Topics

CyberBullying

What is Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.

Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Why Cyberbullying is Different

·         Kids who are being cyberbullied are often bullied in person as well. Additionally, kids who are cyberbullied have a harder time getting away from the behavior.

·         Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach a kid even when he or she is alone. It can happen any time of the day or night.

·         Cyberbullying messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source.

·         Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent.

Types of Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying can take many forms. However, there are six forms that are the most common.

Harassment: Repeatedly sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages

Denigration: Distributing information about another that is derogatory and untrue through posting it on a Web page, sending it to others through email or instant messaging, or posting or sending digitally altered photos of someone

Flaming: Online "fighting" using electronic messages with angry, vulgar language

Impersonation: Breaking into an email or social networking account and using that person's online identity to send or post vicious or embarrassing material to/about others.

Outing and Trickery: Sharing someone's secrets or embarrassing information, or tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information and forwarding it to others. Pretend to befriend someone – gain his or her trust, and then betray that trust.

Cyber Stalking: Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating, or engaging in other online activities that make a person afraid for his or her safety (depending on the content of the message, it may be illegal)

Effects of Cyberbullying 

Teens  texting Cell phones and computers themselves are not to blame for cyberbullying. Social media sites can be used for positive activities, like connecting kids with friends and family, helping students with school, and for entertainment. But these tools can also be used to hurt other people. Whether done in person or through technology, the effects of bullying are similar.

Research indicates that students who are bullied are more likely than students who are not bullied to experience impaired social and emotional, adjustment, poor academic achievement, anxiety, depression, poorer physical health, higher absenteeism, increased loneliness and low self esteem.

Research also shows that students repeatedly bullying others were likely to have the same symptoms as the students experiencing the abuse.

The students bullying were just as likely to have elevated levels of anxiety, to be disconnected from school and to have higher levels of depression as the students who were being bullied.

Kids who are cyberbullied are more likely to:

• Use alcohol and drugs
• Skip school
• Experience in-person bullying
• Be unwilling to attend school
• Receive poor grades
• Have lower self-esteem
• Have more health problems

 Frequency of Cyberbullying

• The 2008–2009 School Crime Supplement (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics) indicates that 6% of students in grades 6–12 experienced cyberbullying.
• The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey finds that 16% of high school students (grades 9-12) were electronically bullied in the past year.
• Research on cyberbullying is growing. However, because kids’ technology use changes rapidly, it is difficult to design surveys that accurately capture trends.

What is electronic crime (e-crime)?

Cyber bullying may involve varying levels of severity, ranging from occasional messages to frequently repeated

and highly disturbing threats to a person’s life.

Cyber bullying can therefore be an e-crime, a fact often not clearly understood by those involved. E-crime occurs when a computer or other electronic communication devices (eg mobile phones) are used to commit an offence, are targeted in an offence, or act as a storage device in an offence. A minority of children are involved in e-crime.

Examples from the South Australian Police (SAPol)

1. I got into their email account and sent abusive emails to everyone in the address book. Offence: Unlawful operation of computer system. Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months or  $2,500.
2. I took a photo of X in the showers after sport and sent it to everyone. What a laugh! Offence: Production or dissemination of child pornography. Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.
3. He told me if I didn’t do what he said he would put that photo up on the internet and then tell all my friends. I was so embarrassed. Offence: Blackmail. Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 15 years.
4. I created a website about X and we all put stuff on there about how much they and everyone else like them are hated. Offence: Racial vilification. Maximum penalty: $5,000, or imprisonment for 3 years, or both.

Other offences (Australia)

• Using internet or mobile phone carriers:
• for suicide related material. Maximum penalty: $100,000
• to make a threat. Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years
• to menace, harass or cause offence . Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 3 years.

 11 Facts About Cyber Bullying

• “Cyber bullying” is defined as a young person tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another young person using the Internet or other technologies, like cell phones.
• The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to those of real-life bullying. The difference is, real-life bullying often ends when school ends. For cyber bullying, there is no escape. And, it’s getting worse. Read on to get the facts.
• Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once.
• 70% of students report seeing frequent bullying online.
• Over 80% of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most common medium for cyber bullying.
• 68% of teens agree that cyber bullying is a serious problem.
• 81% of young people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person.
• 90% of teens who have seen social-media bullying say they have ignored it. 84% have seen others tell cyber bullies to stop.
• Only 1 in 10 victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse.
• Girls are about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying.
• About 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out 10 say it has happened more than once.
• About 75% have visited a website bashing another student.
• Bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider committing suicide.

Useful websites

Anti-bullying

https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/lists/directoratesaz/stuwelfare/behaviourprgms/antibullying/index.htm

Digital Citizenship

http://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/

Bullying. No way! website:

The Talk Out Spotlight section suggests strategies for students to deal withcyberbullying

www.bullyingnoway.com.au

Decision Making

Self Esteem

Self-esteem is all about how much we feel valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others — and how much we value, love, and accept ourselves. 

People with healthy self-esteem are able to feel good about themselves, appreciate their own worth, and take pride in their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. People with low self-esteem may feel as if no one will like them or accept them or that they can't do well in anything.

Here you'll find some things you could do to boost your self esteem:

Focus on experiences, not appearance. It’s not healthy for anybody’s self-esteem to be rooted in their appearance. Our physical appearance changes rapidly, can be negatively affected by many things, and definitions of beauty vary from person to person. Choose something more stable to be proud of: experience and accomplishments which cannot be taken away.

Provide opportunity for accomplishments. Do things with your life that you are proud of. If you see someone who seems to do everything in life that you want to do, go do those things. There are lots of different things to do so choose something that you think is rewarding or important: Learn an instrument, travel, Learn a visual art or sport, or/and Make academic accomplishments when you can.

Find people who understand you. The best way to deal with the harder aspects of life is to have great friends. Great friends remind you how fun and wonderful you really are. To keep your self-esteem high, find friends who understand and like you for who you really are.

Take responsibility. Taking responsibility is a great way to build self-esteem and confidence. In doing important things, you will not only assure yourself that you are a capable person but also provide yourself proof that you have a positive impact on the world: Get a job, Volunteer, or Tutor or mentor other students. 

Don’t live to please others. Your life is exactly that: your life. You should be living your life and doing things so that you are happy, not to please anyone else. There is a saying that you can’t please everybody and it is absolutely true, so don’t expect or try to make everyone happy all the time. 

Develop a sense of style. Be you, don’t be someone else. Instead of going with the crowd and wearing all the popular brands, develop a unique sense of style. This will make you stand out and give you confidence by giving you something to identify with. Be sure that this style is one that means something to you and that you feel communicates something about who you are as a person.

Explore your passions. Figure out who you are and what makes you happy by exploring things you care about or find interesting. Do you think parkour looks cool? Do it! Have you always wanted to learn how to dance? Do it! The only thing barring you from pursuing things that you’re passionate about is you.

AND:

·Remember, no one can "make you" feel bad. Only you can make yourself feel bad!