Cyber bullying is a deliberate, repeated, act of bullying targeted at a specific person or group of people. It involves the use of information and communication technologies such as online communities (blogs, IM, websites), cell phones (text messaging, voice messages, threatening calls), computers (e-mail), etc. Cyber bullying is intended to harm the target person(s) and is becoming widespread in our world of ever increasing technology.
Facts: (courtesy of cyberbullying.ca)
“99 per cent of Canadian students have used the Internet”
“48 per cent of Canadian students use it for a least an hour a day”
"nearly 60 per cent of Canadian students use chat rooms and instant messaging"
"This is the "Always On" generation (*74% of connected young people use instant messaging several times a week. -Pew Report ). "
As teachers, we will continue to see an increase of technology, which will result in an increase of cyber bullying. Unfortunately in the school setting, cyber bullying usually has to be proven to have happened from a school computer and not from a home computer. Is that fair to our students? In this story (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bullying/cyber_bullying.html), the bullying could not be proven to have happened at school so the school administrator's hands were tied and the student ultimately left the school to be home schooled. He went on to excel but not all students are able to break free from the bullying that has haunted them and may ultimately cause harm to themselves or others.
We will need to be aware of the various forms of technology that we use within our teaching and that our students have access to both at the school and at home. It is beneficial to our students that we discuss cyber etiquette and especially the harm of cyber bullying with them. Students need to become aware of the damage that could be done if they use cyber space as a place to bully and even though it is not done face-to-face, cyber bullying is the same as bullying someone on the playground or in the classroom. It can actually be worse because cyber space is growing in popularity and news/gossip travels fast on the internet. We already teach our students social skills within the school setting and now we also need to include social skills in cyber space so that our students will be informed.
Cyber bullying is an issue will not be solved tomorrow but as teachers, we can inform our students of how to be respectuful of their peers both in the classroom and in cyber space through our classroom teaching.
We will need to be aware of the various forms of technology that we use within our teaching and that our students have access to both at the school and at home. It is beneficial to our students that we discuss cyber etiquette and especially the harm of cyber bullying with them. Students need to become aware of the damage that could be done if they use cyber space as a place to bully and even though it is not done face-to-face, cyber bullying is the same as bullying someone on the playground or in the classroom. It can actually be worse because cyber space is growing in popularity and news/gossip travels fast on the internet. We already teach our students social skills within the school setting and now we also need to include social skills in cyber space so that our students will be informed.
Cyber bullying is an issue will not be solved tomorrow but as teachers, we can inform our students of how to be respectuful of their peers both in the classroom and in cyber space through our classroom teaching.
Some websites to consider:
This website gives information on what cyber bullying is, ideas for prevention, and has links to other helpful sites.
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/
A website which also gives information on cyber bullying and prevention as well as specific information that kids, tweens, teens, parents, educators, and law enforcement can read about.
A website called Committee for Children which has information on cyber bullying as well as many other issues which may arise for children. The website description is that "Committee for Children is a nonprofit leader in teaching safety and social and emotional learning".
