When I thought about bullying in general, this is the first picture that came to mind because it shows the effects of bullying firsthand.
Cyber bullying: An old problem in a new guise?
by Marilyn A. Campbell
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1925/1/1925.pdf
This article ventures into the "dark side" of technology use of young people. Though technology has numerous benefits, it can be used for harm, not only by some adults but young people themselves. It explores definitional issues, the incidence and potential consequences of cyber bullying, as well as possible prevention and intervention strategies. I chose this article because of the prevention and intervention strategies because we need to stop it before it even starts or stop a current situation that could lead to a potential dangerous or life threatening situation. I found it interesting from this article that event though cyber bullying has not been researched as in-depth as face-to-face bullying, it would seem that it could have more severe consequences than face-to-face bullying. Bullying by physical violence can be threatened but research has shown that verbal and psychological bullying may have more long term negative effects. Cyber bullying has the brings into account a much wider audience that a schoolyard bully. And cyber bullies can sometimes be anonymous, which may cause a child that would not otherwise bully someone face-to-face but will behind a computer.
Awareness raising, whole school policies, supervision, and programs have been used to decrease face-to-face bullying but with cyberbullying is more of an increasing problem for young people with possibly more dire consequences than a schoolyard bully. Prevention measures could be similar to face-to-face but may need to be reconsidered. The biggest problem is students will not always report to adults when they are being bullied. They need a way to report confidential for themselves or a friend that is being bullied. The perpetrators in a cyberbullying situation often cannot be identified. I think this article gives great ways to discuss bullying in general and how they can get help. My students are not as exposed to cyberbullying being in kindergarten but I think about my grades 3-5 afterschool students and how I can explain cyberbullying (prevention/intervention) to them.
I agree that there is much more research done on face to face bullying, but I did find an article that I used that had some great research on cyber bullying. What I learned from mine is that those kids that are getting bullied face to face are more likely to get cyber bullied. It is a sad state to have to deal with these things, especially when you are young and think that the world is ending and this will never go away. We definitely need to make sure we are aware for our students and our own children!
ReplyDeleteThe article I read brought out that many bullies start out as vigalantes, thinking they are standing up for their friend. I know we don't have much control what kids do outside of school but we can teach them why it's not okay to cyberbully and what to do if they are getting bullied. I think educating our students by role playing, giving them scenarios, and as my article suggested, a campaign against cyberbullying. Involving the kids and letting it be many of their ideas is key.
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