Cyberbullying and New Media
From Baruchnewmedia
Cyber-bullying
Online bullying, or cyber bullying, is described as “the use of ICT [information and communications technology] to intimidate, harass, victimize, or bully an individual or a group of individuals ... [it] may include sending or posting harmful material or using digital technology to inflict social cruelty on victims…tools [used] include: email, instant messaging, social networking sites, chat rooms, web sites, blogs, and text messages, pictures, or video clips via mobile phones" [1]. Children are usually cyber bullied but when adults become involved, it is considered cyber-harassment or cyberstalking.
When adults attract children by any means, it is considered sexual exploitation or luring by a sexual predator.
The methods used to harass are limited by the technology adults and children have access to. And the cyberbully one moment may become the victim the next. The kids often change roles, going from victim to bully and back again; it is a never ending cycle.
Children have killed each other and committed suicide after having been involved in a cyberbullying incident.
Cyberbullying is usually not a one time communication as it can occur many times in a year. Kids usually know it when they see it, while parents may be more worried about the lewd language used by the kids than the hurtful effect of rude and embarrassing posts.
Cyberbullying may arise to the level of a misdemeanor cyberharassment charge or if the child is young enough may result in the charge of juvenile delinquency. Most of the time the cyberbullying does not go that far, although parents often try and pursue criminal charges. It typically can result in a child losing their internet service provider as a terms of service violation. And if hacking or password and identity theft is involved, it can be a serious criminal matter under state and federal law.
When schools participate in disciplining the students for cyber bullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of school hours, they are often sued for obsessive use of their power and often they lose. Schools 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 by providing classes for them.
Cyber-bullying VS. Traditional Bullying
Online technology enables certain aspects of bullying otherwise not possible. For one, online bullying allows individuals to maintain their anonymity by creating temporary accounts to taunt their targets. Furthermore, via online means, individuals can act out in ways they would not do so if observed socially, thus allowing themselves to create alter-personalities. If not for various online venues, perhaps certain individuals would not participate in bullying in their real lives. With new media as the enabler, the possibility of bullying does not end. Victims can be taunted at any time, and on any day. Bullying goes beyond physical means, and soon effects the victim mentally, and emotionally.
Furthermore, bullying is not always necessarily done in private. Various online forums, and chats have numerous instances of bullying. With the sheer volume of active conversations in any given day, it is nearly impossible to monitor and regulate for every incident of bullying. It is also very difficult to distinguish the level of seriousness with any conversation at hand. Matters may simply be jokes. Though it is important to not take online comments seriously, one is never too sure how comments and response would be taken.
Beyond the forms of bullying carried out via the internet, victims may also experience bullying carried out via their cell phones whether through calls or texting. At that point, the victim may choose to ignore, but would still have to carry the stress of constant harassment. Often times, victims keep these situations undisclosed to others (parents, friends, family, etc.)causing them to be more alone, and more isolated. Matters become worse if an individual is taunted by a group of growing bullies [Bullies Versus Victims: War with Words]. The victim may ultimately feel outnumbered, and defenseless.
Though forms of cyberbullying may be avoidable, such that victims may ignore call, block senders, and avoid the site of bullying, cyberbullying is not entirely avoidable. An instance of unavoidable cyberbullying may include the posting of defamatory material - particularily photos and videos. The web is open and public to all, and under such circumstances the victim will not help but feel utter embarrassment, and shame. These instances ultimately take any sense of control out of the victim's hands, thus making them feel helpless.
How To Help Parents Cope with Cyber-Bullying
How can we help parents in today’s society cope with cyber-bullying? The world of technology has made it possible for bullies to bully and stalk 24/7. With this new media, bullies can leave nasty comments and messages through Facebook. They can send threatening notes on cellphones and etc. Even in the comfort of their own home, victims still do not feel safe because technology makes it possible for bullying to happen anywhere. In order to understand if your child is getting bullied or is the actual bully some suggestions parents can do are the following, Parents can purchase devices where inappropriate websites will be blocked. This is a big plus because teens will not be able to visit websites that are inappropriate for their age. Second thing parents can do is spy online. In spying online, parents can purchase a spy software from a company called SpectorSoft. This software copies the pages pages your child has visited on his or her computer. Another option is collect the cell,this is where parents take the cell phone before the child goes to bed. Last but not least is putting computers in public rooms as opposed to the child’s bedroom, that way parents can be aware of what their children is doing online. These are some proposals that may help stop cyber bullying and/or detect cyber-bullying.
