CYBERBULLYING
Young people have fully embraced the Internet and other technologies, like cell phones, as both an environment and a tool for socializing. They send emails create their own web sites, post intimate personal news in blogs (online interactive diaries), send text messages and images via cell phone, message each other through IMs (instant messages), chat in chatrooms, post to discussion boards, and seek out new friends in social networking web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo. Unfortunately, there are increasing reports of teens (and sometimes younger children) using these technologies to post cruel text or images to bully their peers or engage in other cruel behavior.
Know the lingo:
"Flaming": Online "fights" using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language.
"Harassment" Repeatedly sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages.
"Cyberstalking" Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or highly intimidating.
"Denigration" Engaging in other online activities that make a person afraid for their safety.
"Dissing" someone online. Sending or posting cruel gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships.
"Impersonation" Breaking into someone’s account, posting as that person and sending messages to make the person look bad, get that person in trouble or danger, or damage that person’s reputation of friendships.
"Outing and Trickery" Sharing someone’s secrets or embarrassing information online. Tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information, this is then shared online.
"Exclusion" Intentionally excluding someone from an online group, like a "buddy list" or a game.
Quick-thinking teens have figured out ways to prevent cyberbullying. For example:
- Refuse to pass along cyberbullying messages
- Tell friends to stop cyberbullying
- Block communication with cyberbullies
- Report cyberbullying to a trusted adult
Even though you can’t see a cyberbully or the bully’s victim, cyberbullying causes real problems. If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it electronically. Delete cyberbullying. Don’t write it. Don’t forward it.
Other important rules to remember are:
Never post or share your personal information online (this includes your full name, address, telephone number, school name, parent’s names, credit card number, social security number, or your friends’ personal information;
Never share passwords with anyone except a parent or trusted adult;
Never meet anyone face-to-face whom you only know online, or as a voice on the other end of your phone, or through text mailing; and,
Talk to a trusted adult about what you do electronically.
For more information, visit http://www.cyberbullying.org |