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Slide 13: Best Practices / Recommendations

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Slide 13: Best Practices / Recommendations

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Based on the research conducted, I recommend incorporating the following strategies into the comprehensive school counseling program to combat cyberbullying.

·  Post a QR code that connects to the anonymous reporting line in clearly visible spaces throughout the school so that students and parents know how to report an incident and are reminded that this tool is available.

·  Implement group counseling sessions to teach students coping strategies related to social media misuse, cyberbullying, and ways to respond when they witness or experience online harassment. Group counseling could also help students know that they are not alone and that they have a voice in this matter.

·  Hinduja (2018) suggests developing a positive school climate that makes students feel welcome and creates a safe space to be themselves. This would include involving coaches, teachers, administrators, and other staff members in a school-wide effort to improve school spirit and to encourage strong peer relationships, tolerance, and respect.

·  Share information daily via the school-wide announcements each morning that focus on the positive impacts of social media and ways students can use it for good.

·  Organize a student-led task force to lead an anti-bullying campaign (Hinduja, 2018). They are the experts when it comes to which technology applications and social media sites may be the most popular or the most harmful, and counselors should elicit their support to develop prevention initiatives and appropriate ways to respond when students witness such incidents online.

·  Develop teacher trainings that present data unique to your school about reports of students who have reported incidents of bullying, number of hours students spend on social media per day, disciplinary measures the school took to respond, and a variety of qualitative data based on student surveys that ask questions about student involvement and victimization. Counselors should also provide resources for teachers to be able to recognize signs of cyberbullying and explain the steps of how they should address it.

·  Incorporate information about cyberbullying into parent information sessions so that they are aware of its prevalence, understand the school’s role, the law, and the consequences for their children. Make them aware of specific technology applications that are most popular with students and teach them strategies they can use to address cyberbullying in their homes.

·  Review the school’s student handbook yearly to ensure that the policies on bullying and the acceptable use of personal devices include clear definitions of cyberbullying and acceptable use of technology and clearly outline the consequences for participating in this behavior, including the parent’s duty and responsibility if their child uses their electronic device for transferring illegal images, sending harassing messages, etc.

Hinduja, S. (2018). Federal commission on school safety. Cyberbullying Research Center. https://cyberbullying.org/federal-commission-on-school-safety

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Digital self-harm is a relatively new concept that developed during the Covid-19 pandemic when students were isolated at home for long periods of time (Lieberman, 2021). It is an alarming outcry for help by students who can anonymously degrade themselves online looking for support from others to jump on the bandwagon. For example, the social media application, Ask.Fm, provides an anonymous space for teens to ask others why they are so worthless. Other teens on the application can see their comments and can reply or remain silent. This is a very dangerous form of self-cyberbullying that educators and parents alike should be aware of so that all can work together to support students who are victims of cyberbullying, even when they bring it on themselves.

Lieberman, M. (2021, February 16). What educators should know about digital self-harm during hybrid and remote learning. EducationWeek. https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-educators-should-know-about-digital-self-harm-during-hybrid-and-remote-learning/2021/02

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As educators continue to plow through the challenges of keeping school going during a pandemic that has lasted for nearly a full year, they should be looking out for signs of students engaging in digital self-harm, researchers say.

A recently published study led by a Florida International University researcher found that 1 in 10 students in the state said in a 2019 survey that they had cyberbullied themselves in the past year. Research on this specific type of cyberbullying remains thin, but efforts are underway to expand understanding of the issue.

Justin Patchin, professor of criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, believes educators should know more about digital self-harm so they can be on alert for it and perhaps even help contribute to broader understanding of how it works and how it might be prevented.

Education Week asked Patchin to explain what we know so far about digital self-harm, and how educators should address it during a period when much more schooling than usual is happening online.

The following telephone interview was edited for length and clarity. (For more on digital self-harm, read Patchin's blog post on the topic.)
What does this phenomenon look like?
It can happen on any platform. The earliest examples that we saw were on anonymous social media apps like Ask.Fm that encourage you to be anonymous, and don't require you to be your real identity. The way the platform works is you have a profile, anonymous people ask you questions, when you reply they show up only in your feed. You could ask yourself why are you so stupid, why are you so ugly, etc. To be sure, somebody could set up a fake Instagram profile or fake Snapchat profile and use it to target somebody else or use it themselves. It's basically when somebody anonymously makes hurtful comments or threats towards themselves in a public venue so that others can see it.
How did you first learn about this problem?
We became interested in this problem five or six years ago when we had heard a couple of examples of situations like this. In one high-profile situation, a 14-year-old girl in England had killed herself. One of the causes of that suicide was cyberbullying that had happened on a particular social media platform. When the authorities investigated, most of the hurtful messages that were being sent to her originated from her own computer, from her own bedroom. She had sent the messages to herself.