Another thing our society is doing to prevent cyber-bullying is the FBI is now a part of a movement that gathers and mines information from blogs and social networks. Facebook of course is one of them. Their main goal is to become alert of breaking situations, incidents and even threatening events. The FBI will use a device that will alert them of potential threats to the U.S (FBI seeks tool to keep tabs on social media). This will be beneficial to our society because will be protected at a higher extent. At the same time, we will think a little more of the information we provide on our Facebook pages. Providing the wrong comments can lead to unexpected consequences.
How Experts are Dealing with Cyber-bullying
As a result of many cases where teens have committed suicide because of cyber-bullying done on Facebook, Jan Hoffman who is a reporter for The Times discussed how psychologists and social scientists are looking into teen’s post and watching for depression or suicidal clues. Looking for signs of depression or suicidal is a positive effect because these psychologists will then know how to treat it, when and if they should interfere in the first place. Fortunately, Facebook has tried to better their community and our society by showing support. For example, in 2007, they began working with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and in December they started sending counseling information links to pages that showed signs of depression, these pages usually arose from college students. Out of 30% to 40% of the college students that showed depression symptoms, only 10% of them actually seek help by speaking to a counselor.
Research shows that most of college students update their status when they are feeling sad or depressed, so having social scientists and psychologists visit these pages to look for depression clues is very beneficial to our society. Resident advisors at Cornell University are advised to add their residents on Facebook so they can check on the student’s mental state. Another clue researchers tend to look for is for those children that do not want to add their parents to their Facebook pages. Social scientists say children who are embarrassed to add your parents to your Facebook page is important for parent’s to watch and take seriously because these can also be signs of anxiety, bullying or abnormal behavior.
Unfortunate Stories Of Cyber-Bullying
We all have seen or heard of occasions where teens have ended their lives because their darkest secrets have been transmitted to the public through Facebook. Or instances where teens were teased so much through Facebook that ending their lives was the only escape. There is the sad story of a 15 year old Irish girl who was found hanged by her sister. Her name was Phoebe Prince. She was a victim of cyber-bullying. Phoebe was bullied through text messages, Facebook messages and in person during school by other girl classmates. The superintendent at the school Phoebe attended said “apparently the young woman had been subjected to taunting from her classmates, mostly through Facebook and text messages, but also in person on at least a couple of occasion.” This is a common example of what Facebook has permitted us to do and how it can negatively impact our society. Even after the death of Phoebe Prince, the classmates were still posting insensitive things to her memorial page.
Another extremenly unhappy story is the story of Jamey Rodemeyer. It's the sad story of a Buffalo, NY 14 year old boy who committed suicide because he had been cyber-bullied online and in person for over a year. Jamey was just a freshmen at Williamsville North High School however the bullying which consisted of gay spurs had begun in middle school. Authorities do not want to say how he killed himself but unfortunately no bullying laws exist now in New York. Although Jamey did inform his friends and family he was teased because of his sexual orientation, they had no idea it was affecting him this much. Because he did take part in a YouTube project called It Gets Better they thought he was able to handle his situation. Formspring, which is also a networking site where people can anonymously write comments contained a few comments which said "JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT AND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!" and "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!” The case of Jamey is another unfortunate example of how dangerous online networking sites can be. At only 14 years old, Jamey felt there was nothing else that could save him from his misery but death.
Cyber-Bullying Facts:
[1] Over half of teens and adolescents have been bullied online.
[2] More than 1 out of every three teens have experienced cyber threats online.
[3] More than 25% of teens have been bullied repeatedly over their cell phones.
[4] More than half of teens who are bullied do not tell their parents they are being bullied.
[5] Only 1 out of every 10 teens actually tell their parents they have been victims of cyber bullying.
[6] Girls are more likely than boys to become involved in cyber bullying.
[7] More than 80% of teens use cellphones, which make cellphones the most popular medium of technology, and as a result the most common medium for cyber bullying.
[8] While more than half of teens experience cyber bullying, 10-20% actually experience it on a regular basis.
[9] Boys are more likely to become threatened by cyber bullying.
[10] Cyber bullying victims are more likely to have low self-esteem than bullies.
[11] Cyber bullying victims are more likely to consider suicidal thoughts than bullies.
10 Ways to Prevent Cyber-Bullying in Schools
[1] Teachers should tell students to never pass along cruel or threatening messages.
[2] Tell students to delete suspicious emails without even reading them.
[3] Tell students to speak up for friends who are being cyber bullied.
[4] Teach students how to use technology to block messages from cyber bullies.
[5] Inform students of the importance of telling parents or teachers if they are victims of cyber bullying or if they have witnessed it.
