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Cyberbullying -- A Closer Look

The popularity of instant messaging, e-mail, web pages, text messaging, and blogging means that kids are potential cyberbullying targets -- all day, every day. Victimization on the Internet through cyberbullying is increasing infrequency and scope. Electronic bullies can remain "virtually" anonymous. Temporary e-mail accounts and pseudonyms in chat rooms, instant messaging programs, and other Internet venues can make it very difficult for adolescents to determine the identity of aggressors. Individuals now have the ability to hide behind some measure of anonymity when using their personal computer or cellular phone to bully another individual.
Talk to your children about cyberbullying:
1 - Tell your children they do not have to accept any online activity meant to intimidate, threaten, tease, or harm them or anyone else. Remind that that giving bullies attention is exactly what they want, so ignore them as much as possible. Tell them not to erase or delete messages from cyberbullies. Your children do not have to read the messages they receive from bullies, but they (or you) need to keep messages as evidence. To report cyberbullying, it is important to save as much information as possible. The more you save, the easier it will be to track down the people that are bothering your child. (Save the e-mail, e-mail address, date and time received, copies of all relevant e-mails, screenshots, etc.). Finally, use software to block bullies if encountered through chat or IM and use privacy settings on social networking pages.

2 - Encourage your children to talk to you if anybody says or does something online that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. It's important to stay calm and keep open lines of communication with your children. Make sure you or your children tell their school if the bullying is school related or involves another student. If you or your children are threatened with harm, contact your local police.

3 -Watch for the warning signs of being cyberbullied, such as reluctance to use the computer, a change in your child's behavior and mood, or reluctance to go to school.

4 -Tell your children to guard their contact information. Children should assume that people will use the information they post online to cause them harm. Remind your children that the people they communicate with and befriend online have open access to ALL of their posted content and information, and they can forward or use any of that information against them.

5 - Remind your children that those who bully want to make their victims feel as if there is something wrong with them, but victims should know that there is nothing wrong with them; it is the bullies who have the real problem.

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Internet Safety 101: Cyberbullying - A closer look

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The popularity of instant messaging, e-mail, web pages, text messaging, and blogging means that kids are potential cyberbullying targets -- all day, every day. Victimization on the Internet through cyberbullying is increasing infrequency and scope. Electronic bullies can remain "virtually" anonymous.

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Cyberbullying can range from embarrassing or cruel online posts or digital pictures, to online threats, harassment, and negative comments, to stalking through emails, websites, social media platforms and text messages.

Every age group is vulnerable to cyberbullying, but teenagers and young adults are common victims. Cyberbullying is a growing problem in schools and has become an issue because the internet is fairly anonymous, which is appealing to bullies because their intimidation is difficult to trace. Unfortunately, rumors, threats and photos can be disseminated online very quickly.

Help protect kids against cyberbullying with these tips:

Limit where your children post personal information: Be careful who can access contact information or details about your children's interests, habits or employment to reduce their exposure to bullies that they do not know. Limiting the information about them online may also limit their risk of becoming a victim and may make it easier to identify the bully if they are victimized.

Avoid escalating the situation: Responding with hostility is likely to provoke a bully. Depending on the circumstances, consider ignoring the issue. Often, bullies thrive on the reaction of their victims. If you or your child receives unwanted email messages, consider changing your email address. The problem may stop. If you continue to get messages at the new account, you may have a strong case for legal action.

Document cyberbullying: Keep a record of any online activity (e.g., emails, web pages, social media posts), including relevant dates and times. Keep both an electronic version and a printed copy of each document.

Report cyberbullying to the appropriate authorities: If you are experiencing cyberbullying yourself - or if your child is being bullied or threatened online, report the activity to the local authorities. Your local police department or FBI branch are good starting points. There is a distinction between free speech and punishable offenses. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors can help sort out legal implications. It may also be appropriate to report it to school officials who may have separate policies for dealing with activity that involves students.

Additional Resources

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Cyberbullying can range from embarrassing or cruel online posts or digital pictures, to online threats, harassment, and negative comments, to stalking through emails, websites, social media platforms and text messages.