We had been studying cyberbullying among adolescents for probably a decade at that point, and we hadn't considered that students would send hurtful messages for themselves. We looked around [to see] if anybody had done any research on it. There were a couple of blog posts speculating, but that was about it, so we decided to do it ourselves. We figured it would be a pretty rare phenomenon.

In 2016, we surveyed 5,500 12 to17-year-olds across the U.S., and included a couple of questions in that survey about if students had posted something hurtful about themselves online. To our surprise, we found the numbers were higher than we expected. Five or 6 percent of kids had done this. Boys were slightly more likely to do it than girls.

Among the kids who had done it, we asked them to tell us why they did. Most of the reasons given were what you'd expect: for attention, to see if anybody would help them, to see if anybody would do anything about it. Some said they did it because they were bored, or to be funny. More boys said [they did out of boredom or to be funny] than girls, which might explain the sex difference there. We replicated that [study] in 2019 and essentially found some of the same things, but we haven't had a chance to publish those data.
What causes kids to engage in this kind of behavior?
We know some of the variables that are correlated, but we don't know if x causes y. We know kids who participated in digital self-harm were significantly more likely to also have depressive symptoms, also participate in physical self-harm, also to have attempted suicide. We don't know which came first. This is the ultimate question. Do kids get depressed, and then they post negative things online, or physically hurt themselves? Is it part of a constellation of things that happen at roughly the same time? There's definitely a lot we still don't know about those behaviors.
What effect might the pandemic be having on this behavior?
We're trying to collect data in the next couple months, and hopefully we can include some of these questions. We know that kids are online more. Potentially that creates more opportunities for them. The other concern about remote learning, we've heard examples where students haven't had access to resources at school such as school counselors or psychologists or school social workers. If a child is dealing with some issues, they are depressed, maybe they don't have somebody that they can talk to because of remote learning. Therefore it might be a lot more difficult for them.

We study cyberbullying more broadly, and there's a lot of speculation now about whether cyberbullying has increased. There's no clear data, but there are some people that have reported seeing more reports of cyberbullying. We did see a little bit of an uptick early on, especially as particularly young kids were given access to technology they maybe didn't have before. On the other hand, we know from our research over the last decade that most adolescent cyberbullying is connected to school relationships or even school bullying. If kids aren't at school they're not having those disagreements. We've had kids who have said remote learning is better for them because they don't have to deal with bullies at school.
What can be done to prevent digital self-harm?
It is hard for a teacher or a parent to get to the bottom of this. From the standpoint of their role whether as an educator or a parent, if they learn about a child being cyberbullied, they need to investigate. They need to talk to the kids involved, report it to the website or app. If it is particularly bad, egregious, if there are threats of physical harm, it will be flagged by these apps. The apps can identify this pretty easily. Whether they'll share that with you is a different question. They'll share it with law enforcement, which is unfortunately where we often find out about these things, if there's a pretty serious incident.

What we've found is, it doesn't really matter who is doing the cyberbullying. You need to provide resources to who's experiencing it. Whether you're doing it to yourself or someone else is doing it to you, our goal should be to help you. That might be very practical things like showing you how to block a person from your account, collect evidence, report it to the apps. But maybe it is a cry for help or you do need some kind of counseling or other assistance.

Schools should open up an opportunity for students to report to them if they're being mistreated in a way that affects the school environment. Whether having some online reporting mechanisms or a particular person that people can turn to, but then hopefully having some resources in the school whether through a counseling department or school psychologist who's trained in online abuse behaviors.

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What Educators Should Know About Digital Self-Harm During Hybrid and Remote Learning

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Some research suggests the phenomenon known as "digital self-harm" is on the rise and schools need to address it more directly.

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The Preamble to the Ethical Standards for School Counselors clearly states that all students have the right to feel physically and emotionally safe while at school without the fear of harassment, violence, or any form of bullying. Furthermore, section A.9.e describes the duty of the school counselor to report to the appropriate authorities any instances of threat that could result in mental or physical harm (American School Counselor Association, 2022). Cyberbullying is specifically listed as one such potential threat.

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. (1984, revised 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2016,
2022). https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

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Gainesville Independent School District’s Student Handbook includes a policy that defines bullying as any verbal, written, or physical threat that creates an intimidating, disrupting school and/or causes that student to fear for their safety (Gainesville Independent School District Board of Trustees, n.d.). Cyberbullying is included as a form of bullying that happens electronically. Also included in the bullying policy:

·  Examples of what bullying might look like.

