Cyberbullying for the Media

What is it?: Cyberbullying is any cyber-communication or publication posted or sent by a minor online, by instant messenger, e-mail, website, diary site, online profile, interactive game, handheld device, cell phone or other interactive device that is intended to frighten, embarrass, harass or otherwise target another minor. If there arent minors on both sides of the communication, it is considered cyberharassment, not cyberbullying. Most kids dont consider a one-time rude or insulting communication to be cyberbullying. They think it needs to be repeated, or a threat of bodily harm or a public posting designed to hurt, embarrass or otherwise target a child. What ages does it usually affect?: Cyberbullying typically starts at about seven years of age and usually ends around fifteen or sixteen. After that it usually becomes sexual harassment. Many cases of cyberbullying occur right after a child receives their first IM account when they often try to see what they can get away with. (These kids usually stop when they understand the consequences of their actions.) How prevalent is it?: Very. Ninety percent of the middle school students we polled admitted to having had their feelings hurt online. Sixty-five percent of the students we polled between eight and fourteen have been involved directly or indirectly in a cyberbullying incident as either the cyberbully, the victim or a close friend of one or the other. Fifty percent have heard of or seen a website bashing another student in their school, and seventy-five percent have visited a bashing website. Forty percent have either had their password stolen and changed by a bully (locking them out of their own account) or had communications sent to others posing as them. Many studies that ask kids if they have been cyberbullied fall short of measuring the real problem, because the kids often do not consider many of these actions to be cyberbullying. Only fifteen percent of parents polled even knew what cyberbullying was. How does it work?: There are four kinds of cyberbullying: direct attacks (messages sent to kids directly), indirect cyberbullying (reputational attacks where rumors, misinformation and secrets are shared with others about the child), invasions of privacy (spying on the victim or sharing their secrets) and cyberbullying-by-proxy (using others to help cyberbully the victim, either with or without the accomplices knowledge). These include bashing websites, where kids are encouraged to vote for the ugliest, fattest, etc. victim. Because cyberbullying by proxy often gets adults involved in the harassment, it is much more dangerous. Whats the profile of a typical cyberbullying victim?: Anyone age seven to sixteen. After that, the bullying becomes more dangerous and usually involves sexual harassment. Anything involving someone over the age of eighteen (not a minor) is considered cyberharassment not cyberbullying, because of the nature of the attacks and the age of the actors. What is the schools role in this?: When schools try and get involved by disciplining the student for cyberbullying actions that take place off-campus and outside of school hours, they are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student's free speech rights. They also, often lose. Schools
Unless otherwise indicated, copyright 2006 -2011 Parry Aftab, All Rights Reserved by WiredSafety and Parry Aftab.

can be very effective brokers in working with the parents to stop and remedy cyberbullying situations. They can also educate the students on cyberethics and the law. If schools are creative, they can sometimes avoid the claim that their actions exceeded their legal authority for off-campus cyberbullying actions. We recommend that a provision is added to the school's acceptable use policy reserving the right to discipline the student for actions taken off-campus if they are intended to have an effect on a student or they adversely affect the safety and well-being of student while in school. This makes it a contractual, not a constitutional, issue. Tell me more about WiredSafety.org, StopCyberbullying.org etc. Founded and run by cyberspace lawyer Parry Aftab, WiredSafety.org was the world's first, and is the most comprehensive Internet safety and help group, comprised of thousands of unpaid volunteers. It is dedicated to helping consumers and families enjoy new digital technologies, safely, securely, privately, and responsibly. Unlike other organizations which provide information and education alone, WiredSafety provides one-to-one assistance for victims of cyberabuse that may not rise to the level of a cybercrime and is not handled by law enforcement. WiredSafety helps everyone stay safer online. What programs do we offer? Teenangels.org and Tweenangels.org, training teens and preteens to be part of the solution, WiredKids and WiredTeens, programs for schools and community groups, programs for parents and community groups, law enforcement training and briefings, local county level summits on cyberbullying, videos, lesson plans and activities. Contact us for more stats and facts Contact Parry directly at parry@aftab.com or by phone at 201-463-8663 if you are on a deadline. Credentialed journalists and media professionals may qualify for access to our secure Cyberbullying Media Portal where trends, stats, images, and story ideas are made available to help news agencies and producers learn what they need to know about cyberbullying. To apply for access, e-mail media@aftab.com. You can also ask for permission to use our materials or images, to have someone appear on camera (Parry is in NY, but we have other media-cleared volunteers elsewhere), or to make arrangements to talk with Teenangels (teenangels.org).

Unless otherwise indicated, copyright 2006 -2011 Parry Aftab, All Rights Reserved by WiredSafety and Parry Aftab.