Take a Stand Against Cyber-Bullying

Information, Tips and Tools for Keeping Kids Safe On-line

Instructor

Dr. Michelle Bennett

Serving as the police chief for the City of Maple Valley

Ed.D, Seattle Pacific University

M.S. Central Washington University

Take a Stand Against Cyber-BullyingCourse Outline

1 - The Prevalence of Virtual Life

2 - Definition, Methods and Examples of Cyber-bullying

3 - The Permanent Internet

4 - Who are Cyber-bullies and why do they do it?

5 - Effects of Cyber-bullying on the Target

6 - Cyber-Bullying and Criminal Behavior

7 - How to Protect Kids against Cyber-bullying

8 - Questions?

The Prevalence of Virtual Life

Questions…

Do you have teenagers at home?

Do you have Internet access at home?

If you are a teacher, do your students have Internet access at school?

94%Youth with Internet Access at Home

90%Youth who use the Internet at School

Media Awareness Network (MNET), Cyberbullying, 2006), JJDP, 2005

The prevalence of virtual lifeA recent study showed:

Where do teens go on-line?

(OJJDP, 2005) (Pew Internet and American Life Project)

Where do teens go on-line?

79%Youth who talk to people they know in person online.

34%Youth who talk to people they know ONLY online.

Cyber-bullying

What is school bullying?

“An intentional written, verbal, or physical act

against a student which is motivated by the

bully’s perception of that student’s race,

color, or creed, gender, sexual orientation, or

other distinguishing characteristics… “

What is school bullying?

(Senate Bill 5528)

When the intentional act physically harms a student or damages his/her property; substantially interfereswith the student’s education; is so severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or threatening educational environment; or substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school.”

Why is the issue of school bullying so important?

A Secret Service study found that two-thirds of school shooters said they felt “persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked or injured.” National Threat Assessment Center and Secret Service

A National Education Association study found that more than 160,000 kids do not go to school each day because they fear being bullied. National Education Association & National Association of School Psychologists

A study conducted by CNN showed that 4 out of 5 middle school students had engaged in bullying behavior in the last 30 days.

What is cyber-bullying?

instant messaging, defamatory personal Web-sites, and defamatory on-line personal polling Web-sites, to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others.

Bill Belsey, (Anderson and Sturm, 2007)

instant messaging, defamatory personal Web-sites, and defamatory on-line personal polling Web-sites, to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others.

Bill Belsey, (Anderson and Sturm, 2007)

Cyber-bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages,

Cyber-bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages,

Cyber-bullying is easy? Used to be bigger kids picked on smaller

kids, now anyone can pick on anyone… It’s anonymous, so it is easier to hide-

That hiding does not let the bully know how much stress they are causing

Bullies think they do not have to own up to their actions

Because they think they are hard to find, bullies think they won’t be punished.

It takes less energy and courage to be hurtful on-line using a keyboard than using one’s own voice for an in-person attack.

Cyber-bullying is particularly cowardly… Most often, what is said on-line would never be said

in person. (Wikipedia, 2007)

How often does cyber-bullying happen?

Cyber-bullying is wide-reaching… …anyone can participate.

A National i-SAFE survey found half of students who use the Internet are being harassed on-line.

One in four kids had been bullied via their cell phones.

www.cyberbullying.ca: Britain

58% of students have not told their parents or another adult about someone being mean or hurtful to them online. I-safe

How often do youth cyber-bully?

Cyber-bullying Methods

Types of cyber-bullying

There are 2 types of cyber-bullying: Direct attacks and Indirect

attacksDirect attacks Messages sent to youth directly:

• Instant Messaging / E-mail• Blogs or Message Boards• Text Messaging/Pictures• Social Networking Sites

Direct attacks Messages sent to youth directly:

• Instant Messaging / E-mail• Blogs or Message Boards• Text Messaging/Pictures• Social Networking Sites

Instant messaging (IM) Teens can be bullied when they have

instant messaging conversations with friends or “buddies” in real time. These social websites provide fertile ground for

this behavior: instant communication in e-mail style

Students are bullied by their friends or peers who post with anonymous screen names

Buddies can also insert derogatory or slanderous remarks for anyone to read, or create false personal profiles that insult or ridicule the victim.

Youth can also block other youth, or refuse to add them as buddies, manipulating peer relationships by socially excluding other students. (Anderson and Sturm, 2007)

Web-logs (Blogs)

Blogs are on-line journals where readers can comment about others’ entries.

Users can: Bash victims Post entries as an anonymous guest Post mean comments about a victim’s personal

beliefs Take comments from the blog out of context

and post them on the bully’s own blog, Web-site, or message board

(Anderson and Sturm, 2007)

Cell phone pictures orText-messaging

Cell-phone cyber-bullying occurs when students use cell phones to:

Send text messages in order to bully, intimidate or harass another person

1.2 TrillionThe approximate annual number of text and

visual messages sent over the Internet. Bill Belsey: Cyber bullying.ca

Cell phone pictures orText-messaging

Send photos to deliberately try to scare, upset, threaten, embarrass, humiliate or abuse another person

10% of teens have reported being victimized because someone posted unflattering pictures of them on-line, without permission (NCPC, 2007)

Spread gossip or rumors about a person to other students

Social Networking Sites

Facebook / MySpace, etc. There are more than 750 million active

users on Facebook, nearly 500 million users of YouTube and approximately 200 million users of Twitter.