[6] Inform students of the consequences of cyber bullying.
[7] Help create a community where students can understand the dangers of cyber bullying and become more aware.
[8] Teach students to never reveal passwords or real last names.
[9] Teachers need to become more alert and pay attention to students if they are withdrawing or depressed.
[10] Have guidance counselors speak more to students of the effects of cyber bullying.
New Media and Cyber-bullying
New media such as blogs are online journals that allow us to communicate with people from all over the world. But in some cases, kids can use these blogs to ruin a person's reputation by invading their privacy.
Although Web sites are meant to be read, kids will often create them to insult another child. Some kids also post information about other kids, which often leads to the child being contacted and harassed.
For example, in one case, a boy posted a bunch of blogs about his breakup with his ex-girlfriend, explaining how she destroyed his life, calling her degrading names. Their mutual friends read about this and criticized her. She was embarrassed and hurt all because another kid posted mean, private, and false information about her. Sometimes kids set up a blog or profile page pretending to be their victim and saying things designed to humiliate them.
Online bullying is a relatively common occurrence and it can often result in emotional trauma for the victim. Danah Boyd, a researcher of social networks quotes a teenager in her article, Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites, the teenager expresses frustration towards networking sites like MySpace because it causes drama and too much emotional stress. These drama and emotional stress is caused from online bullying. There are not many limitations as to what individuals can post when online. Inherently individuals are given the power to post offensive remarks or pictures that could potentially cause a great amount of emotional pain for another individual. Online bullying can occur in many different forms, such as name calling, playing online pranks individuals and controversial comments with the intention to cause anger and cause arguments. [1]
Issues
New media technology makes bullying more widespread and causes severe long-lasting effects. It makes it quicker and easier for bullies to target their victims. "Bullies with access to the worldwide web can…traumatize victims on a scale that was previously unimaginable” [1].
For example:
-Rumors or embarrassing photos can be spread to millions with a single post on a social networking site.
-New media technology allows for the anonymity of bullies, which can make it even more traumatizing for victims.
-Before new media technology, bullying only happened at school or when the victim was in the physical presence of the bully; however now, cyber-bullying can happen at anytime, even when at home.
Statistics from The National Crime Prevention Council[2]
-40% of teens admitted to have been a victim of cyber bullying, yet only 10% actually told their parents.
-50% of teens felt that cyber-bullies engage in the activity due to a lack of tangible consequences.
Statistics from Cox Communications (2009) survey 13-18 year-olds asking how often they had ever been involved in cyber bullying
- 15% said they had been cyberbullied online
- 10% had been cyberbullied by cell phone
- 7% said they had cyberbullied another person online
- 5% had cyberbullied another person by cell phone
Reasons for Cyber-bullying
- To get back at someone (56% of those who cyberbullied)
- Because they deserve it (58% of cyberbullies)
- For fun or entertainment (26% of cyberbullies)
- To be mean (according to 75% of those who were cyberbullied)
- Out of jealousy (32% of those who were cyberbullied) (Cox Communications, 2009)
- Work place slander and degradation
Technology used in Cyberbullying
- E-mails
- Picture Messages
- Text messages
- Social Networking Sites (MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, etc…)
- Instant messaging
- Web pages
- Chat rooms
- Online Polls
- Blogs
- Other information communication technologies
- Online Forums
- Online multiplayer games
- Webcams
- Video Upload sites
- Virtual Worlds
Forms of Cyberbullying
- Exclusion- is the designation of who is a member of the in-group and who is an outcast. (Teenagers who don’t have a Gameboy are excluded from the group of teenagers who do.)
- Flaming - is an intense argument, that normally takes place in chat rooms, over instant messages or email. A longer series of such messages is called a “flame war”.
- Harassment- involves bullies sending offensive messages targeted at an individual or group
- Cyber-Stalking- is repeated sending of harmful messages that include threats of harm, are highly intimidating or extremely offensive, or involve extortion.
- Cyberthreats- are either direct threats such as statements of intent to hurt someone or commit suicide or distressing material that provides clues that the person is emotionally upset and may be considering hurting someone, self-harm or suicide.
- Denigration- speech about a target that is harmful, untrue, or cruel.
- Masquerading- is an elaborate form of cyberbullying where the bully pretends to be someone who they aren’t.
- Outing- is the public display or forwarding of personal communications such as text messages, emails or instant messaging.
- Trickery- part of Outing, target is tricked into thinking that a communication or sending of images is private, when the cyberbully intends to trick the target into communicating or disclosing information that is embarrassing that will be sent to others or used as a threat.
