Brittany Granquist

Cyberbullying: A New Threat to Students’ Safety

In recent years, bullying has taken on a new, and extremely dangerous form:

cyberbullying, or bullying through electronic means, specifically through mobile phones or the

Internet. Cyberbullying is an “aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual,

using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily

defend him or herself.” There are seven media of cyberbullying including “text messaging;

pictures/photos or video clips; phone calls; email; chat rooms; instant messaging; and websites”

(Smith, Mahdavi, Carvalho, Fisher, Russell, & Tippett, 2008). In recent years cyberbullying has

received considerable attention because of the frequency of adolescent suicides linked to

harassment via technology. In 2006, Megan Meier, a thirteen-year-old girl from Missouri,

committed suicide by hanging herself after a neighboring mother impersonated a 16-year-old-

boy on MySpace and sent her hurtful messages. In January of 2010, Phoebe Prince, a fifteen-

year-old recent Irish immigrant, took her own life after fellow classmates routinely tormented her

for three months via text messaging and the social networking Facebook site (Russell, 2010).

These tragic, yet preventable, cases of lives cut too short indicate the enormity of the

consequences cyberbullying can yield. According to the Smith article, that summarizes results

from two surveys completed by 92 students aged 11-16 years from 14 separate schools, and 533

students from five separate schools, “51% of 10-year-olds and 91% of 12-year-olds in the UK

have a mobile phone” (Smith, Mahdavi, Carvalho, Fisher, Russell, & Tippett, 2008). With the

majority of students being in constant cyber connection with one another, bullying via the cyber

world has become increasingly common and has become an important issue in today’s schools.

A concern is deciding whether or not schools should be held responsible for addressing problems

regarding cyberbullying, even if they occur outside of the classroom. This paper will address this
concern, provide information about cyberbullying laws in Illinois and the impact cyberbullying

has on education, and provide suggestions for establishing prevention and intervention plans that

will better meet the safety needs of students both in school and in cyberspace.

In response to the aforementioned Missouri teenager’s suicide, former Governor Rod

Blagojevich signed the Cyberbullying Law, which amends the Harassing and Obscene

Communications Act. This law provides that the offense of harassment through electronic

communication includes:

“The use of electronic communication for making a harassing statement for the purpose

of alarming, tormenting, or terrorizing a specific person on at least 2 separate

occasions; or creating and maintaining an Internet website or webpage, which is

accessible to one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours, and which

contains harassing statements made for the purpose of alarming, tormenting,

or terrorizing a specific person” (Silverstein, 2008).

Aside from the state’s duty to rule in cyberbullying cases, schools often deal directly with

supervising and monitoring cyberbullying, but doing so is very challenging for several prevalent

reasons. The anonymity of cyberbullying is problematic because students can hide their

identities behind screen names, but also because the fear of unknown cyber-perpetrators extends

into the classroom. According to a study done in 2005 by Qing Li, “41% of the students

surveyed did not know the identity of their perpetrators” (Shariff, 2006). This uncertainty can

lead to devastating psychological and social consequences, but also can have detrimental effects

on academic performance. “Fear of unknown cyber-perpetrators among classmates and bullying

that continues at school distracts all students from schoolwork” and contributes to the creation of

an intimidating classroom environment in which “equal opportunities to learn are greatly

reduced” (Shariff, 2006). In addition to the anonymity of cyberbullying, the number of offenders

significantly increases when bullying occurs in cyberspace. According to general research on

bullying, “30% of on-lookers support perpetrators instead of victims,” and the longer the abuse

persists, the more by-standers will join in, creating a power imbalance. It is oftentimes the case

that friendly teasing that occurs within the parameters of school can quickly turn into covert

bullying that continues to occur into cyber-space (Shariff, 2006). Schools also face challenges in

monitoring cyberbullying because a prevalent aspect of cyberbullying is sexual harassment,

which undoubtedly leads to further victimization and fear. A Web-based survey of 12- to 17-year

olds indicates that cyberspace may not function alone, but rather is an extension of the school

grounds. “For example, one third of seventh graders were bullied at both school and online,

whereas one quarter reported having experienced bullying only online” (Juvonen & Gross,

2008). Educating adolescents while simultaneously tending to their physical and emotional

safety has become a daunting task because of an increase in the rate of cyberbullying incidences.

Adolescents today use technological media to extend bullying from school grounds out into a

vast, limitless, cyber world. The anonymity, the infinite audience that is the World Wide Web,

and the prevalence of sexual harassment, all contribute to the negative implications

cyberbullying has on schools’ ability to provide all students with equal opportunities to learn in a

safe learning environment.

Due to concerns with breaching freedom of expression rights and other legal

uncertainties, it is debatable whether or not schools should be responsible for monitoring and

supervising cases of cyberbullying. Many people believe that it is necessary that schools adapt to

our highly technological society and assume the duty of teaching students appropriate and safe

Internet use, and guide students to become responsible citizens. On the other hand, opposing
viewpoints indicate that schools only have dictation over incidences occurring during school.

According to Shariff, since schools “use technology to deliver curriculum and assign homework,

[it is] imperative that attention is paid to how their students use it.” Several court rulings have

made it so that schools can successfully prevent cyberbullying without infringing freedom rights.

