CYBER BULLYING

Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying

Barbara Trolley, Ph.D. CRC Connie Hanel, M.S.E.d & Linda Shields, M.S.E.d.

WORKSHOP GOALS
Terminology Assessment Issues & Protocol Decision Tree PEAS PROGRAM: Psychological, Educational and Social School Response

CYBER BULLYING IS
Being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material using technological means; an individual or group that uses information and communication involving electronic technologies to facilitate deliberate and repeated harassment or threat to an individual or group. Also known as: Electronic Bullying & Online Social Cruelty

CYBER BULLIES TECHNOLOGY

E-mail Cell

phones Pager text messages Instant messaging Defamatory personal web sites Defamatory online personal polling web sites Chat rooms

DIFFERENCES
BULLYING

CYBERBULLYING

DIRECT Occurs on school property Poor relationships with teachers Fear retribution
Physical: Hitting, Punching & Shoving Verbal: Teasing, Name calling & Gossip Nonverbal: Use of gestures & Exclusion

ANONYMOUS Occurs off school property Good relationships with teachers Fear loss of technology privileges
Further under the radar than bullying Emotional reactions cannot be determined

www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

{McKenna & Bargh, 2004; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004}

CYBER BULLY CATEGORIES

Inadvertent

Role-play Responding May not realize its cyber bullying Righting wrongs Protecting themselves Bored; Entertainment Ego based; promote own social status Often do in a group Intimidate on and off line Need others to bully; if isolated, stop

Power-Hungry

Vengeful Angel

Revenge of the Nerds

Want reaction Controlling with fear

(Subset of Power-Hungry)

Mean Girls

Often Victims of school-yard bullies Throw cyber-weight around Not school-yard bullies like Power-Hungry & Mean Girls

{Parry Aftab. Esq., Executive Director, WiredSafety.org}

CYBER BULLYING TYPES

Flaming: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language Harassment: Repeatedly sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages Cyber stalking: Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating. Engaging in other on-line activities that make a person afraid for his or her own safety Denigration: Dissing someone online. Sending or posting cruel gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships

CYBER BULLYING TYPES

Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material online that makes that person look bad, gets that person in trouble or danger, or damages that persons reputation or friendships Outing and Trickery: Sharing someones secret or embarrassing information online. Tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information which is then shared online Exclusion: Intentionally excluding someone from an on-line group, like a buddy list
{Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D., Director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use}

CYBER BULLYING PREVALENCE

Cyber bullying typically starts at about 9 years of age and usually ends after 14 years of age; after 14, it becomes cyber or sexual harassment due to nature of acts and age of actors {Aftab} Affects 65-85% of kids in the core group directly or indirectly through close friends (Aftab)

CYBER BULLYING PREVALENCE

90% of middle school students they polled had their feelings hurt online 65% of their students between 8-14 have been involved directly or indirectly in a cyber bullying incident as the cyber bully, victim or friend 50% had seen or heard of a website bashing of another student 75% had visited a website bashing 40% had their password stolen and changed by a bully (locking them out of their own account) or sent communications posing as them Problems in studies: not assessing the real thing i.e. Only 15% of parent polled knew what cyber bullying was

Aftabs

statistics:

CYBER BULLYING PREVALENCE

In the 2003-04 school year, i-SAFE America surveyed students from across the country on a new topic: Cyber Bullying It is a topic that not many adults were talking about but one that is all too familiar with students.

42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once. 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once. 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages. 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once. 53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once. 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.
Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students grades 4-8 http://www.isafe.org

CYBER BULLYING STATISTICS

*Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students nationwide.