- Pseudonym- or alias is like a nickname. Bullies may call themselves a different name when they are online, to when they are offline. They do this to keep their real identity a secret from you.
- Personal Intimidation– This behaviour includes sending threatening text (SMS) messages, posting abusive and threatening comments on the victim’s profile or other websites, or sending threatening messages via instant messaging. 7
- Impersonation– This behaviour involves setting up fake profiles and web pages that are attributed to the victim. It can also involve gaining access to someone’s profile or instant messaging account and using it to contact others and subsequently bully while impersonating the account or profile owner.7
- Personal Humiliation– This behaviour involves posting images or videos intended to embarrass or humiliate someone, it can involve users sharing and posting images or videos of victims being abused or humiliated offline, or users sharing personal communications such as emails or text messages with a wider audience than was intended by the sender.7
- False Reporting– This behaviour involves making false reports to the service provider or reporting other users for a range of behaviours with a view to having the user’s account or website deleted.7
Cyberbullying in the Workplace
Cyberbullying is not limited to children and teenagers. Many adults are also victims of cyber bullying, especially that which occurs in the workplace. On the occasion that bullying occurs at the workplace, it is known as cyber-harassment. As conducted by studies,1 in 5 people have been cyberstalked, and 1 in 10 believe that cyberstalking is a problem. [10]
Cyberbullying in the workplace can occur in various ways including:
- negative rating on evaluations - weather by a single person, or a gang of people
- spreading of defamatory material on co-workers, etc.
Cyber bullying in the work place can have negative effects such as:
- threatening of security
- earnings potential
- false accusations
- degraded workplace reputation
- difficulty to advance
Effects and Signs of Cyberbullying
The effects of cyberbullying can hurt quickly. There have been numerous stories in the news of children, teens, and young adults who have been driven to suicide or violent crime as a result of being bullied online. While these tend to be the more extreme cases, it can have a serious detrimental effect on a victim’s self-esteem, emotional well-being, and sense of personal safety. As a result, this can often lead to any number of further negative consequences including, but not limited to depression, despondence, self-destructive behavior and poor performance in school or work just to name a few.
The signs and effects from above are summed up below:
Signs
- Withdrawal from friends or family
- Poor grades
- Sudden changes in behavior and mood
- Change in sleep pattern and loss of appetite
- Signs of emotional distress during or after using the Internet
- Fear
- Isolation
- Anger
Effects
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Suicide
- Low Self-esteem
- other Stress-related Disorders
- Suicidal Thoughts
- Frustration
For more information on cyber-bullying and ways to combat it visit National Crime Prevention Council
Current Legislation
There are currently seven states that have passed laws against online harassment some of which include New York, Missouri, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Cases ruled by court as online harassment will be criminalized. However, there are very few current specific laws illegalizing cyberbullying itself, though there is a law that addresses cyberstalking. California is one state that has specifcally addressed cyberbullying. California law ensures that any instance of cyberbullying in a school setting will result in disciplinary actions from the school.[9]
The law that addresses cyberbullying should aim to be one that illegalizes any form of constant harassment that results in emotional, and mental distress, intimidation, and/or threatening of security.
Prevent Cyberbullying
Educating children about the effects of cyberbullying helps. Teaching them to respect others and stand against it helps as well.
But how can one stop it once it starts? Not every cyber bully have the same motives so the solutions to each of them differ. But the best way is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Parents need to be supportive when it occurs since words and cyberattacks can wound a child and may have a long effect on them.
Parents: 1. Know your child’s internet and phone use 2. Register as a contact on your child's phone 3. Encourage Respect for others
Children: 1. Don't Reply 2. Keep the Message 3. Tell Someone 4. Block the Sender 5. Report Problems
Parents, if there's any sign that personal contact information has been posted online, or any threats are made to your child, go to your local law enforcement agency. Print out all the cyberbullying documents but note that a print-out is not sufficient to prove a case of cyber-harassment or cyberbullying. You'll need electronic evidence and live data for that. And contact WiredSafety.org to help you solve the case.