According to the Tinker ruling in 1969, in a case involving anti-war protests in school, “unless

speech materially and substantially disrupts learning, schools cannot restrict it.” Since

cyberbullying has been proven to disrupt student concentration and learning, schools are able to

provide a case for resisting unfavorable speech. In the Fraser case of 1986, a case involving

vulgar sexual expression in school, the judge ruled “offensive speech has little value in a school

setting and cannot be ignored by schools. Moreover, the court noted that the speech infringed the

rights of others” and was not consistent with the values of the school. As the majority of

cyberbullying is delivered by means of sexual harassment, schools can make a case that sexual

language outside of school is brought into the school setting when the language takes away from

students’ ability to learn (Shariff, 2008). Although people have differing opinions regarding the

schools’ place in intervening in cyberbullying situations, the way in which the particular

situation is presented with regard to the preceding court rulings will be the final indicator of the

schools’ duty to do so.

As technology becomes increasingly accessible, and social networking sites even more

popular, cyberbullying will continue to threaten students’ safety. As this has become a major

concern, several scholars have provided suggestions for schools in configuring reasonable

prevention and response plans to such a devastating form of social cruelty. According to the

Diamanduros article, the first step educators need to take in maintaining a proactive stance

against cyberbullying is to spread awareness: “Awareness is the first step in prevention. It is

important for parents and teachers to educate their children on the impact that [various forms of

technology] can have on their social lives” (Diamanduros, Downs, & Jenkins, 2008). The article

advises that formal workshops, online training, informational brochures and pamphlets, and

lesson plans on cyberbullying can all be used collaboratively among faculty members to promote

awareness throughout the school. As a majority of cyberbullying occurs outside of school, it is

especially important to educate parents/guardians about the problem of cyberbullying, the issues

related, and the warning signs that they can look out for in their children’s interactions on the

computer (Diamanduros, Downs, & Jenkins, 2008). Since schools differ so vastly from each

other, with regard to demographic percentages, budget, teacher qualification, geographic

location, etc., it is important for school administrators to get a feel for the prevalence of

cyberbullying among students before establishing a prevention and intervention plan. Faculty can

do this by delivering assessments, or surveys, to both students and teachers. The results of the

assessments should be used in creating a detailed and consistent prevention plan, “as students

will do best if they receive consistent cyberbullying prevention training as they move through

grade levels and change schools.” Equally important to prevention is the development of a full-

proof plan for intervening once a cyberbullying situation has already occurred. The article

advices school administrators to take the following steps: Save the evidence, conduct a threat

assessment to determine concerns about disruption, violence, or suicide and contact law

enforcement if necessary, assess the response options and determine the most appropriate,

identify perpetrator using technical services, support the victim, contact ISP to request account

termination, and seek to understand the underlying cause of the situation (Diamanduros, Downs,

& Jenkins, 2008). Regardless of the specific plan each individual school enacts to combat

cyberbullying, the plan should be thoroughly constructed and include preventative measures, yet
also strict steps to follow when intervening in a cyberbullying situation.

Although there was not a term for it when I was in middle school, I now know that I have

been both a cyber-victim and a cyberbully. There were far less media options at the time; I recall

having been bullied via a three-way conference call and more frequently in chat rooms and

instant messaging. The conference calls would involve a conversation between two people, while

the third party remained silent, listening in on a predetermined conversation between the first,

unknowing party, and the second party. Chat rooms and instant messaging cyberbullying of the

time often involved disagreements or disputes with other cyber-parties. Having first hand

experience with this phenomenon has given me a realistic and disturbing viewpoint regarding

cyberbullying. I was never a confrontational child, however being masked behind a screen name

and having that ability to hide behind technology brought out a side in me that I had not known

existed; this is the scary aspect about cyberbullying. Cyberbullies can be anyone, and certainly

not only traditional classroom bullies. I believe that cyberbullying is a dire problem among

today’s youth. Adolescents are not equipped with the maturity levels or the ability to think past

the present moment to cope with such social destruction. I believe that as educators, we need to

do everything in our power to maintain a firm stance against cyberbullying, educate students and

parents/guardians about the disastrous effects it can have, demonstrate appropriate Internet use,

encourage students who are cyberbullied to come forward, and provide ample support for those

hurt by cyberbullying, yet also those who inflict the pain. We need to stand strong against it so

that providing all students with equal opportunities to learn and a safe environment to so

becomes possible once again.

Works Cited
Diamanduros, T., Downs, E., & Jenkins, S. J. (2008). The Role of School Psychologists in the

Assessment, Prevention, and Intervention of Cyberbullying. Psychology in

Schools, 45 (8).

Juvonen, Jaana and Elisheva, F. Gross. “Extending the Schools Grounds? Bullying Experiences

in Cyberspace.” Journal of School Health, 78:9: 496-504, 2008.

Russell, G. (2010, March 29). Teens Indicated After Allegedly Taunting Girl Who

Hanged Herself. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from ABC News:

abcnews.go.com/Technology

Silverstein, I.I. (2008, February 15). Full Text of SB2426. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from

Illinois General Assembly: www.ilga.gov

Shariff, Shariff, Cyber-Dilemmas in the New Millennium; School Obligations to Provide Student

Safety in a Virtual School Environment, McGill Journal of Education, v40

n3 p467-487 Fall 2005.

Smith, Peter K.; Mahdavi, Jess; Carvalho, Manuel; Fisher, Sonja; Russell, Shanette; Tippett,

Neil, Cyberbullying: Its Nature and Impact in Secondary School Pupils, Journal

of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, v49 n4 p376-385 Apr 2008.