Social networking now accounts for 22% of total time spent on the internet (www.nw3c.org).

If Facebook were a country, it’d be the world’s third largest. (www.socialnomics.net).

Types of cyber-bullyingIndirect attacksCyber-bullying through indirect

means Hacking into someone else’s

cyber-property (using someone else’s password or information) To gain personal

information To alter the person’s

‘cyber-property’

Types of cyber-bullying

Indirect attacks

Cyber-bullying through indirect means Pretending to be someone else electronically

Using someone else’s electronic tools to cyber-bully others

Enlisting friends to join in

Cyber-bullying examples

In a Manhattan High School, several boys created a website dedicated to spreading sexual gossip about female classmates.

In Allentown, NJ students started a Web site that named the 20 most hated students in their school.

In Dallas, students created a Web-site dedicated to attacking a teen with Multiple Sclerosis.

A Washington high school counselor said that pictures of a 17-year-old female student had been circulated by students using cell phones. The pictures reportedly were taken by the girl’s 20-year old boyfriend.

Another Danger… The Permanent Internet

What could happen?

A 16-year-old boy in Jefferson, Colorado was arrested after police say he showed pictures of himself on his MySpace page holding handguns. Police subsequently found the same weapons in his home.

The boy has been charged with three misdemeanors for being a juvenile in possession of handguns.

Kornblum & Marklein, 2006

What could happen?

In a school in Wisconsin, two 9th grade boys created an Internet “hit-list” with 60 names of students. Four days later, school administrators

solved the case.

Both boys were arrested by local police for disorderly conduct and expelled for the year.

(Blair, 2003)

The solution?

Rather than trying to get those Web-sites to delete the offending photos and text (and many sites are still in the Internet Archive even after they've been taken down), be your own spin doctor.

"The secret to burying unflattering Web details about yourself is to create a preferred version of the facts on a home page or a blog of your own, then devise a strategy to get high-ranking Web sites to link to you.“

Times reports

10-Minute Break!

Is someone you know a Cyber-bully?

Ask teens or students, have you ever…

Signed on using someone else’s screen name so you could gather information?

Impersonated someone else over e-mail, IM, or on a blog?

Forwarded a private conversation or e-mail without permission from the other person?

Posted a picture or information about someone on a Web-site without that person’s consent?

Stopcyberbullying.org

Ask teens or students, have you ever…

Used someone else’s password for any reason without their permission?

Insulted someone in an interactive game room?

Posted rude things or lies about someone on-line?

Voted at an on-line bashing poll or posted to a guest-book saying rude things?

Stopcyberbullying.org

The cyber-bully

Who cyber-bullies?

Why do teens cyber-bully? For “fun” or “laughs” or

entertainment Bored, too much time on hands Many technical toys available with no

restrictions Power hungry, do it to torment others

and stoke their own ego Feel they can “Get away with it”

Stopcyberbullying.org

Why do teens cyber-bully?

Anger, revenge or frustration Less popular kids may start out

defending themselves only to find they now enjoy being the bully

Mean girls do it to bolster or remind people of their social status

Stopcyberbullying.org

Effects of Cyber-bullying on the Target

Effects of cyber-bullying

90% of those bullied reported psychological consequences, including:

A drop in grades Increased anxiety Loss of friends

How cyber-bullying affected the victim 30% said they were extremely upset

24% said they were extremely frightened

22% said they were extremely embarrassed

34% had one or more symptoms of stress: stayed away from the Internet or part of it; were unable to stop thinking about the incident; felt jumpy or irritable; lost interest in things

OJJDP, 2005

Results of cyber-bullying

VIOLENCE The Secret Service completed a study on school violence and found that bullying and tormenting were a factor in 37 school violence incidents. (Labi, 2005)

Violence: It’s not always homicide

SUICIDE

It’s the third leading cause of death among persons 10 to 24 years old

US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

500,000 teens attempt suicide every year

5,000 succeed

Megan Meier; Tyler Clementi

Cyber-bullying and Criminal Behavior

Crimes at school What happens at home, can it affect

you at school? Legal experts agree that schools are on

solid ground to discipline students when: A clear link can be shown between the

cyber-bullying and what is occurring at school

Examples:

A student takes a picture or video of a youth in a school locker room and posts it online

A student uses school computers to send harassing or derogatory e-mail

Reporting cyber-bullyingto the police

Some bullying behaviors can be categorized as criminal activity.

In many states, the following behaviors are actually crimes punishable by fines and/or jail time: Threats (to person or property) Harassment Extortion

Can the police help in acyber-bullying incident?

If someone feels threatened and fears for their personal safety and/or damage to their property, the police can: Order cell phone or text msg.

records Confiscate hard-drives Criminally charge suspects (if

appropriate)

Cyber-Stalking Cyberstalking.

