Cyberbullying is a problem that affects almost half of all American teens.Cyberbulling is when a child is being tormented, harassed, humiliated, and embarrassed by another child via the internet and other sources of digital technology. Cyberbullying occurs in chat room, text-messages, forums and instant messaging.
Legal Issues with Cyberbullying
For cyberbullying to take place, it must be a minor on both sides. A minor must instigate the bullying to another minor. It is difficult to pursue criminal charges for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying may rise to the level of a misdemeanor cyberharassment charge, or if the child is young enough may result in the charge of juvenile delinquency. Most cases typically result in a child losing their ISP or IM accounts as a terms of service violation.
Safety issues with Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is big deal and can cause a variety of different reactions from teens. Children have killed eachother and committed suicide after being involved in a cyberbullying incident.
Tips for Students
1. Block communication with cyberbully 2. Save the messages 3. Talk to a friend about bullying 4. Report the problem to a network service provider or website moderator 5. Don't be a bully back
Tips for Parents
1. Have an open line of communication with your child 2. If the child engages in unacceptable behavior online, make certain that there are immediate consequences. 3. Advise the child that cyber bullying may be a criminal offense-electronically communicated threats are crime
Tips for Teachers
1. Speak with other students and teachers, to develop rules against cyberbullying 2. Raise awareness in your community about the cyberbullying problem. Have an assembly and create flyers about the issue. 3. Share the anti-cyberbullying message with friends.