CYBER BULLYING LEGAL ISSUES

Who May Be Involved:

School Counselor Principal Resource Officer Police Attorney

(School or Private)

School Limits: Schools have policies against bullying Civil Law Limits: Cyber bullying may also meet standards for institutional torts (wrongdoings)
Defamation Material that Constitutes an Invasion of Privacy
(1 st Amendment)

Superintendent Internet Service Provider

General (Willard, 2005)

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

CYBER BULLYING LEGAL ISSUES

Criminal Law Limits The following kinds of speech can lead to arrest & prosecution: Making threats of violence to people or their property Engaging in coercion Making obscene or harassing phone calls Harassment or stalking Hate or bias crimes Creating or sending sexually explicit images of teens Sexual exploitation Taking a photo of someone in place where privacy expected

General (Willard, 2005)

CYBER BULLYING LEGAL ISSUES

Educators Guide To Cyber bullying:
Addressing the Harm of On-line Social Cruelty
(Nancy Willard, 2005)

Law Enforcement should be contacted if educator becomes aware of:

Death threats or threats of other forms of violence to a person or property Excessive intimidation or extortion Threats or intimidation that involve any form of bias or discrimination Any evidence of sexual exploitation

CYBER BULLYING LEGAL ISSUES

Offsite Internet Activities and Schools
(Copyright 2005 Parry Aftab, Esq. All rights reserved)

Conflicting decisions in regard to schools authority with respect to cases under state and federal jurisdictions School should seek legal consult often beyond regular school attorney (e.g., a constitutional or cyber-free speech lawyer)

Within School Authority Guidelines: Clear-cut threats Clearly disruptive of school discipline encouraged to visit website; student accesses or works on website in school School owned website or school-sponsored project website Any proof of in-school impact (e.g., materials on grounds; psychosocial, behavioral or academic impact on others) Proof the students website or harassment has had impact on staff (e.g., quits, leave of absence, medical TX for emotional issues)- otherwise seek outside legal recourse

CYBER BULLYING LEGAL ISSUES

What Everyone Needs to Know About Cyber Bullying
(Aftab)

Many cases of child cyber bullying, like adult counterparts of cyber-harassment, not criminal

Law Enforcement needs to be aware of:

Difference between annoying and dangerous communications How to investigate a cyber crime How to obtain information from an ISP

CURRENT ANTI-BULLYING PROGRAMS

Traditional Program Concerns (Fleming, Towey, Limber, Gross, Rubin, Wright & Anderson, 2002) Zero Tolerance & 3 Strikes & Out Negatively impacts on willingness to report Casts large net

Bullies need pro-social role models

Anger Management, Skill Building, Empathy Building, SelfEsteem Enhancement Group members serve as role models & reinforcers of bullying, anti-social behavior Bullies dont need self-esteem boosted Mediation Appropriate in cases of equal power, not bully & victim Parallels possible in doing mediation in domestic violence Appropriate message to bullies: Your behavior is inappropriate, wont be tolerated Message to victim: No one deserves to be bullied and were going to try to stop it

CURRENT ANTI-BULLYING PROGRAMS

Articles:

Zero Tolerance Policies Encourage Lockdown Environment in Schools(Fuentes, 2003) One Strike and Youre Out of School (Joiner, 2004) Youthful suicide, financial ruin, families torn apart for minor infractions.: How post Columbine hysteria is wrecking lives Every Child is Worth Saving (http://endzeroltolerance.com)

Additional Lists of Articles & Commentaries

News (http://www.jlc.org/EZT/News/default/html?id=Jan05)

Children taught to not fight back Frequently have adults such as teachers protect them Those being bullied often want friends or are fearful so dont narc Having been bullied, may have poor self-esteem All involved in cyber bullying not caught, assessed or disciplined Adults may be seemingly unresponsive ..retaliation on-line

Summary

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING PROGRAMS & RESONSES

(Aftab, PowerPoint communication)

PROGRAM OFFERINGS:

Teenangels.org: trains teens & preteens to be part of solution WiredKids and WiredTeens programs for schools and communities Wiredsafety.org: one to one hotline and multiple resources Videos, Lesson Plans and Activities Parent and Community Programs Law enforcement training and briefings Local county level summits on cyber bullying Assistance on technological software & tools to help