·  A list of electronic devices / technology that may be used for cyberbullying.

·  How to report bullying.

·  A link to anonymously report bullying.

·  Possible consequences, including when law enforcement might be notified.

·  Implications related to using technology off-campus to harass, discredit, or bully another student.

·  Counseling options.

Gainesville Independent School District Board of Trustees [GISD Board of Trustees]. (n.d.). Gainesville ISD student handbook: 2022-2023 school year.  https://www.gainesvilleisd.org/cms/lib/TX01000879/Centricity/Domain/62/GISD%202022-2023%20Student%20Handbook_English.pdf

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When a student threatens another student online or creates digital content that intends to humiliate, shame, or harass another student, the school district has the right to discipline the offending student in order to provide a safe school environment that is conducive to learning. In Kowalski v. Berkeley County School Schools (2011), a West Virginia teen created a social media account that used sexually explicit, derogatory language to describe another female student at her school and invited at least 100 other students to join the page. When the school expelled the student and removed her from the cheer squad for the remainder of the year, the student sued the district claiming that the incident occurred off-campus and was not punishable by the district because they did not have the right to regulate her speech outside of school functions. The courts upheld the district’s disciplinary decisions because the harassment had the intent to cause harm to a minor that would negatively affect the learning environment (Kowalski v. Berkeley County School Schools, 2011).

Kowalski v. Berkeley County School Schools, 652 F.3d 565 (4th Cir. 2011). https://casetext.com/case/kowalski-v-berkeley-county-sch/ sort=relevance&resultsNav=false&tab=keyword

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Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) has been used as a reference time and again in court cases that refute the school’s right to discipline students, citing the First and Fourteenth Amendments. This landmark case involved three teenagers who knowingly chose to wear armbands to school that had been previously banned due to their political statement and potential to disrupt the learning environment. All three students were expelled from school until they agreed to return without the armbands. The parents sued the district citing that their children had the right to express themselves under the First Amendment, and the courts decided that school administrators had the right to avoid disruption to the school community by disciplining students for speech or activities that threaten or harm the rights of other students, even those that occur off-campus and outside of the school day. However, this court case established the Substantial Disruption Threshold, which explains that districts cannot impose restrictions on students that take away their right to free speech and free expression simply because they fear there may be some unruly behavior. Rather, the district can only impose such restrictions if they believe there will be substantial damage to the school climate that would disrupt the ability for students to learn (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969).

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).  https://casetext.com/case/tinker-v-des-moines-independent-community-school-district?q=Tinker%20v.%20Des%20Moines%20Indep.%20Community%20Sch.%20DisL&sort=relevance&resultsNav=false&tab=keyword&p=1&type=case

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Texas Senate Bill 179, otherwise known as David’s Law, calls for school boards to implement policies that prohibit cyberbullying and gives school districts the authority to investigate online bullying and harassment, even if it occurs outside of the school day (Frisco Independent School District, n.d.; Tex. Educ. Code § 37.0832). This law makes cyberbullying anyone under the age of 18 a misdemeanor and requires school districts in Texas to:

Write policies to address cyberbullying.

Notify parents if their child is involved in bullying.

Provide an anonymous system for reporting bullying.

Collaborate with local law enforcement on investigations occurring off-campus.

Allows districts to discipline students according to the severity of the bullying.

Bullying Prevention Policies and Procedures, Tex. Educ. Code § 37.0832. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.37.htm#37.0832

Frisco Independent School District. (n.d.). David’s law: Preventing bullying in Texas schools. https://www.friscoisd.org/docs/default-source/guidance-and-counseling/davidslaw.pdf

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The First Amendment to the United States Constitution directly relates to the topic of cyberbullying by addressing one’s freedom of expression (U.S. Const. amend. I). Students accused of cyberbullying claim that they have the right to free speech; however, the courts have limited this right when it comes to students whose speech or actions interrupt the ability for others to focus on learning due to a hostile environment that impacts one’s personal well-being.

U.S. Const. amend. I. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript#toc-amendment-i

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Merod (2023) reports that Seattle school districts sued social media giants Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, citing that they are responsible for provoking the national youth mental health crisis by targeting adolescents with the design of their social media platforms and in the way that they promote it. Because of the increased need for mental and emotional support along with the increased time it takes to develop lesson plans and disciplinary measures to address cyberbullying and online threats caused by social media, Seattle Public Schools have had to hire more school counselors and other professionals to combat this growing issue. The district says that these social media companies have abused the nuisance law by affecting “the rights of an entire community” and seeks a way to pay for the extra services needed to address the declining mental health of its students.

