Summary - Cyber Bullying

Blog Entry Summary – Cyber Bullying

With the use of computers and the internet growing everyday, it is not surprising that misuse of them is also increasing. And as such a new form of online harassment has begun known as ‘Cyber Bullying.’ According to Belsey (2006), “Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.” Put simply, it is any unwanted attention which involves attempted sexual solicitation, harassment, or torment towards an individual.

In fact cyber bullying has become such a problem now that it has started to overshadow the issue of inappropriate content availability to children. An Australian teenage magazine called Girlfriend conducted a survey of young girls in order to identify the frequency and impact of cyber bullying and found that of the 13,300 teenagers surveyed, 42% had been victim of cyber bullying from another student at their school (Beer, 2006). The ways in which this cyber bullying occurs is quite broad, and it can also lead to offline sexual solicitations, harassment and torment. According to a Canadian website, 44% of cyber bullying cases involved offline acquaintances with a majority being their own peers, and often occurred while they were online in the company of other peers (Collier, 2004). Of this figure, less than 25% involved sexual solicitations from people over the age of 18, however 27% of the age range was unknown, and also 3% we aggressive forms of cyber bullying which requested an offline meeting (Collier, 2004).

Cyber Bullying can occur in a number of ways, ranging from offline technologies such as pagers, SMS, and mobile phone calls, online live technologies such as chat forums, instant messaging, and personal polling sites, and online non-live technologies such as emails, defamatory websites, and discussion boards.

Offline technologies are very mobile and can be used to bully individuals from anywhere at any time, however they are also the easiest to track as they provide a mobile phone or pager number. Of the Girlfriend survey, 69% of the 13,300 girls who participated used their mobiles phones at school (Beer, 2006) so this would indicate the high opportunity rate for bullies to use such technologies. Recipients of this form of bullying are recommended to report these numbers to their parents and teachers, and if needed, to the police, so that action may be taken to stop the bully from further harassment.

With computers and the internet ever increasing in use, children are now using chat forums and instant messengers to keep in touch with their friends in the cyber world, friends which include real life friends, and friends made from other parts of the world. However with the use of chat handles it is very hard to know who you are talking to, or that the persona presented is real. Due to this virtual anomity, people take to bullying as a form of free-for-all harassment hitting out at people they know, and people who are completely unknown to them. In the case of chat rooms, victims of bullying should log out of chat rooms and report the bullies to their teachers or parents of what occurred. In the case for instant messaging, through some programs users will have the option to block incoming messages from certain users, which is a recommended step. If the messaging service cannot block users, then it is suggested that logging off is the best form of action. After logging off or blocking a user, victims should report the events to their teacher or parents. Online polling booths should be reported immediately to the website moderators so that action can be taken to remove the poll and also ban the users responsible for the development of the poll.

Bullying emails received should be reported to teachers and parents, and in some cases can be reported to internet service providers or to the moderators email server such as Hotmail, which can result in action taken to trace and take action upon such bullies (Belsey, 2006). Once reported, bullying emails should be deleted and the user blocked if the email system has that option, thus further preventing the chance of further bullying. For defamatory websites and discussion boards, these also need to be reported to teachers and parents, and also website moderators so that the content can be removed, and bullies banned or located for further action to take place.

With cyber bullying on the increase, parents and teachers need to know how to identify a child that may be being bullied. Some common signals that children are being cyber bullied may include spending a lot of time on the computer, or not wanting to get on the computer at all, sleeping issues such as insomnia and nightmares, mood swings which may include depression or spontaneous crying, physically feeling unwell, becoming anti-social which may result in the loss of friends, falling behind in school work, and any unusual behaviours (NetAlert Limited, 2004). It is important for parents and teachers to identify when cyber bullying may be occurring so that they may assist in taking action preventing further bullying from occurring.

Once cyber bullying has been identified, it is extremely important that teachers and parents act upon preventing this from occurring further. Communicating with children what constitutes bullying, what actions should be taken if they are bullied, and to understand their responsibilities when using the internet to stop the chance of becoming a bully is very important. Research any online anti-bullying policies that are in action, what they entail, and try direct children to programs and websites that have satisfactory policies. Sit with children while they are learning new websites and programs and discuss with them the boundaries and guidelines they need to follow while using these sites and programs. And finally knowing who to contact if bullying occurs is extremely important. People within the local community that can help include friends, teachers, counsellors, parents, police, and welfare groups. Phone support in Australia include the NetAlert Helpline and Kids Help Line, and there are also online help from NetAlert and Bullying No Way (NetAlert, 2004).

Parents and teachers need to be diligant when it comes to protecting children from the chances of cyber bullying, just as much as offline bullying. Technology is becoming used as a substitute for face to face communication, so measures need to be taken to prevent stop bullying because the effects of bullying can be so detrimental to children’s lives. Education for adults and children needs to be taken so that understanding of the issue can be fully comprehended and the issue eradicated.

References:

- Beer, S (2006) Magazine’s research reveals cyber bullying problem. Retrieved from http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4013/53/ on 14/8/2006
- Belsey, B (2006) Cyber Bullying. Retrieved from www.cyberbullying.ca on 13/8/2006
- Collier, A (2004) Net Family News. Retrieved from netfamilynews.org/newsletter.shtml#newsitemEEVVFpuVlpSGyqTYVP on 13/8/2006
- NetAlert (2004) What is Cyber Bullying? Retrieved from http://www.netalert.net.au/01569-What-is-Cyber-Bullying.asp on 14/8/2006
- NetAlert (2004) What are the signs that a child is being cyber bullied? Retrieved from http://www.netalert.net.au/01570-What-are-the-signs-that-a-child-is-being-cyber-bullied.asp
on 14/8/2006
- NetAlert (2004) How do I protect children from cyber bullies? Retrieved from http://www.netalert.net.au/01571-What-can-I-do-about-Cyber-Bullying.asp on 14/8/2006
- NetAlert (2004) Who do I contact for help? Retrieved from http://www.netalert.net.au/01572-Who-do-I-contact-for-help.asp on 14/8/2006