Cyber Bullying

Zack Kay & Juan-Carlos Correa Bustamante

Table of Contents1. What is Cyber Bullying?2. Categories of Cyber Bullies3. Types of Cyber Bullying4. Comparison to Schoolyard Bullying5. Effects of Cyber Bullying6. Cyber Bullying Statistics7. Case Studies8. How can we prevent Cyber Bullying?9. Summary & Conclusion10. References

What Is Cyber Bullying?

When the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.1

A situation when a child, tween or teen is repeatedly 'tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted' by another child or teenager using text messaging, email, instant messaging or any other type of digital technology.2

What Is Cyber Bullying?

• Cyber Bullying is not limited to children

• In this case it is referred to as either:– Cyber Harassment– Cyber Stalking

Categories of Cyber Bullies

• Inadvertent

• Vengeful Angel

• Mean Girls

• Power Hungry

– Revenge of the Nerds3

Types of Cyber Bullying

• Flaming

• Harassment

• Denigration

• Impersonation

More Types of Cyber Bullying

• Outing & Trickery

• Exclusion

• Cyber stalking

• Cyber threats4

Comparison to Schoolyard Bullying

• Means of anonymity

• Ease of Access

• Lack of teachers/other students

• "If someone is picking on you in the school yard, you can go home, when it's on the [computer], you have nowhere to go.”5

Effects of Cyber Bullying

• May sometimes be greater than traditional bullying

• Low Self Esteem

• Victim begins to avoid friends and activities

• Increased suicidal tendencies

Effects of Cyber Bullying

• Attacks may occur at home

• Psychological and Emotional stress

• School marks

• Victims may be prone to act out

Cyber Bullying Statistics

• 42% of kids bullied while online

• 25% have been threatened

• 58% admit to have had mean or hurtful things said to them

• 58% have not told their parents/an adult6

Cyber Bullying Stats…

• 99% of Canadian students have used the internet

• 48% use it for at least an hour a day

• Nearly 60% use chat rooms and internet messaging5

Case Study 1 : David Knight

• David lives in Burlington

• He had a rough time of high school

• Cyber bullying began later on, and continued through his final year

David Knight

• A website was posted making fun of David

• “Rather than just some people, say 30 in a cafeteria, hearing them all yell insults at you, it's up there for 6 billion people to see. Anyone with a computer can see it" – David Knight

David Knight

• David ended up finishing his final year at home– “you can't get away from it. It doesn't go away when you

come home from school. It made me feel even more trapped.” – D.K.

• Although his parents contacted the police, the website still remained up

• It took the family seven months to get the site down5

Case Study 2 : Megan Meier

• Megan Taylor Meier

• Born Nov. 6, 1992

• From Dardenne Prairie, Missouri

• Diagnosed with ADD and Depression

Megan Meier• Soon after switching schools and joining

MySpace, Megan (14) received a message from a Josh Evans

• Josh had just moved into a nearby city

• Megan and Josh become online friends

• Megan’s family claimed she had her “spirits lifted”

Megan Meier

• But the messages changed a tone in Oct. 2006“I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard that you are not very nice to your friends”

• These messages escalated in harshness, and ended with “Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.”

Megan Meier• Megan responded with “You’re the kind of boy a

girl would kill herself over.”

• She was found dead twenty minutes later

• 6 months later the FBI discovered the account was created and maintained by Ashley Gillis and Lori Drew

• County prosecutors decided not to file any criminal charges

Megan Meier

• Although she was indicted by the federal court

• There was a gap of over a year before the controversy was reported to the media

• The Drew’s names were originally excluded

• This case led to some developments in US laws7

How to Prevent Cyber Bullying• Schools need to implement policies regarding the

use of technology

• Parents of students need to be aware of the signs

• Students must be made to understand the effects of cyber bullying

• Difficult to know when to get law enforcement involved1/4

Summary & Conclusion

• Cyber bullying is a subset of bullying that has far-reaching consequences

• Cyber bullying is difficult to stop

• Children must be made aware of the risks

• With the right tools, cyber bullies can be stopped

References1. National Crime Prevention Council. "Cyberbullying —

Celebrate Safe Communities." Home — Celebrate Safe Communities. 2006. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying>.

2. StopCyberbullying.org. "What Is Cyberbullying, Exactly?" Stop Cyberbullying. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. <http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html>.

3. WiredSafety.org. "Types of Cyberbullies." WiredSafety: the World's Largest Internet Safety, Help and Education Resource. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. <http://www.wiredsafety.org/>.

References4. Willard, Nancy. "Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats Effectively

Managing Internet Use Risks in Schools." Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use. Jan. 2007. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://www.cyberbully.org/cyberbully/>.

5. Leishman, Joan. "CBC News Indepth: Bullying." CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. 10 Oct. 2002. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bullying/cyber_bullying.html>.

6. ISafe. "Cyber Bullying: Statistics and Tips." I-SAFE Inc. 2004. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. <http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op _id=media_cyber_bullying>.⊂

7. "Suicide of Megan Meier." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Megan_Meier>.