Manuela Moreno

Professor Bevill
ENGL-1302-11
01 May 2015
Solutions to Ending Online Abuse
Interactions through technology have a major impact on todays young adults. As of
lately there has been a rise of online harassment in the youths community which many may refer
to as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is starting to impact young adults in an extremely negative
way that leads them to experience emotional and psychological stress and in extreme cases
suicide or revenge towards others, which can affect the individual and close loved ones around
them for the rest of their lives. Although online harassment is getting drastically worse as time
passes there are many ways that we as a whole can reduce the probability of someone getting
cyber bullied and also preventing it from occurring. On average students attend school about
seven to nine hours daily which is a large amount of time. Most public schools have specific
days or weeks where they promote drug awareness, autism, suicide awareness and many others,
but cyber bullying is not being promoted like the serious topic that it really is. Promoting
awareness of cyberbullying in schools, placing student programs, putting into action a zero
policy to cyberbullying, rules that relate to cyber bullying and inserting cyber bullying awareness
into teachers curriculums could prevent the act of cyberbullying and a decrease in online abuse
by young adults.
Public schools have the opportunity to prevent and reduce cyberbullying by placing
teacher programs which will help aware the students of the cause and effects of cyberbullying.
The cyberbullying problem has not decreased with the increasing ubiquity of technology in the

last few years, including new apps for texting and otherwise engaging through social media,
some of which even provide for anonymous posting ( 67 ). Public school systems can begin the
process by pushing teachers to attend workshops about cyberbullying. Obviously, the workshops
will provide all the material that teachers need to know about this new epidemic and how to
inform and teach the student about online abuse. The teacher workshops that can be put into
action can lead students to become aware about online harassment. These workshops can aid
teachers in putting this new material into their curriculum. Public schools do not have to require
teachers to spend an entire day on cyberbullying but the teachers could simply integrate it into a
portion of the class informing and teaching the students. Therefore, all other classes can stay on
schedule. Teaching students about online bullying can save a life, therefore it is worth taking
time out of regular class and spending time talking about cyberbullying and what the serious
outcome could be.
Furthermore, there should also be student programs and after school activities implanted
in public schools which can prevent and cease potential cyberbullying attacks. Placing student
programs such as after school activities can get the student involved in the movement and is a
necessary effort which can protect students. Providing after school activities will actively engage
students in the anti-cyberbullying movement. "therefore, it is important to concentrate on
proactive strategies that will modify students' behavior in online environments, empower victims
of cyber-bullying to report misdeeds, and dissuade bullies from further acting out in cyberspace
These after school activities for students will not consist of teachers sitting in front of a class
room and teaching but rather fun and interesting activities such as placing a wider range of after
school clubs where all students can get involved not just a few. Students are attentively attracted
by different methods of learning, therefore if a variety of after school activities could be made

available to them, the students would get involved. Obviously, while the students are at these
activities their minds are focused on what they are doing because they are interested. The main
point of these after school activities are to prevent any potential cyberbullying from occurring. If
their minds are focused on what they are doing it is less likely for them to cyber bully or get
cyber bullied.
In detail, the programs that the public schools will put into place will consist of informing
the students, promoting, and also enforcing anti-cyber bullying. In an article referring to
developing anti-cyberbullying policies and responses, the authors "emphasizes that policies must
be in force on a continual basis in order for them to be effective" (23).The teachers workshops
will aid teachers in giving the correct information on cyberbullying to the students. The first step
to putting a stop to online abuse is informing the students of online abuse and the major effects it
has on the abused. The goal is to inform students that the act of cyberbullying is serious and it
has life changing effects that can ruin someones life. The next step to preventing cyberbullying
is promoting anti-bullying/cyberbullying in schools. Online harassment and abuse is not talked
about very often in schools and because it is not being talked about, the student and adults do not
believe it is a serious matter when in reality is it. Therefore, if cyberbullying awareness begins to
be promoted in public school systems the students will begin to realize that it is wrong, hurtful,
mean, and is should not be done towards anyone else. The same way that drug awareness is
promoted in school, anti-bullying should be discussed and spread in the same way. The final and
most effective step that public school systems should do put into action is enforcing anticyberbullying. The public school systems can inform and promote anti-bullying all day but if it is
not enforced, and there are no repercussions from school principals, teachers, and staff then
students will not comprehend that the act of bullying someone will have consequences. If anti-

cyberbullying is enforced and consequences are put in place at school, then it could lead students
to keep from cyberbullying. Most students will not harass and threaten someone if they are aware
that they will have punishments and consequences such as detention, a call to the parents,
suspension and even expulsion. The implementation of zero-tolerance anti-bullying policies in
schools will certainly aid in preventing online abuse. Perpetrators could no longer hid behind the
safety of their web-based threats.
Planting various programs in public schools that will promote anti-cyberbullying, inform
students and enforce a zero tolerance for bullying is going to be extremely helpful in reducing
and preventing online abuse. A recent meta-analysis found that the presence of formal wholeschool antibullying policy is an effective component of bullying prevention programs
(Farrington and Ttoti, 2009). (3).If these programs are placed in public schools across the
country there will be a drastic decline in online abuse because the students will have knowledge
about cyberbullying and the negative effects it has on the abused. The students will be more
aware of the what cyberbullying is and putting into act a zero policy for online abuse in public
schools across the country will prevent students from bullying someone online. The zero policy
for bullying will be the most helpful in reducing and preventing cyberbullying because no one
wants to get in trouble with their school and parents. Getting suspended and maybe even
expelled from school is a good reason why many will not abuse anyone online or be involved in
any online abuse.
Placing teacher programs that will inform and promote the students, having after school
activities, and enforcing anti-bullying is highly possible and easy to do. Since public schools are
funded by the government finding money or raising money will not be an issue for this solution.
This solution for cyberbullying is possible, the money is available, but the only thing missing is

initiative. When public schools take initiative and begin to act against cyberbullying and also
start promoting anti-cyberbullying then there will be a noticeable change.
Online abuse is a constant issue that is gravely serious and growing in this era of
technology which can be drastically reduced and prevented if public schools create student
programs and after school activities, and require teachers to implement it in their curriculum. If
the public schools and school programs inform the students about cyberbullying, promote anticyberbullying, and enforce a zero tolerance policy for bullying, the students will be less likely to
get online by themselves or in a group to harass another student. The solution to this problem is
not difficult, rather easily possible and cost-free. Informing students and parents on the dangers
of this new threat and teaching preventative measures will save the countless minds and lives of
youths who could possibly be the next victim of this new threat in our digital age

Work Cited
Cross, Donna, Monks Helen, Campbell Marilyn, Spears Barbara, and Slee, Phillips. Centre for
Strategic Educational Occasional Paper. No. 119 (2011): 3. Print.
Shariff, Shaheen. Cyber-bullying Issues and solutions for the school, the classroom and the
home. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Suski, Emily F. "Beyond The Schoolhouse Gates: The Unprecedented Expansion Of School
Surveillance Authority Under Cyberbullying Laws." Case Western Reserve Law
Review 65.1 (2014): 63-119.Academic Search Complete. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.