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING PROGRAMS & RESPONSES

What Everyone Needs to Know About Cyber bullying (Aftab)
Education of Children: All actions have consequences Cyber bullying hurts They are just being used and manipulated by cyber bully Cyber bully and accomplices often become the target of cyber bullying themselves Care about others and stand up for whats right

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING PROGRAMS & RESPONSES

Comprehensive Plan (Willard, 2005) Schools Policies concerning misuse of technology Evaluate how staff is and can more effectively monitor Internet use Parents Discuss cyber bullying Supervise and increase effective monitoring of Internet use Since more adults supervise, more children will hide activities, strategies needed to change social norms in these on-line works, empower the victim with knowledge how to prevent & respond, & to discourage bullies from engaging in such activities

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING PROGRAMS & RESPONSES

Schools should: Focus on values of kindness and respectful human relations Enhancement of empathic awareness Develop effective problem solving skills Empowerment of bystanders

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING ASSESSMENT

(Willard, 2005)

Specific Step Wise Plan: 1 Engage in participatory planning {Integrate into Safe Schools. District Technology Awareness; Non-school Participants} 2 Conduct needs assessment {Assessment available at Center for Safe & Responsible Internet Use} 3 Ensure that an effective anti--bullying program in place {core not authoritarian values; predictive empathy; peer norms vs. bullying; peer intervention skills, effective administrative responses} 4 Review policies & Procedures {Monitoring, report box, internet & other technological pp} 5 Conduct Professional Development {key individual sophisticated in the area; all administrators, librarians, counselors and technology educators basic understanding; all other staff alerted to existence, how to detect} 6 Provide Parent Education {prevention, detection & intervention strategies; alert child to potential consequences of school discipline, loss of family account, civil litigation, criminal prosecution} 7 Evaluate {prevention & intervention programs}

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING PROGRAMS & RESPONSES

Intervention Strategies for Cyber bullying Directed at Student 1-Save the evidence 2-Conduct a threat assessment {if cyber bullying poses substantial disruption, violence or suicide concerns; contact law enforcement if threats of violence} 3-Assesss response options {direct school nexus may warrant school disciplinary action; if off campus and not substantial threat, no disciplinary action but help victim} 4-Identify the Perpetrators {technical assistance; assess validity of persons identity; offer technical assistance to parents} 5-Supprt the victim {even if no disciplinary action, offer support and assistance to victim and parents; offer counseling mediation, technical assistance; direct to community resources} 6-Provide guidance on how to remove the speech 7-Seek to use informal resolution strategies {contact perpetrator parents, offer assistance, suggest legal consultation; offer counseling, mediation in school; recognize the cyber bully is a hurt kid and try to help both victim and perpetrator Intervention Strategies for Cyber bullying Directed at Staff 1- Assess Type of Speech 2- Take action based on assessment

CURRENT CYBER BULLYING ASSESSMENT

What Everyone Needs to Know About Cyber bullying (Aftab) Assessment to differentiate between rude communications and cyber bullying: 1- Kind of Threats 2- Frequency of Threat 3- Source of Threats 4- Nature of the Threats
The more frequent, the greater the threat, the mention of more dangerous methods & the involvement of third parties tends to increase the seriousness of the threat Knowing the cyber bully may increase or decrease the threat

ASSESSMENT TREE
{PEAS PROGRAM}
Cyber Bully Incident Report Complete report & collect evidence Assessment Methods Interview Collateral info Assess. Forms Standardized Instr. (SAVRY)

Domains Family School Social

Multiple Factors Risk vs. Resiliency

Informants Parents Teachers Students Administrators Dispositions

Contacts Parents Administration Police

Disciplinary Detention Suspension Expulsion Arrest

Therapeutic PEAS Program Family Support Ctr. Outside Counseling Residential Treatment

