Sweet As Social Media Charitable Trust
&
Volume 1, Issue 1 | May, 2011
Cyber Bullying.. could it be the elephant in
New Zealand’s classroom’s??
With recent news head-
lines regularly covering the
topic of bullying in schools
and among youth, it is sur-
prising we do not address
the issue of ―cyber-bullying‖
at all really, at least among
media anyway… Ongoing
reports have emphasized
and reinforced this apparent
ignorance , especially on the
behalves of many parents.
One report stated that some-
thing like 91% of kids, under
the age of 18, had at some
point or another been the
victim of ―cyber bullying‖,. Yet
shockingly, only 11% of par-
ents reported to have ever
heard the term… In this day
and age, it is not enough for a
parent to
ignore or
avoid con-
versations
about be-
“Bullied kids need to know that
bullies are cowards & that what
goes around, comes around.“
Deborah Coddington, NZ Herald (10.4.11)
Parenting in a Digital World: Kids & Social
Community courses will
commence this month, with
the first scheduled to be
held on the 19th of May from
6.30pm—8.30pm at Massey
Community House, 385 Don
Buck Rd. Tickets are priced
at $25pp. We operate on a
―Pay It Forward‖ system, we
aim to provide participants
not only materials through
collaborate with local & na-
| Working in conjunction with AssistNZ Ltd
havior online when it comes
to their kids.. And we need
to remember, more than
technology– what we are
really talking about boils
down to be just another way
to kids & adults alike to
communicate.
WHAT IS CYBER BULLY-
ING? Cyber Bullying is
not unlike normal bullying,
yet instead of occurring just
in person, technologies &
websites can now facilitate
bullying from a distance for
some kids. Technology now
means that bullying not only
occurs in the playground but
after school and even some-
times into the bedroom with
the child being victimized.
WHAT MAKES CYBER
BULLYING ANY DIFFER-
ENT? There are a num-
ber of reasons which seem
to make the context of Cy-
ber Bullying much more
concerning than traditional
concepts of bullies. Cyber
bullying is hard to escape, it
tional providers of similar,
related or relevant organiza-
tions & groups, such as Net-
Safe & ―Cool Schools‖.
In the courses we provide a
brief overview of the tech-
nologies & assess the level
of confidence & experience
of the parents on each
course, before exploring the
common risks and best
“In 2007, 1 in 5 Kiwi High School
Students reported to being cyber
bullied” - Netsafe, Guide
can also be anonymous &
impersonal and bullies don't
have to directly experience
the pain inflicted on their vic-
tim. The virtual invasion of
the home and spread of the
targeting that these technolo-
gies allow is also signifi-
cantly concerning.
Often outside of legal bounds
& difficult for the schools to
manage, the ubiquitous na-
ture of these medias means
that the refuge of ones bed-
room even, is no longer safe
for kids today. Worst still,
what appears to be the most
commonly reported concern
by many, particularly those
involved with the school, is
the obliviousness of the par-
ents about these issues in
many cases.
“Awareness &
Education are the
key preventions to
cyber bullying”
Bullying.org
strategies for monitoring
them in respectful & appro-
priate ways.. Finishing off as
a group activity, the class
draws up a potential
―template‖ for appropriate
House Rules in regards to
their family & household’s
conduct online. See more in
Graphic over page or see
http://sweetasparents.tumblr.com
Plan of Attack:
 Launch a viral YouTube
campaign, where by we get
NZ celebrities and public
both to be recording them-
selves read script, edit the
collection into several adver-
tising campaigns for radio &
television and then pressure
the media agency to provide
air time while still pushing
the message on social me-
dia streams - ―Stop, Think
& Click‖
 Facilitate a workshop for
parents around Auckland,
starting first at our local com-
munity venue in Massey, we
have a series of workshops
planned around Auckland to
build the awareness & confi-
dence of parents & caregiv-
ers. Titled, ―Parenting in a
Digital World: Kids & Social
Media‖, our two hour work-
shop aims to shift the focus
& perception of parents from
the technology to the fact its
just a new way that their kids
are talking.
 Standardizing and distribut-
ing workshops & course
resources online is important
to our objectives of all par-
ticipants ―Paying Forward‖
the lessons & message from
our workshops with them.
Further more in-depth train-
ing may be done online by
participants if they wish.
 Provide and promote sup-
port & ―community‖ online
where those isolated by
bullying or struggling with
other ―digital issues‖ have
some where they can turn to
and a forum for them to ask
questions without concern.
Move will be to create self
sustaining subsets of this.