School Bullies Go Online

Many students are using the internet to bully classmates. This type of behavior is disturbing not only to victims but to parents and educators as well. According to a recent article in USA Today, bullying online reflects the latest way technology has changed the social lives of children both at home and in school. "The emergence of cyberbullying has intensified adolescent angst. It allows bullies to unleash put-downs, nasty rumors and humiliating pictures in email and blogs that can strike victims at home and at any time. The damage can be devastating, psychologists say, even as it is not always obvious to parents and teachers."

Bullies use the anonymity of the Web to harass, intimidate, and humiliate. Here they can be more scathing and offensive with a reduced risk of being caught. Bullying online is easy with the prevalence of computers.

When bullies leave school they can go home and continue to intimidate. In a survey by MindOh Foundation it was discovered that most students have been either a perpetrator or a victim of bullying. They surveyed some 5500 boys and girls in January 2005.

The emergence of cyberbullies has coincided with the rise of the always-connected generation -- teens who have grown up with computers and the internet. Add text messaging with cell phones to the mix and you have a generation that is in constant communication with a wide network of their peers no matter where they are.

The availability of picture phones has added to the problem. Picture phones have resulted in compromising photos of students in school locker rooms or rest rooms being mass e-mailed to their peers.

There appears to be a pattern to online bullying. Most of this behavior is done by students in middle school and early high school. Girls generally poke fun of a person's physical appearance while boys tend to be more sexually explicit with their messages. Just as damaging is the exclusion of a classmate from buddy lists and online communities. Bullies called "griefers" appear on multiplayer gaming sites. Here friends of an online game loser gang-up on the winner with threatening messages in chat rooms.

School officials are responding to the problem, but with difficulty. They want to help victims but must be careful not to intrude on free-speech rights. Legislators in various states are considering legislation that would add an electronic component to a state law prohibiting traditional bullying. In some of the bills, school related bullying would not have to take place on school property, during school hours, or using school equipment, as long as the bullying resulted in a negative effect on a student or the school. Opponents to the legislation say that if students don't use a computer at school to inflict the harm then it's not a school matter. As distasteful as the bullying messages are, websites that contain hurtful information are covered under the First Amendment.

Without legislation to back them up, school administrators and teachers are responding to the problem by holding assemblies or having open discussions in classrooms. Reflection activities about bullying, character strengthening exercises and service-learning projects that emphasize acceptance of differences and patience with others can all help with the problem. Such talks sensitize students further to the impact of bullying.

While teachers and administrators will probably not be able to directly address specific cases of online bullying, since they are often hidden from the school, they can give those who have been victims the tools with which to stand up and take action against such intimidation. Some schools, however, are sending home internet-use policies at the start of the school year and are including cyberbullying as an offense that can be punished.

CyberSmart provides sample lesson plans for teachers wishing to discuss online bullying with their students. The objectives of the lesson is to discuss the rewards of going into cyberspace, compare comfortable and uncomfortable feelings and identify strategies for responsibly dealing with online bullies. You can view lessons and download student activity sheets from their website.

Students can help themselves by not responding to cyber-bullying messages, being careful about giving out their cell phone number or online handle and reporting harassment to school officials and parents. Parents can help prevent bullying by talking about the subject with their children and supervising their cell phone and internet usage by purchasing software that records instant messages.

A good overview of the cyberbullying problem, with ideas on how to combat it is found in a Christian Science Monitor article. There are several specific examples of how students are being intimated and humiliated with online bullying.

The Advantage Press has created learning packets to help bullies understand the consequences of their behavior and to re-think their actions. These lessons of reflection can also be used for group discussion purposes by the entire class to demonstrate the harm that is inflicted by bullies and why bullying doesn't solve but only escalates problems. You can view sample bully packets at our website. Bully packets are designed for students in grades 2-12.