Merod, A. (2023, January 11). Seattle Public Schools sues social media companies amid youth mental health crisis. K-12 Dive. https://k12dive.com/news/seattle-schools-sues-social-media-mental-health/640159/

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Arundel (2023) summarizes the 25-page public health advisory published by the United States Surgeon General. It addresses the following points:

·  Of youth ages 13 to 17 years old, 95% say they use social media often and more than 33% of them admit to constant use of social media platforms.

·  The use of social media outlooks can have both positive and negative impacts.

·  Parents, adolescents, policymakers, and technology developers should all recognize how social media use affects youth and how to minimize the risks.

·  Adolescent social media use may be contributing to the national youth mental health crisis.

·  He petitions those in authority to create stronger safeguards to protect youth from online bullying, harassment, and adult content.

·  Implementing strong digital and media literacy in schools can address cyberbullying and technology addictions.

Arundel, K. (2023, May 24). Surgeon General: More safeguards needed to protect youth from social media misuse. K-12 Dive. https://k12dive.com/news.surgeon-general-social-media-advisory/651105/

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With the understanding that students learn best when they feel safe, school counselors must incorporate prevention programs, mediation services, and other interventions in their guidance curriculum to address all forms of bullying (American School Counselor Association, 2022). They should also lead staff support training so that all adults on campus know the signs of cyberbullying, how to respond, and can work together to develop a safe environment. Finally, school counselors must collaborate with community stakeholders, including parents, by teaching them the warning signs of cyberbullying, suggesting ways to set healthy limits on screen time, and helping them understand administrative policies that are in place to protect victims and create a healthy school culture.

American School Counselor Association. (2022). The school counselor and bullying/harassment prevention and the promotion of safe schools. (Adopted 1994/2000, Revised 2005, 2011, 2016, 2022). https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-the-Promotion-of-Safe-Sch

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Cyberbullying and School Counseling:
Villanueva-Moya et al. (2023) found that there is a strong connection between the amount of time high school students spend on Instagram, a popular social media site, and their propensity to perpetuate envious and malicious online behavior through cyberbullying. The study found that students who spent a lot of time on social media sites like Instagram were more likely to compare themselves to others. This leads to jealousy, which instigates cyberbullying. School counselors who understand the reasons why students bully others online can develop appropriate programs and services to enhance their comprehensive school counseling programs and to slow the progression of cyberbullying.

Villanueva-Moya, L., Herrera, M. C., Sánchez-Hernández, M. D., & Expósito, F. (2023). #Instacomparison: Social comparison and envy as correlates of exposure to Instagram and cyberbullying perpetration. Psychological Reports, 126(3), 1284–1304. https://doi-org/10.1177/00332941211067390

Emerging Issue:
The first application to prevent bullying was created about 10 years ago, and countless others have followed. However, large social media sites like Instagram are using a new type of technology to combat cyberbullying at the source: Artificial Intelligence (Lee, 2019). Not only can Artificial Intelligence prompt the perpetrator to rethink their comment before posting, but it can also help the victim filter the responses it receives without having to unfollow or block the original post. Although there is some question as to how this will impact the bullying applications parents have installed to monitor their children, it will continue to develop as the use of Artificial Intelligence becomes more commonplace and better understood.

Lee, D. (2019, July 8). Instagram now asks bullies: 'Are you sure?'. BBC News Services. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48916828

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Introduction: My name is Tisha Green, and I am pursuing a degree in Professional School Counseling. Upon my graduation in December, I hope to transition to a role in Academic Advising / School Counseling or to continue my career as a Dual Credit Success Coach, which allows me to partner with high school counselors, parents, and students as they prepare for their future careers.

Topic Description: Cyberbullying is a growing problem among teenagers. In fact, Vogels (2022) reports that 46% of teens have experienced some form of online bullying or harassment. To make matters worse, 8 out of 10 students who are being cyberbullied report also being bullied at school (Hinduja, 2018). These students feel that they have no escape and report that it negatively impacts their ability to learn. As a dual credit success coach who partners with students, parents, and school counselors, I have a duty to uphold students’ academic goals and lead students toward a successful future. To accomplish this, I must respond appropriately to both students and parents when they show signs or make claims of being bullied or harassed online.

Audience: The target audience for this legal guide is high school counselors. This would be a strong resource for them as they plan, organize, and implement their comprehensive school counseling programs and provide support to parents, students, faculty, staff, and administrators in their districts.

Hinduja, S. (2018). Federal commission on school safety. Cyberbullying Research Center. https://cyberbullying.org/federal-commission-on-school-safety

Vogels, E. (2015, December 15). Teens and cyberbullying 2022. The Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/