Cyberbullying and Media Safety
Teaching Kids About Cyber Bullying
Traditional forms of bullying take place face-to-face and through the school grapevine, which used to rely on notes and whispers in the halls. Now students have new tools they can use to bully classmates: social networking sites, text messages, instant messaging (IM), cell phones, and email. (Read Cyber Bullying: Classroom Harassment Goes High-Tech for more information.)
As the popularity of the Web has grown, so too has cyber bullying. Like other forms of bullying, cyber bullying can lead to social, emotional, and academic problems. It's important to educate your students about the seriousness of cyber bullying to begin to reverse this harmful trend. If students really understand the impact cyber bullying can have, they may think twice before participating in the future.
Lesson on Netiquette
Cyber bullying is a serious topic; however, the Web, email, IM, text messages, and cell phones are ways for kids to have fun. So it's important to acknowledge the positive side of these tools before approaching the negative.
One way to begin a conversation about cyber bullying is to have a discussion about "netiquette": etiquette on the Internet.
- Define "etiquette": it is "rules for the proper way to behave."
- Ask students what "netiquette" might mean.
- Brainstorm both positive and negative forms of netiquette.
- Create a poster titled the Dos and Don'ts of Netiquette.
Define Cyber Bullying
The following week, define "cyber bullying." Committee for Children's definition is: "Cyber bullying is when one or more people repeatedly harm, harass, intimidate, or exclude another person using technology."
Lead a conversation about how some forms of bad netiquette are actually cyber bullying. Use examples that involve email, social networking sites, instant messaging, and cell phones so that students understand the depth and breadth of cyber bullying. For example:
- Sending a nasty text message to a classmate.
- Posting an embarrassing photo of a peer on MySpace.
- Spreading a rumor via IM.
Empathy and Perspective-Taking Antidotes
Appeal to your students' sense of empathy to help them understand how scary and/or humiliating it is to be on the receiving end of cyber bullying. Have students do some perspective-taking by talking about how it might feel to be involved in a cyber bullying incident.
Encourage your students to speak up when they themselves or someone they know is being cyber bullied. Discuss why it's important for students to be a good bystander and to report cyber bullying incidents to their teachers and parents.
If your school already has a bullying policy, consider adding language specific to cyber bullying. For guidance, read Safeguard Your Students Against Cyber Bullying.
Angela Fountas
Staff Writer
Committee for Children
