative ways as a result. Many may think that bullying someone through the phone, internet, and etc. isn't as bad as in person but in reality, you can get into just as much trouble. Cyberbullying can have a great amount of damaga on a person because the bullying doesn't just stay at school for instance, it comes home with them. A law on cyberstalking was passed. Law SB2426, effective January 1, 2009. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09500SB2426lv&SessionID=3&GA=95&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=2426&print=true
Cyberbullying is when a person is threatened, harrassed, humiliated, and etc. through the internet, and other forms of technology, such as cell phones. It is not usually a one time thing but done repeatedly. Cyberbullying is basically bullying without physically being there and done through technology. It can be very threatening and have serious effects on a person's mental state. This is not limited to just children. Teachers and other adults are victims of this act as well so it is important to know what to do for yourselves as well as your children. There are two types of cyberbullying.
Direct attacks involves messages directly sent from the cyberbullying to the victim. Here are some examples of how someone can be directly attacked.
*Instant Messaging (IMS)/ Texting- Threats through messaging, sending inappropriate photos,
stealling passwords and posing as another person, and death threats
*Blogs- Although it may be fun to post things others can read, sometimes those things posted
are, unfortunately, about people and threatening to their lives and reputations.
*Websites- Websites have been actually been made to insult another person or group of people.
Sometimes personal information is involved and can get very dangerous.
*E-mailing- Junk mail and things such as porn can be sent unwantingly to someone.
These are only few of many examples of different forms of cyberbullying.
The other type is cyberbullying by proxy. An example of this would be the cyberbully having others join with them to kick off a person from the website by flagging a person or reporting the person's posts as a threat. If this is done enough, the internet source prohibits the person from using the site for a certain amount of time. Cyberbullying by proxy is considered very dangerous because when warnings are sent to the internet source, adults working for it are contacted and don't know the seriousness of the situation so they have to take all precautions. What they may not know is that the cyberbully could be manipulating the situation to make them look like victim instead of the actual one. This can lead to the rightful person not receiving the consequences rather, the victim does.
Why it happens?
Cyberbullying happens because of our constantly changing society. Technology is improving more and more and children are being open to the cyber world and its negative ways as a result. Many may think that bullying someone through the phone, internet, and etc. isn't as bad as in person but in reality, you can get into just as much trouble. Cyberbullying can have a great amount of damaga on a person because the bullying doesn't just stay at school for instance, it comes home with them. A law on cyberstalking was passed. Law SB2426, effective January 1, 2009. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09500SB2426lv&SessionID=3&GA=95&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=2426&print=true
What can be done to help prevent it?
As parents or future educators, it is important that we inform children about cyberbullying, what it can do, and the importance of avoiding those situations. The internet as well as phones should be taught to be used properly and respectfully. It is important for these things to be monitored and to be aware of any signs of cyberbullying before it gets too far. Somes things that can be done are to pay attention to your child or student's behavior and talk to them because it's not very likely that they will just tell you they are being bullied. If you are able to gather any evidence of the cyberbullying, print them out and report to a local law enforcement. There are many agencies that will help evaluate the situation.
Visit http://www.WiredSafety.org
For More Information on Cyberbullying:
http://internetsafetyadvisor.squarespace.com/cyber-bullying/ -Ads
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=365517 -Article
http://www.law.uiuc.edu/bljournal/post/2008/04/22/Cyberbullying-A-Modern-Problem.aspx -Cases
As parents or future educators, it is important that we inform children about cyberbullying, what it can do, and the importance of avoiding those situations. The internet as well as phones should be taught to be used properly and respectfully. It is important for these things to be monitored and to be aware of any signs of cyberbullying before it gets too far. Somes things that can be done are to pay attention to your child or student's behavior and talk to them because it's not very likely that they will just tell you they are being bullied. If you are able to gather any evidence of the cyberbullying, print them out and report to a local law enforcement. There are many agencies that will help evaluate the situation.
Visit http://www.WiredSafety.org
For More Information on Cyberbullying:
http://internetsafetyadvisor.squarespace.com/cyber-bullying/ -Ads
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=365517 -Article
http://www.law.uiuc.edu/bljournal/post/2008/04/22/Cyberbullying-A-Modern-Problem.aspx -Cases