Back in the 1980s, a noteworthy country male artist, Charlie Pride, had a song on the radio called, “Burgers, and Fries, and Cherry Pies”. In this song Pride sings of a world where things were simple and life was friendly, happy, and relaxed. This down-to-earth moment in history was the 1950s. Norman Rockwell, a popular artist of the twentieth century, painted depictions of those days. His works of art show a clean-cut image of America that some might say is long gone. Today we have a nation that is filled with hustle and bustle, invention, modern thought, multiculturalism, and technology. Technology, for instance, has driven the communication in our universe to new dimensions. While these improvements are profound movements in the positive direction, some have their drawbacks, as well. One shortcoming of technology is a popular problem among teenagers, cyberbullying.
According to Bill Belsey, President of Bullying.org (2004), “Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others” (Contact section). According to an i-SAFE survey of kids in the fourth through the eighth grades, 58% of children say that they have received malicious messages from others while online. Fifty-three percent of these children claim that they have made cruel remarks to others online. Finally, 35% of these same students state that they have even been endangered while on the computer (Hanel, Shields, & Trolley, 2007). These statistics are alarming; clearly, there is a problem. What do these bullies do to create havoc in another’s life?
These intimidators use a number of technologically-driven avenues to torment their victims. By use of email, instant messaging, texts over the cell phone, blogs, discussions inside live chat rooms, and websites (like Facebook or Twitter), the tyrants send unpleasant, offensive, or menacing posts, act as if they are someone else, send confidential information out to others about another person, or purposefully keep someone from participating in an online conversation (Stop Bullying Now, 2005). Some cyberbullies even send humiliating pictures of others, without their knowledge or permission (NCPC, 2010). These oppressors know how to terrorize a teen’s mind.
Bullies over the computer are hard to define. Yet, according to Hanel, Shields, and Trolley (2008), they may be authoritative, controlling, manipulative, and domineering. Some have been bullied themselves. Others think it’s humorous and do it for fun. Still others use scare tactics to alarm their prey. Lastly, a number of these perpetrators don’t even know that what they are doing is wrong. Parents, school officials, and counselors can become suspect of a child when he/she gets upset when it’s time to put up the computer, when the child uses a computer excessively or stops using it altogether, when a kid won’t discuss his/her use of the computer or doesn’t want the adult to monitor the screen, or when the youth has several types of computer accounts. Hanel, Shields, and Trolley (2008) also state that the usual cyberbully gets along well with his/her teachers, but has a personality off campus that appears in opposition to his/her peers (p. 3).
Because of this growing dilemma, schools are starting to get involved. Many schools do not allow this type of behavior and have harsh penalties for it. Computer bullies are being suspended or even expelled for their actions. However, Hanel, Shields, and Trolley (2008) favor trying to help the bully, instead of punishing him/her. They believe that by having a counselor assess the child and inquire about the child’s home life, values, morals, ethics, friends, and overall mental and physical status, the therapist will be able to find the correct motivation to get him/her to change. Possible treatment may include different kinds of cognitive-behavioral therapy, acting out different scenarios, letters of confession and regret, and bibliotherapy (p. 8). In addition, some schools now have a computer policy that both the user and parent must sign, prior to the student being allowed to access it in the classroom. This document serves to inform all stakeholders of what’s acceptable at school and what will not be tolerated (Hanel, Shields, and Trolley, 2008). Finally, it was noted that the counselor can educate the staff and the students about cyberbullying by offering character education assemblies and classroom lessons (Hanel, Shields, and Trolley, 2008).
By sharing information about this new phenomenon, counselors can also discuss what to do if a student becomes another statistic and victim of this type of abuse. Students are requested to not respond to the negative messages, however, they are also asked to save them. By saving them, parents and counselors can go through the internet provider and track the sender. Counselors and parents can investigate to find out who sent the memo. Police can be contacted if a threat has been issued. Lastly, if communication takes place at school, counselors and other administrators can intervene (Stop Bullying Now, 2005).
