Cyberbullying

=Cyberbullying = How serious is cyberbullying? Listen to this short video from the parents of [|Ryan Halligan.]  //** Definition: **// "[|Cyberbullying]" is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.

          ** Be Aware. Know the signs. **
 * //What are some examples? <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> //**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%;">Sending insults, threats, or hateful comments through email, instant messages, texts, or posts on blogs or websites.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%;">Stealing passwords and performing any of the above actions with an assumed identity.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%;">Building hateful websites against a targeted person.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;">Are you or is someone you know being cyberbullied? Has your child been acting peculiar lately? A victim of cyberbullying often remains silent, hoping that the bully will go away, or that the situation will fix itself. Children often fear that the bully will retaliate and embarrass them further if they tell an adult. Be aware and check for these common signs of cyberbullying: <span style="color: #000080; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">
 * <span style="color: #105b10; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">** Emotional upset, especially after using the computer or cell phone. **** This can include sadness, anxiety, anger, depression, lack of sleep, or excessive sleep, and avoiding school, friends, or other social activities. **
 * <span style="color: #105b10; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">** Decline in school grades. **

<span style="color: #105b10; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">All children can be cyberbullied, regardless of sex, race, or ethnicity. However, girls tend to be targeted more frequently. Children who use technology frequently, and those who give out personal information about their identity, thoughts, and ideas are at greater risk than children who do not have access to, or are not frequent users of digital technology. <span style="color: #ff00ff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"> <span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #ef252f; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="color: #105b10; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">** Decline in use of technology, such as computers or cell phone. **

<span style="background-color: #9ae641; color: #000080; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 140%; text-align: center;">Current Legislation
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span style="background-color: #9ae641; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 140%; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%;"><span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;">As we face new issues with cyberbullying in technology, a need for government intervention has become apparent. As of October 2009, two pieces of legislation are under consideration. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 121%;"><span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000080; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">Know what steps your government is taking to protect you. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%;"><span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000080; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">  <span style="color: #000080; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">Contact your representatives about which bill you support. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #ef252f; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;">  <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">[|**Megan Meier Cyber Bullying Prevention Act**] **- Linda Sanchez (D-CA)**  <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">This bill aims to criminally **criminally punish** cyberbullying. //"Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."// <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 99%; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">[|**Adolescent Web Awareness Requires Education Act**] **(AWARE) - Debbie W. Schultz (D-FL**) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;">This bill **provides funding** for education about cyberbullying. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;"> <span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #ef252f; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> //<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">This bill aims to dedicate $125 million in grants per year to develop Internet crime awareness and cybercrime prevention programs. //

**<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;">[|Two cyberbullying bills duke it out] ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">In this article by Jacqui Cheng for ars technia, she explains the constitutional drawbacks of a bill that focuses on criminal punishment for speech issues. "Critics immediately zeroed in on the vagueness of the bill's language and noted that it could be easily abused to prosecute a wide array of free speech situations." Deciding what language is prosecutable and what is not becomes a slippery slope for our First Amendment right to free speech. The AWARE Act has been praised for its support of public education, as it provides funding for awareness and prevention programs. ==<span style="background-color: #9ae641; color: #000000; display: block; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;">**Tips for Teachers**  ==

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<span style="background-color: #f5f7b6; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Educators play a role in preventing cyberbullying. Administrators and teachers facilitate and cultivate learning technological applications and safe computer usage. Classrooms and assemblies can include netiquette, school technology policy, Internet-related law, and general awareness about appropriate Internet use. Schools can also provide hotlines, web pages for advice and help, and school-wide campaigns against cyberbullies. ======

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">1. **__Survey__** - Collect surveys from your own school. Let the data drive your goals. Specific strategies work best. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> 2. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> **__School Policy__ -** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Every school should have a clear, concise policy on Internet and computer usage. The policy should be posted throughout the school and reviewed frequently. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span style="color: #ea1010; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">3. **__Education__ -** Assemblies and in-class discussions should address cyberbullying. Students should be made aware of cyberbullying, its consequences and its prevention, and resources to use if one is a witness or a target of cyberbullying. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">4. **__Know the Law__ -** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Check state and federal laws. Use this knowledge as a guide for prevention and, when necessary, correction <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">What steps can teachers take? **<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">5. **__Filters/Blockers__ -** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">All schools should have filters to block inappropriate content from students. Filters and blockers should be checked and serviced regularly <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> 6. **__School Spirit__** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">- Positive school spirit can help promote a healthy school environment which lessens the likelihood of victimization. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">It is essential to create a school atmosphere of mutual respect. 7 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">__Awareness__ **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">- <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Schools can promote community awareness by hosting seminars after school or during school for parents and community members, to educate the public on this new form of bullying.

<span style="background-color: #f8fcd5; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Some helpful websites are listed here. Additional teacher materials are available on our RESOURCES page. <span style="background-color: #f8fcd5; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: right;"> <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: right;">[|Cyberbullying] [|Internet 101] [|Wired Safety] [|I Safe]

<span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #ef252f; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">

<span style="background-color: #f8fcd5; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> <span style="background-color: #f5f7b6; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Parents play a vital role. Research indicates that most teenagers do not talk to their parents about any forms of cyberbullying. This needs to change. Safe Internet usage, sites explored, and online "friends" are key discussion starters. Be involved with your child's online experience and stay active in your son's or daughter's online activities. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: left;">1. **__Online Protocol__** - Frequently review online etiquette. Never give out any personal information on the phone or Internet. Use extreme caution when talking to a "friend of a friend." Be careful what you write and what pictures you post. One moment of anger can turn into hours of embarrassment.

2**.** __**Location**__ - Keep your child's computer in a user-friendly area that is **not** in a bedroom. Place the computer or laptop in an area frequented often by other family members, like the living room or kitchen. Children don't need "privacy" when they're online. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: center;"><span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #ef252f; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; text-align: left;">3. __**Internet Chat**__ **-** Discuss what sites your child has been on and what person or persons he or she has been "met." This is not an invasion of privacy. You are the parent and you have the right and **responsibility** to keep abreast of your child's activities online and offline. Additionally, discuss what cyberbullying is and how important it is to immediately report any incident.

4. **__Signs__ -** Watch for signs of listlessness, depression, mood swings, slipping grades, inattentiveness at school, or a new resistance to going to school. These signs could show that your child **might** be struggling with cyberbullying.

5. __**Filters/Blockers**__ - Use filtering and blocking software, especially for younger children. This will help avoid viewing of inappropriate content. Search engines like Yahooligans! and Ask Jeeves are designed to help younger students navigate safely through the Internet highways.

6. __**Computer Check**__ - Occasionally check your child's computer. Review your child's accounts, blogs, chat rooms, and all recently-visited web sites. Suggested rule: Your child should never erase browser history. This keeps the child accountable to the parent.

7. __**Contact**__ **-** Your local school, police, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) should be contacted if there is a serious threat. Print and save any evidence of cyberbullying. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">.

Here are a few helpful websites. Additional parent materials can be found at our RESOURCES page. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">[|Cyberbullying] [|Internet 101] [|Wired Safety] [|Surf Swell Island]

<span style="background-color: #e5f3c3; color: #007000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 99%; text-align: center;"> At our <span class="wiki_link_new">Online Behavior Forum, you can share your own experiences or pose questions for others to consider. <span class="author-g-taez122zthfx95vpn9ax" style="color: #ef252f; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">