(1) A person is guilty of cyberstalking if he or she, with intent to harass, intimidate, torment, or embarrass any other person, and under circumstances not constituting telephone harassment, makes an electronic communication to such other person or a third party:     (a) Using any lewd, lascivious, indecent, or obscene words, images, or language, or suggesting the commission of any lewd or lascivious act;     (b) Anonymously or repeatedly whether or not conversation occurs; or      (c) Threatening to inflict injury on the person or property of the person called or any member of his or her family or household.   RCW 9.61.260

    

Cyber-Stalking

(2) Cyberstalking is a gross misdemeanor, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.

Cyber-Stalking

  (3) Cyberstalking is a class C felony if either of the following applies:     (a) The perpetrator has previously been convicted of the crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, with the same victim or a member of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a no-contact order or no-harassment order in this or any other state; or     (b) The perpetrator engages in the behavior prohibited under subsection (1)(c) of this section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other person.

    

Cyber-Stalking

(4) Any offense committed under this section may be deemed to have been committed either at the place from which the communication was made or at the place where the communication was received.

(5) For purposes of this section, "electronic communication" means the transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, electromagnetic, or other similar means. "Electronic communication" includes, but is not limited to, electronic mail, internet-based communications, pager service, and electronic text messaging. [2004 c 94 § 1.]

Computer Trespass 1

Computer trespass in the first degree. (1) A person is guilty of computer trespass in

the first degree if the person, without authorization, intentionally gains access to a computer system or electronic database of another; and

     (a) The access is made with the intent to commit another crime; or

     (b) The violation involves a computer or database maintained by a government agency.

     (2) Computer trespass in the first degree is a class C felony.

RCW 9A.52.110; [1984 c 273 § 1.]

Computer Trespass 2

Computer trespass in the second degree. (1) A person is guilty of computer trespass in

the second degree if the person, without authorization, intentionally gains access to a computer system or electronic database of another under circumstances not constituting the offense in the first degree.

(2) Computer trespass in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor.

RCW 9A.52.120; [1984 c 273 § 2.]

Examples/Questions about Cyberbullying

“If I am angry and I write an e-mail, post, or text-message to someone saying that I want to punch them in the face, is that a crime?

“If I am angry at someone because of something they sent me in a text message from their I-phone, and I write an e-mail, post, or text-message to them saying I want to take their I-phone and smash it on the ground, is that a crime?”

 

Examples/Questions about Cyberbullying

“If I use someone else’s computer and then post messages from that computer that contains mean sexual comments or pictures regarding that person, is that a crime?”

“If I use someone else’s password to get onto their on-line social networking site, and then post or alter that site to include mean sexual comments or pictures regarding that person, is that a crime?”

How can you Protect Kids from Cyber-Bullying?

Protecting against Cyber-bullying One advantage the Internet is that

you can advise youth to simply not log on or avoid a certain chat room or Web-site

If compromised, youth can change their e-mail address/password and only give it out to close friends and family (or change their identity in chat rooms)

(Borucki, 2006)

Protecting against Cyber-bullying Advise youth to be private, keep their

pictures passwords, and all secrets to themselves.

Tell them to take a minute… Instead of instantly replying to an

upsetting message, advise them to walk away and do something they enjoy for a few minutes.

(Borucki, 2006)

Protecting against Cyber-bullying

Stop, block and tell Tell them to stop before they reply, block

unwanted senders, and to tell someone they trust about what kind of messages they are receiving.

Save the evidence of the cyber-bullying Keep messages on the computer or use

some type of monitoring software. Track the time and date of all unwanted

messages on a computer or cell phone. (Borucki, 2006)

Protecting against Cyber-bullying Advise youth to:

Never discuss their own or someone else’s intimate details or reputation-damaging information by electronic means

Not retaliate: This only gives the bully a “Win” and makes the youth part of the problem

File a complaint with the site, ISP, or cell phone company

(Willard, 2006)

Protecting against Cyber-bullying

Advise youth to: Tell a parent, teacher or a trusted adult

about what is happening who have the option of communicating with the parents of the aggressor

Seek assistance from school officials Contact an attorney Contact law enforcement

(Willard, 2006)

Teachers and school staff play an important role in stamping out cyber-bullying.

Educators can infuse anti-bullying and violence prevention into the curriculum: Use group activities or assignments that

require sharing or collaboration Praise students for acts of kindness and

respect Choose stories and books to share that have an

anti-bullying theme Warn students that all computer activity is

traceable Teach each students to print all unwanted

messages received on a computer

Teaching kids about the “Golden Rule”

Teach youth 5 things to think about before posting: Is this respectful or kind to others? How would I feel if someone did this to me or

my best friend? Am I violating any laws, rules or personal

agreements? What would happen if everyone did what I am

about to do? How would this reflect on me if what I am

about to write was posted on the front page of a newspaper naming me as the author?

Take a Stand TODAY Against Cyber-bullying

Questions?

TOGETHER

EVERYONE

ACHIEVES

MORE!!!

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