Ongoing Prevention

CYBER BULLYING ASSESSMENT

{PEAS PROGRAM}

ASSESSMENT:

Interview & Evidence Gathering Collateral Information/Evidence Collection Cyber Bully Assessments Student Form School Counselor Form Standardized Instruments {SAVRY}

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISPOSITION: Disciplinary Detention Suspension Expulsion

Response

Therapeutic Outside Counseling PEAS Program:

Psychological Educational Social School

PEAS PROGRAM Psychological-Educational-And-Social P-PSYCHOLOGICAL:

1. Outside Counseling Referral 2. Family Support Center Referral 3. In-School Counseling 4. Anger Management group 5. Peer Mediation & Conflict Resolution
{cyber bullies}

6. Apology & Impact Statement 7. On-Line Safe Box

PEAS PROGRAM Psychological-Educational-And-Social

1. CURRICULUM INFUSION
ELA Assignments-

E-EDUCATIONAL:
Movie Documentary Book/Movie Review/Report Poem/Short Story/Song Writing a play/paper Watch Movie Inbox and discuss impact/develop program

Social Studies Technology

Review of People in History who were bullied Mock trial regarding injustices/victimization Use/Misuses Safety Review Develop Positive Websites

Art

Anti-Cyber bullying posters Cyber Bullying Curriculum (Nancy Willard)

PEAS PROGRAM Psychological-Educational-And-Social

2. PEER MATCHING:

E-EDUCATIONAL:

Continued

Higher/lower grade reading, tutor Higher/lower grade play production Higher/lower grade cyber bully {recovered/charged} Pen Pals Extracurricular Activities (match cyber bullyer/ee) 3. SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES: High school student small group discussion on impact/consequences of cyber bullying/being cyber bullied Lawyer to discuss possible legal consequences/ Former student, possibly at the high school, involved in cyber bullying, and/or legally charged for cyber bullying Current Teacher/Administrator/Parent involved in cyber bullying

PEAS PROGRAM Psychological-Educational-And-Social

E-EDUCATIONAL:

Continued

4. DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS:

5. PARENT EDUCATION:
Uses/Misuses of Technology Supervision Strategies

6. SCHOOL STAFF IN-SERVICES:

Types Assessment Responses Program Evaluation

PEAS PROGRAM Psychological-Educational-And-Social

S-SOCIAL:

1. EXTRACURRICULAR/PROJECTS:

Intramural/Projects between Classes Beyond Sports Homework Completion & Pizza Party Fundraising & Award/Rewards School Socials Plays on Topic Art contest School/Community Newspaper article Visit to Foster care/geriatric settings Dress Code - Decrease Comparisons & Possibility of Deviant Dress Higher/lower grade reading, tutor Higher/lower grade play production Higher/lower grade cyber bully {recovered/charged} Pen Pals Extracurricular Activities (match cyber bullyer/ee)

2. DRESS POLICY: 3. PEER MATCHING:

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
A Need For: A better understanding of what cyber bullying is Addressing appropriate computer protocol and specifically cyber bullying via the schools clearly defined and systematically implemented AUP so that schools can provide intervention even in instances that occur outside of school Clearer delineation of school responsibility in responding to incidents, especially off school grounds Clearer school policies and action plans; increased continuity in implementing school responses Increased assessment of incidents and those involved Decision making regarding the cyber bully and the individual being cyber bullied based on: A decision tree protocol Assessment process Systematic, therapeutic responses, not isolated disciplinary reactions Integration of educational, psycho-social interventions Inclusion of prevention measures that are comprehensive and systemic in approach Communication among students, counselors, teachers, administrators, parents & community Individualized responses, with understanding that a wide degree of variation exists in motivation Change needs to come from all levels and grades: Individual Classroom School culture Victimization often occurs with both the person being cyber bullied and the cyber bully Important to not throw the baby out with the bathwater Our children are not disposable!

THE END