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Stop, Speak, Support - Cyberbullying guidance for kids | Internet Matters

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Kid President's 20 Things We Should Say More Often

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Online Safety and Cyberbullying Resources

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Be Web Aware provides a comprehensive overview on cyberbullying, the risks associated with social networking, and other pitfalls for students on the internet. Though it is mostly targeted towards parents, the site contains many links to studies and resources that can be helpful for teachers. www.bew…

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dealing with bullies in preschool or kindergarten can be frustrating

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for both kids and parents. our bullying articles have tips to make a difference.

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Bullies and Bullying in Preschool and Kindergarten | Kid Pointz

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Dealing with bullies in preschool or kindergarten can be frustrating, for both kids and parents. Our bullying articles have tips to make a difference.

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(For a formatted .pdf version of this article for distribution, click on the image above [or click here]).
Spanish Translation Available Here
Finding out that your child is being cyberbullied is painful. Here's what to do:

1. MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS (AND FEELS) SAFE. The safety and well-being of your child should always be the foremost priority. Convey unconditional support. Parents must demonstrate to their children through words and actions that they both desire the same end result: stopping the cyberbullying.

2. TALK WITH AND LISTEN TO YOUR CHILD. Engage your child in conversation about what is going on in a calm manner. Refrain from freaking out. Take the time to learn exactly what happened, and the nuanced context in which it occurred. Also, don't minimize the situation or make excuses for the aggressor.

3. COLLECT EVIDENCE. Print out or make screenshots or recordings of conversations, messages, pictures, videos, and any other items which can serve as clear proof that your child is being cyberbullied. Keep a record of any and all incidents to assist in the investigative process. Also, keep notes on relevant details like location, frequency, severity of harm, third-party involvement or witnesses, and the backstory.

4. WORK WITH THE SCHOOL. All schools in the U.S. have a bullying policy, and most cover cyberbullying. Seek the help of administrators if the target and aggressor go to the same school. Your child has the right to feel safe at school, and educators are responsible to ensure this through an investigation and appropriate response.

5. REFRAIN FROM CONTACTING THE PARENTS OF THE ONE DOING THE BULLYING. Some parents confronted with accusations that their child is engaging in cyberbullying may become defensive and therefore may not be receptive to your thoughts. Be judicious in your approach to avoid additional drama and possible retaliation.

6. CONTACT THE CONTENT PROVIDER. Cyberbullying violates the Terms of Service of all legitimate service providers (websites, apps, gaming networks, Internet or cell phone companies). Regardless of whether your child can identify who is harassing them, contact the relevant provider. An updated list of contact information can be found here: cyberbullying.org/report.

7. IF NECESSARY, SEEK COUNSELING. Your child may benefit from speaking with a mental health professional. Children may prefer to dialogue with a third party who may be perceived as more objective.

8. IF THE BULLYING IS BASED ON RACE, SEX, OR DISABILITY, CONTACT THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS. The U.S. Department of Education takes these cases very seriously if children are limited or restricted in their ability to learn and thrive at school because of discrimination.

9. CONTACT THE POLICE WHEN PHYSICAL THREATS ARE INVOLVED. Most states have laws related to online threats, and law enforcement can assist in these cases either informally or formally. If your local department is not helpful, contact county or state law enforcement officials, as they often have more resources and expertise in technology-related offenses.

10. IMPLEMENT MEASURES TO PREVENT IT FROM REOCCURRING. If your child is being bullied through social media (YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.), set up privacy controls within each platform to block the person doing the bullying from contacting them, and file a report (see #6). Also encourage them to keep talking to you before small issues flare up into major situations.
Citation information: Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2018). What to do when your child is cyberbullied: Top ten tips for parents. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved [insert date], from https://cyberbullying.org/tips-for-parents-when-your-child-is-cyberbullied.pdf
Keywords: teens, parents, victim, target, student

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What To Do When Your Child is Cyberbullied: Top Ten Tips for Parents

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(For a formatted .pdf version of this article for distribution, click on the image above [or click here]). Spanish Translation Available Here Finding out that your child is being cyberbullied is painful. Here's what to do: 1. MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS (AND FEELS) SAFE.

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WHO WE WORK WITH

No Bully takes a holistic approach to partnering with schools and districts by involving the administration, staff, parents, and students in the process.