There are measures that can be taken to prevent cyberbullying from occurring or escalating. Awareness is one proactive stance that was mentioned previously. The counselor is a perfect advocate for educating the school and the community (NCPC, 2010). Bullying.org (2004) does mention some excellent tips on how to keep our youth safe. Teenagers should not reveal any confidential or private information about themselves over the computer. Children are encouraged to think before they send an angry message out to someone. Once the message is sent, one can’t take back what he/she said. Emails from individuals that are not familiar to the user should not be opened. Parents can draw up a contract with their kids. The contract can state that the parents are to be notified if the child is being bullied. In the end, a wise decision is to turn off the computer and find another activity. Anything done in excess is not healthy (An Ounce of Prevention section).
In conclusion, our ever-changing society has many perks and wonderful innovations that help make life even better. Nevertheless, these devices do have a few downsides. Cyberbullying is just one of the disadvantages of our highly technical world. Through my research, however, it looks as though educators, communities, and families are finding practical ways to combat this nuisance. With further investigation and knowledge gained, cyberbullying hopefully will be a trend of the past someday.
References
Belsey, Bill. (2004). Cyberbullying website. Retrieved from http://www.cyberbullying.org
Hansel, C., Shields, L., & Trolley, B.C. (2008). School cyber bullying: Description, assessment,& therapeutic intervention. Journal of Technology in Counseling, 5(1), 1-1 Retrieved from http://jtc.colstate.edu/Vol5_1/Trolley.htm
National Crime Prevention Council. (2010). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
Stop Bullying Now. (2005). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/cyber-bullying.aspx
Your paper was so interesting! I have always known that bullying is a big problem in schools, but never knew the extent in which it is used through the computer.Parents NEED to be aware of what their children are doing when they are on a computer.I don’t think that children should be on the computer unless they are being supervised by a parent, or someone way older. I agree that counselors need to be advocates and educate parents and teachers of some of the characteristics of bullies.I really like that school’s are taking bullying very seriously and have hash penalties for those children. Bullying can cause emotional damage to the children that are being bullied. Great job on your BLOG!
ReplyDeleteYour Blog is such an eye opener to future counselors like myself. I always knew that cyberbullying existed but I did not realize to what extend. It is very important to know that children are not only bullied in physical form but also mentally through the use of technology. While your paper talks about the perks of technology I like that it also mentions the dangerous effects that it can have on the well being of others because of the negative use of it by insincere people. It is important for parents, teachers, administrators, and counselors all over to understand the damage that cyberbullying can do to young individuals.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic. As a society, we may not realize the outrageous statics on kids being bullied via the internet. The schools and parents joinging efforts in controlling our kids becoming a victim of internet bullying is great. We need to continue to inform our children the importance of providing limited personal information on any public websites. It is important for parents to monitor their kids activities on the internet. In my opinion, it is not healthy for adults as well as children to spend too much of their time communicating on these online social networking sites.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. It is very informational and interesting. Everytime I hear about cyber bullying or bullying in gerneral, I think of this movie called "Odd Girl Out". It is a Lifetime movie, my favorite...LOL!, and it discusses cyberbullying and bullying between young girls. I especially like your take on the counselor being involved. I feel that if there is an outsider, meaning not a family member or friend, that someone who is being bullied can turn to this would be helpful and theraputic for them. I definately feel it is essential for parents and teachers to get involved and gain more knowledge on this growing epidemic.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is going to be an issue as the internet, facebook, Myspace and other chat rooms become more and more popular. Currently, Facebook has become a way to cyber bully. Apparently, high school girls are using this as a way to publish secrets and or gossip about other girls on it. As counselors, there should be a section on cyber bullying added to the bullying curriculum. I loved your blog and thought it was very eye opening. As counselors, we can allow students to come and talk to us if they feel in any way they are getting bullied. Parents and teachers should become more aware of the possibility of cyber bullying. Parents can take steps in order for their children to have a greater chance of staying free of this new epidemic. There should be join efforts on everyone's part to ensure children are not participating in cyber bullying or becoming a victim of cyber bullying. This will take effort on everyone's part. Overall, I believe bringing awareness to this issue is the first step. Your blog was the first step in helping to bring awareness to this issue.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
ReplyDeleteI'm am so glad someone touched on this topic. You know I am school teacher and I already see this as becoming an issue..and I am in the elementary levels.I definitely think thus should be addressed as a major issue. We cannot continue to let this go underneath the radar. Doing this such as this (blogging about it) will definitely draw attention to the issue which is exaclty what we want! You di great!