There are also laws that provide some protections that give parents some control over who their child can talk to online. The Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires that sites that deal with children under the age of thirteen “must get parental consent before they collect, maintain, or use kids’ information.”OnGuard Online Also, The Internet Bureau of New York has also taken steps to insure the safety of children. The New York State Attorney General and Facebook made a settlement in 2007 to ensure the safety of the users by taking immediate action if there is any sign of “ illegal or harassing behavior.” Internet Bureau
To learn more about how to prevent Cyberbulling, check out the sites below:
- www.ncpc.org (provides information about stopping cyberbullying before it starts)
- Stop Cyberbullying Before It Starts (PDF) (provides useful information for parents)
- Cyberbullying.us (provides cyberbullying research, stories, cases, downloads, fact sheets, tips and strategies, news headlines, a blog, and a number of other helpful resources on their comprehensive public service website)
- www.stopcyberbullying.org (has a fun quiz to rate your online behavior, information about why some people cyberbully, and how to stop yourself from cyberbullying)
- www.wiredsafety.com (provides information about what to do if you are cyberbullied)
- www.stopbullyingnow.com (has information about what you can do to stop bullying)
The Fight Against Cyberbullying
With the rise of people using various social networks, emails, and other new media devices, the rise in cyber bullying has followed suit. With more cases of "cyberbullying gone fatally wrong," state lawmakers have been called upon to make changes to the legislation and create bills against cyberbullying. In 2007 Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey and Oregon were amongst the first states to pass laws against cyberbullying.
This year New York state legislation is working on a bill against cyberbullying that would classify cyber bullying as third-degree stalking and "bullycide," where the victim commits suicide as a direct result of cyberbullying, would be classified as second-degree manslaughter.
To help spread the awareness of cyber bullying there is a Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fight-Against-Cyber-Bullying/124355470971149 ) where people can post their comments, and even report bullies who are bullying them or their friends. Creating this Facebook page has helped inform many people of the movement against cyber bullying.
Cyber-bullying in the News
i.Jan 2010 Teen Commits Suicide--15 year old, Phoebe Prince commits suicide after receiving nasty online messages and emails.
ii.March 2010 Islip Teen Targeted--Soccer star Alexis Pilkington, 17, took her own life March 21 following vicious taunts on social networking site, Formspring.
iii.Sept 2010 Rutgers Freshman: Private Moment Made Public, Then a Fatal Jump--Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide after video showing him in an intimate encounter with another male was streamed on the Internet by his roommate.
iv.Jan 2011 Social Workers Struggle to Deal with Cyber Bullying-- Although cyber bullying is growing in prevalence, new research suggests nearly half of elementary, middle and high school social workers feel ill-equipped to deal with such victimization.
v.March 2011 Boy Arrested for Cyber-Bullying-- 14 year old Jersey city boy was arrested for allegedly threatening two 12-year old boys on Facebook because he thought they were interested in his girlfriend.
vi.March 2011 White House Conference on Bullying Prevention The President convened a conference on bullying prevention at which some of nation’s leading experts and practitioners on bullying prevention.
vii.September 2011 Ny Politician Introducing a Bill to Make Cyber-bullying a Felony After the suicide of a 14 year old boy who was cyber-bullied for being gay, lawmakers take steps to prevent cases like this.
For more legal cases visit: Cyberbullying Legal Cases
References
[1]. Bhat, Christine Suniti. "Cyber Bullying: Overview and Strategies for School Counsellors, Guidance Officers, and All School Personnel." Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling 18.1 (2008): 53-66. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
[2]. National Crime Prevention Council http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
[3]. Kids Health http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/cyberbullying.html
[4] "What is Cyberbulling?." Stop Cyberbulling. WiredKids Inc, n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/>.
[5] "Cyberbullying." Stop Bullying Now!. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/cyber-bullying.aspx>.
[6] "What is Cyberbullying? <http://www.olweus.org/public/cyber_bullying.page>
[7] "A Guide to Cyberbullying" <http://www.rcysostenibilidad.telefonica.com/es/media/pdf/Get_with_it_Cyberbullying_Booklet.pdf>
[8] Kathy Kristof. “8 ways to protect kids from bullies” CBS Money Watch. [New York] 28 February 2012. 8 March 8, 2012 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-57386709/8-ways-to-protect-kids-from-bullies/
[Bullies Versus Victims: War with Words] Author Unavailible. “Bullies Versus Victims: War with Words ” http://konsiderit.blogspot.com/2011/02/bullies-versus-victims-war-with-words.html
[9] http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2008/08/ca_legislation_criminalizes_ca.html. Pbs.org. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.
[10] One in 10 workers experiences cyberbullying in the workplace. July 26, 2007. http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/07/26/41707/one+in+10+workers+experiences+cyber-bullying+in+the+workplace.html.
[11] Natt Garun. “Facebook statuses can predict signs of depression” Digital Trends. [New York] 24 February 2012.
[12] Cyber Bullying Statistics. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html . 30 April 2012
[13] Ten Tips to Prevent Cyber Bullying. http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/index.php/back-to-school-tips/312-ten-tips-to-prevent-cyberbullying. 1 May 2012