School Partnerships

Our Global Reach

Republic of the Philippines

How It Works

Year One

The year one partnership consists of individual workshops designed to train school staff to identify, interrupt, and intervene when bullying happens and create a sustainable social vision.

Year Two And Beyond

In Year Two and beyond, we work extensively with the leadership of the school to analyze their culture and further their social vision, and deepen the implementation of the No Bully System.

Work With Us

Learn how you can be a part of the No Bully revolution to stop bullying in its tracks.

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School Partnerships Republic of the Philippines Year One The year one partnership consists of individual workshops designed to train school staff to identify, interrupt, and intervene when bullying happens and create a sustainable social vision.

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UPDATED for 2020! This detailed guide is a nine-page summary - filled with as much useful information as possible - to equip educators, parents, and other youth-serving adults to spot cyberbullying, respond to it appropriately and meaningfully, and to prevent its future occurrence among those they care for. If you only have time to read one fact sheet from the Cyberbullying Research Center to get up-to-speed about the problem and what you can do, read this one.

Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2020). Cyberbullying fact sheet: Identification, Prevention, and Response. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved [insert date], from https://cyberbullying.org/Cyberbullying-Identification-Prevention-Response-2020.pdf
Download PDF
(NOTE: We have a much older version of this Cyberbullying fact sheet available here, in case you were looking for it or had linked to it from another site: https://cyberbullying.org/Cyberbullying-Identification-Prevention-Response.pdf)

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Cyberbullying Fact Sheet: Identification, Prevention, and Response

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UPDATED for 2020! This detailed guide is a nine-page summary - filled with as much useful information as possible - to equip educators, parents, and other youth-serving adults to spot cyberbullying, respond to it appropriately and meaningfully, and to prevent its future occurrence among those they care for.

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Commentary

Cyberbullying-the use of electronic-communication technologies to engage in repeated or widely disseminated acts of cruelty toward another person-is a modern-day phenomenon posing major new challenges for school officials.

From a principal's perspective, this growing social problem raises three leadership questions: When can or must I respond to cyberbullying? How can I respond effectively, so that the incident is not only resolved, but in a way that supports the well-being of all the students involved? And, what can be done to prevent these situations from occurring in the first place, or from growing into major disputes?

Today's young people do not generally distinguish between their online and offline worlds. But for principals, the "where" and "how" of cyberbullying raise significant issues related to prevention and intervention. Bullying occurring on the Internet, for example, may take place when students are off campus, on websites over which schools have no control. These sites may even be blocked by the school's filter, but it is easy for older students to bypass the filter, or access the website using a personal device while at school. Because of this, even though harmful material may be posted on a nondistrict site, students could have posted it while at school.

Hurtful text messages sent while students are in school are also a big problem. Though many schools have rules preventing the use of cellphones during school hours, these are regularly ignored. Cyberbullying by text message, however, can create a hostile school environment for students, or even lead to altercations on campus. Moreover, victimized students are often unwilling to report such incidents because the report itself would implicate them in a rule violation.

School officials must realize that even when harmful online interactions take place while students are off campus, they invariably are related to face-to-face interactions at school. Cyberbullying also can have a damaging impact at school, making it impossible for affected students to be successful in their studies, causing them to avoid school or school activities, or resulting in potentially violent confrontations on campus.

Guidance: A whole-school-community approach that incorporates elements at the individual, classroom, school, parent, and community levels will be necessary to effectively prevent and intervene in cyberbullying situations.

When do school officials have the authority to respond to off-campus student speech? Almost universally, the federal courts have said schools have the authority to respond when that speech has caused, or could cause, substantial disruption on campus or interference with the rights of students to be secure.

The problem comes with the application of this standard to specific situations. Almost all off-campus online-speech cases have involved discipline for speech targeting school staff members. In these situations, the off-campus speech must not simply cause fear and distress to the staff member, but cause or threaten to cause a disruption of school activities.

Fortunately, there is a strongly worded portion of a court ruling related to anti-bullying policies that provides some guidance on applying the "substantial interference" language to student speech directed at another student:

The 2001 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Saxe v. State College Area School District, a decision written by the future U.S. Supreme Court justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., warned school officials against using so-called harassment codes that silenced free-speech rights under the First Amendment. But it also approved policy language that prohibited speech that "substantially interfer[es] with a student's educational performance."

