CYBERBullying
A “New Form of Bullying”
School violence is an issue in
the news and on the minds of educators and parents. We have always known
bullying as a face to face interaction. In the past, we would encourage
our children to ignore the bully, and eventually he/she will stop. However,
the problem of bullying hasn't gone away and it has now taken a new twist.
It is called cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is bullying
that occurs on the internet. Students will harass/bully others in chat
rooms, through emails, and ESPECIALLY through instant messaging. It can
often involve racial, religious and/or cultural slurs. Often your
child will know the person; however, this may not always be the case.
Cyberbullying is
different because the bully does not see the victim, yet the bully can
"contact" the victim whenever they like. Since the bully does
not see the reaction, he/she is removed from the situation - worse yet, the
bully thinks his/her actions are acceptable since there is no "physical
contact". Yet the effects of Cyberbulling are equally
as devastating to our children as if were to also happen on the playground at
school.
Cyberbullying usually
occurs after school. It is important that parents are aware of this
problem and what their child is doing on the computer.
Here are some questions that can
help a parent start up a conversation:
Have you had any direct
experience with cyberbullying?
How did you handle it?
Was it through emails,
instant messaging, and/or chat rooms?
Do you think children say
things that they would not say face-to-face? Why?
Why do you think children are
reluctant to tell their parents or guardians when they are being bullied over
the internet?
Thanks for reading,
Jon Zimmerman
(thanks to Beth Janowitz of
Webber Middle School)
