Taking a Stand Against Cyberbullying

     

      This week’s readings were very interesting. Cyberbullying is one of my favorite lessons to teach and there are so many resources pertaining to the subject on the internet. According to the article entitled, “Digital Curation: Cyberbullying, “The Cyberbullying Research Center defines cyberbullying in four elements. Those elements are willful, repeated, harm, and involving electronic devices like computers and cell phones” (Smith, 2019).  Most cyberbullying situations is intended to embarrasses, humiliate, torment, threaten or harass individuals.  Cyberbullying can be easily seen and more accessible on social media sites. Social media sites are so popular now days and it seems as if children are being introduced to them at a very early age.  This week’s video, “Cyberbullying Explained by Common Craft”, had a great explanation of how cyberbully works and how we can prevent it.  We have had many cases where students could not get to each other at school, so they turn to social media to get their points across. The video also mentioned that cyberbullying could lead to depression if it becomes a pattern and nothing is done about it. This is a very serious subject especially because there have been a few recent cases in the news about children committing suicide due to constant bullying. The video also encourages parents and adults to talk about the issue, bring it the light and make students aware of the effects that cyberbullying can have on themselves and others. 

        At the school where I currently work, we use on day out of the month as an awareness day on topics that needs to be brought to the forefront. Recently, our awareness day topic was on bullying. I had a group of ten female students and our type was cyberbullying. Something surprising that I noticed while teaching the lesson was that, these students did not know how to recognize cyberbullying. We went over some scenarios and the students had to determine whether it was cyberbullying or not and most of the time, the students agreed that it wasn’t. As the article suggested, we must first make our youth aware and help them to recognize when someone or themselves is being bullied.  The article also states, “When a student sees another being bullied, they can take steps to stop or reduce it if they feel safe doing so” (Smith, 2019).  Some forms of cyberbullying and their meanings are listed below: 

        Cook, J. (2007, 01 17). Cyberbullying Simple Guidelines for Parents, Teachers, and Students.  

                 Retrieved from Slide Player: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4265067/

          I believe one of the main reasons why bullying is hard to prevent is because students aren’t doing enough reporting. In the session that I had with my girls, I asked them to be honest and tell me how many times they have reported a bullying situation, most of the girls said never. Their reasoning was simply because they did not want to be considered a “snitch”, which is slang talk for telling on someone.  Other students that have witnessed cyberbullying said they make a decision to ignore it. Towards the end of the session, I gave the girls a spill on the consequences of not reporting a bullying situation and what can happened if you are the one that is doing the bullying.

         
   After doing further research on this week’s topic, I ran across another article on the kids health website entitled, “Cyberbully” written by Larissa Hirsch.  In the article, it mentioned when a good time for parents to step in cyberbullying situations is.  “Most kids use technology differently than we do. They’re playing games online and sending texts on their phones at an early age (Hirsch, 2014).”  Parents should always monitor their children when they using their electronic devices, no matter what. There have been so many cases of children meeting up with people they met on the internet and ending up being kidnapped. This is a good way to not only prevent cyberbullying, but to ensure that your child is safe while searching the internet, especially social media sites. This article also discusses preventive measures that parents, teachers, and students can take in case they encounter an issue with bullying. For parents, some of those measures includes, blocking the bully, limiting access to technology, knowing what websites your kids are surfing online, and finding resources that can help parents learn about ways to keep their kids safe online. If we refer back to this week’s video, one of the most important route to take when trying to prevent cyberbully is by taking formal actions. “This means saving evidence of cyberbullying and reporting it to law enforcement, school administrators, parents, and social media platforms that have anti-bully policies” (Smith, 2019). Although students may not think that this subject is that serious, it is their responsibility to let an adult know immediately if they have witnessed a case of cyberbullying or is the one being bullied. Children should make themselves aware of the possibilities of cyberbullying, be careful of what they post on the internet, especially social media. Another prevention tips for children is,  not responding to the bully. Most importantly, documentation is a must in case the incident becomes repetitive.          

      Recently, I had the opportunity to create a LibGuide in a previous class. I used the topic, “Teens against Bullying.” The LibGuide consisted of videos, online databases, and books that students could use to learn more about bullying. I also encouraged students to look up information on the topic as well by searching the online databases. This is a topic that is often not taken as serious as need be, however we must all play our part in ensuring that cyberbullying is prevented.  For more information on cyberbullying, feel free to visit the resources below:

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying Just a little Fun

  The Cyberbullying Virus 

How to Beat Cyberbullies

Garfield's Cyberbullying Video 

 Cook, J. (2007, 01 17). Cyberbullying Simple Guidelines for Parents, Teachers, and Students.       
            Retrieved from Slide Player: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4265067/

Hirsch, L. (2014, June). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from Kids Health: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cyberbullying

Smith, K. (2019, 03 13). Digital Curation: Cyberbullying. Retrieved from Live Binders: www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1968391