Said the appellate court: "The primary function of a public school is to educate its students; conduct that substantially interferes with the mission is, almost by definition, disruptive to the school environment."

Unfortunately, a district court judge in a California case that addressed student-to-student, off-campus online speech- J.C. v. Beverly Hills Unified School District-did not look to the Saxe standard when he ruled in December 2009 that schools must demonstrate a substantial disruption of school activities, not just an individual student's well-being. Under this reasoning, the constitutionality of all bullying-prevention statutes and policies might be suspect. The Saxe analysis is stronger, and clearly more responsive to the very real risks to student well-being and educational success, as well as school safety.

But in the California case, the judge also determined that the school in question had violated the student's due-process rights because there was no notice in its policy about the potential for a school response to off-campus speech. This is an important consideration.

Guidance: Make sure that bullying policies state clearly that school officials have the authority to discipline students for off-campus speech that causes or threatens a substantial disruption on campus, including school activities, violent altercations, or a significant interference with a student's educational performance and involvement in school activities.

Many research studies have provided evidence to show that students are not reporting cyberbullying incidents to adults. They fear that the adult response can make their problem worse, or that they will be "excommunicated"-losing their access to communication technologies. Beyond that, teenagers want to be able to resolve personal-relationship concerns on their own. They fear losing face with their peers if they are perceived to lack the strength or ability to resolve such matters.

Principals should recognize that these situations can represent reiterative cycles of aggression and retaliation. Sometimes, a student who posts hurtful material online is also one who is being tormented at school. Often, the incident involves larger groups of students, on each side.

The common disciplinary response is suspension. But that does not appear to be effective. This is especially true when incidents involve group aggression. Students also can easily use their free time at home to engage in anonymous online retaliation. Yet suspension is frequently demanded by the parents of students who have been targeted for bullying, and some state statutes identify suspension as the appropriate response to the problem. For effective intervention and prevention, however, it will be necessary for school leaders to move beyond this mind-set.

Guidance: Fully investigate these incidents. If harmful material is posted online, save the evidence and promptly contact the site for removal. Use a restorative-justice approach to discipline that focuses on community service as a consequence for the harm inflicted on the community. Seek to empower the target of the bullying with skills to independently resolve this and future conflicts.

Recognize that the student engaging in aggression is also likely to have unmet needs. To reduce recidivism, encourage remorse, and promote action to resolve the harm done, try to address these needs.

Establish a process to ensure ongoing evaluation of interventions. Request feedback from targets, aggressors, and their parents shortly after an intervention, and aggregate these reports for assessment at a district level.

From a prevention perspective, it is important to recognize that teenagers are communicating in online environments where there are generally no responsible adults present. A high priority in prevention must be to help all students gain skills in handling interpersonal relationships and dispute resolution. Encouraging peer witnesses to assist and report is very important. Peers are the ones who establish the social climate. It is less likely that adults will be able to change the behavior of aggressors directly.

Guidance: Use a social-norms approach for prevention education. Set up situations in which students discuss their personal standards for how they treat others when using electronic communication technologies and how they want to be treated.

Ask questions during these exercises that will guide students to deeper understandings about this virtual behavior's effects on real people. Make sure students know how to prevent placing themselves at risk, such as in not sending digital material to others that could then be distributed to embarrass them. Make sure they know how to effectively respond on their own, when they should ask for help, and what adults can do to assist them.

Most importantly, emphasize that cyberbullying is not cool. It is cruel.

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What Principals Can Do About Cyberbullying

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Commentary Cyberbullying-the use of electronic-communication technologies to engage in repeated or widely disseminated acts of cruelty toward another person-is a modern-day phenomenon posing major new challenges for school officials. From a principal's perspective, this growing social problem raises three leadership questions: When can or must I respond to cyberbullying?

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What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is the use of digital media (such as apps, text messages, and websites) to intimidate, upset, or harm someone. It includes repeatedly sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, or mean content about someone else on purpose.

Usually, with cyberbullying, there are other people who see cyberbullying happen. In these situations, people can be bystanders, allies, or upstanders.

A bystander observes the conflict or unacceptable behavior but does not take part in it.

An ally is someone who responds to the bullying situation by supporting the person being bullied (checking in with them, being a friend to them, etc.).

An upstander tries to stop the bullying by directly confronting the person who is doing the bullying or by telling a trusted adult.

Cyberbullying differs from face-to-face bullying in several key ways. For one, it can feel harder to escape because it can happen anywhere, anytime. It's also harder to detect because so much of kids' digital media use is not monitored by adults. At the same time, cyberbullying can also be very public: Large numbers of people online can see what's happening and even gang up on the target. Though the target is usually exposed publicly, the people doing the cyberbullying can hide who they are by posting anonymously or using pseudonyms. And since cyberbullying isn't face-to-face, the one doing the bullying may not see or even understand the implications of their actions.

What Forms Can Cyberbullying Take?

Unfortunately, cyberbullying can take many forms. As popular social media apps for young people shift and proliferate, so have the ways kids can harass each other-or become victims themselves. Spreading rumors, sending hateful messages, or sharing embarrassing materials can occur across platforms and devices, but there are some other specific forms of cyberbullying to be aware of:

Catfishing: Someone sets up a fictional persona online to compromise a victim in various ways, often exploiting a victim's emotions. The perpetrator's goals may be to lure them into a relationship or to intentionally upset a victim, among other reasons.

Cyberflashing: When someone receives an unsolicited sexually graphic image, they've been cyberflashed. This can occur on peer-to-peer Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth Airdrop, in or outside of school.

Ghosting: When people cut off online contact and stop responding, they might be ghosting. Refusing to answer someone's messages can actually be a way of communicating a shift or upheaval among a group of friends. Often, instead of ever addressing the issue head-on, people will just ignore the targeted person.

Griefing: There are people who harass or irritate you in multiplayer video games. They kill your character on purpose, steal your game loot, or harass you in chat. Repeated behavior like that is called "griefing."

Hate pages: On platforms like Instagram, teens may create fake accounts to harass victims, posting unflattering photos of their target, exposing secrets, or sharing screenshots of texts from people saying mean things. It's hard to trace who created the account, and the people doing the bullying can simply create a new "hate" page if one is shut down or removed. Sometimes, these anonymous accounts may be collections focused on rumors or other malicious materials targeting students schoolwide.

Outing: This occurs when someone reveals someone's gender identity or sexual orientation without their consent. What makes this particularly malicious is the risk this may pose for teens who report higher levels of mental health struggles and are at greater risk for self-harm.

Note that kids and teens probably use all kinds of terminology to describe the digital drama or harassment that's happening, so it's best to just ask questions than to use specific terms.

How common is cyberbullying?

Reported data on how many kids experience cyberbullying can vary depending on the age of kids surveyed and how cyberbullying is defined. According to a 2022 Pew Research report on teens and cyberbullying, nearly half (46%) of teens reported experiencing at least one type of cyberbullying, and 28% have experienced multiple types, which represents a steady uptick over the last 15 years.

A summary of research by the Cyberbullying Research Center on cyberbullying in middle and high school from 2007 to 2021 indicated that, on average, 29% of students had been targets of cyberbullying. Nearly 16% of students admitted to cyberbullying others.

Yet not all groups of teens are experiencing cyberbullying equally, as some kids are more vulnerable than others. The Common Sense study " Social Media, Social Life" also found that girls are more likely than boys to experience it. A separate study showed that kids with a disability, with obesity, or who are LGBTQ are more likely to be cyberbullied than other kids.

Even if kids aren't the target of cyberbullying (and the majority aren't), chances are high they've witnessed it, since it often happens online and publicly. Common Sense reports that 23% of teens have tried to help someone who has been cyberbullied, such as by talking with the person who was cyberbullied, reporting it to adults, or posting positive stuff about the person being cyberbullied.

How can I tell if a student is being cyberbullied?

Be aware of your students' emotional state. Do they seem depressed? Fearful? Distracted? Pay attention to what's happening for students socially at lunchtime, in the hallways, or in other areas of your school campus. Has their friend group changed? Do you sense a conflict between students? Are you overhearing talk about "drama" or "haters" (two words kids might use to describe cyberbullying situations)? Don't be afraid to check in with students directly about what's going on. And reach out to their support networks, including parents or caregivers, the school counselor, a coach, or other teachers.

When and how should I intervene in a cyberbullying situation?

Obviously, cyberbullying is something to take seriously. At the same time, it's important to remember that, depending on their ages, kids are still developing skills like empathy, self-regulation, and how to communicate respectfully online. These situations can be learning opportunities for everyone involved.

School, district, and/or state policies might determine what actions you take once you've verified that cyberbullying has in fact occurred. Sometimes the recommended response is different depending on whether the bullying occurred on a school-issued device, and whether it happened outside of school hours or during the school day. Be sure to involve the students' families, school administrators, and counselor as appropriate, to ensure the intervention is effective and follows policy.

Here are a few resources to support teachers and schools in responding to cyberbullying:

What's my responsibility as a teacher in preventing cyberbullying?

As educators, it's our responsibility to teach students how to use digital media in respectful and safe ways. This includes helping kids learn how to identify, respond to, and avoid cyberbullying. Given the demands on teachers to meet school, district, and state goals, it can be a challenge to figure out where these lessons fit into the school day. Fortunately, as technology becomes part of every aspect of our lives, including how we teach and learn, more schools and districts are giving teachers the time and resources to prioritize these skills. Here are a few ways to approach cyberbullying prevention in the classroom:

Promote a positive and safe classroom culture. Whether or not you have technology in the classroom, setting norms of respectful communication sends a message to your students about what is and isn't acceptable. Find ways to demonstrate that your classroom is a safe, emotionally caring environment. Provide resources in the classroom to help students identify, respond to, and avoid cyberbullying. This could be tips on how to respond to cyberbullying (for elementary school or middle and high school) or the phone number for the Crisis Text Line.

Embrace teachable "dig cit" moments. Step up when you encounter a teachable moment related to cyberbullying or respectful online communication. Encourage students to pay attention to "red flag moments"-when something happens on digital media that makes them feel uncomfortable, worried, sad, or anxious. Explain to students the three ways they can and should respond if they witness cyberbullying: support the target of the bullying (be an ally); try to stop the cyberbullying (be an upstander); and/or tell a trusted adult (report it). It may not be part of your lesson plan, and it may set you off track for a bit, but every time you reinforce anti-cyberbullying messages, you're doing the critical work of cyberbullying prevention. And as hard as it may be to admit, ignoring these teachable moments also sends a message your students will remember.

Incorporate lessons on cyberbullying into your existing curriculum. Find connections to the content you're already teaching and make time to address cyberbullying directly. From setting norms of online communication to using historical examples of propaganda and hate speech to discussing a bullying situation in a novel you're reading, the possible connections to cyberbullying can be made with a little planning. And since it's possible someone in class is dealing with cyberbullying, it's helpful to stay attuned and sensitive to students.

Advocate for a school- or district-wide digital citizenship program. The most effective cyberbullying prevention strategy has to involve the whole community. A fully integrated digital citizenship program gives teachers the time and resources to tackle these topics head-on, provides kids with consistent and frequent opportunities to build their skills, and supports families as they reinforce the messages at home.

What lesson plans and classroom resources are available to address cyberbullying?

The Common Sense K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum teaches students about the effects of cyberbullying on both themselves and their larger communities. They are encouraged to take the active role of upstander and build positive, supportive online communities, and they can learn how to cultivate empathy, compassion, and courage to combat negative interactions online.

Grades K-5:

Grades 6-8:

Grades 9-12:

How can teachers work with families to identify and prevent cyberbullying?

The first step is to communicate with your students' families about your expectations in the classroom and explain the skills you're helping students learn related to positive, responsible media use. When parents are informed and on board, they're more likely to reinforce the messages at home.

Since families often look to schools for guidance on dealing with cyberbullying, you can offer them the latest advice and resources on the topic. Spark a conversation by sending home these printable Family Tips or handing them out at meetings with parents and caregivers. You can also share resources in a classroom newsletter, on your class website or social feed, or at your next parent event.

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Teachers' Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention | Common Sense Education

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What is cyberbullying? How common is it? And what can teachers do about it? Get advice and resources to support your students.