Cyber bullying

1. Cyber bullying

2. Cyber bullying Definitions • Cyber bullying - is sending, posting harmful material or engaging in other forms of social aggression using the internet or other digital technologies. • Flaming - Online fights using electronic messages • Harassment - Repeatedly sending nasty, mean, and insulting messages. • Denigration -”Dissing” someone online. • Impersonation - Pretending to be someone else • Outing - Sharing someone’s secrets or embarrassing information or images online. • Trickery - Talking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information, then sharing it online. Cyberbullying

3. Cyber Bullying Definitions Continued • Exclusion - Intentionally and cruelly excluding someone from an online group. • Cyberstalking - Repeated, intense harassment and denigration that includes threats or creates significant fear. • Cyber threats - Are either direct threats or “distressing material”-general statements that make it sound like the writer is emotionally upset and may be considering harming someone else, harming himself or herself, or committing suicide. Cyberbullying

4. How ,Who, and Why • Cyber bullying can be done over text messages, social networking sites (Myspace,Facebook), blogs, emails, message boards, chat rooms, IM. • A Cyber bully might be a person whom the target knows or an online stranger. • The Cyber bully might be anonymous. They might also solicit involvement of other people who do not know the target. • Cyber bullying and cyber threats can be related to bullying that is occurring at school. Sometimes the student who is being bullied at school is also being bullied online. Cyberbullying

5. How, who and why continued • Cyber bullying can also be based on hate or bias. Bullying others because of race, religion, physical appearance. • Students might think that cyber bullying is entertaining or a game to hurt other people. • Most students feel that if they are bullying someone online it does not have the same effect as it does if it was face to face. It actually feels the same as if you were bullying someone face to face when you are bullying someone online. . Cyberbullying

6. How, who and why continued • It is important to realize that if you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying something to someone's face then you should not say it to them online • Sometimes the student who is being bullied at school becomes the cyber bully, so they can retaliate against the people who are bullying them at school. • Cyber bullying may involve relationships. If a relationship breaks up, one person may start to cyber bully the other person. This also can cause students to get into online fights about the relationship. Cyberbullying

7. Impact of Cyber Bullying • Online communications can be extremely vicious. • There is no escape for the person who is being Cyber bullied. Victimization is ongoing. • Cyber Bullying can be distributed worldwide and is often irretrievable. • Cyber bullies can be anonymous and can solicit the involvement of unknown “friends”. • Students may be reluctant to tell adults what is happening online because they are emotionally traumatized and think its their fault. They might fear there will be greater retribution, or fear the their online activities or cell phone use will be restricted. Cyberbullying

8. Bully, Target, Bystander • Bullies - People who harass and demean others, especially those they think are different or inferior or people who have been bullied by others and are using the internet to retaliate or vent their anger. • Targets -The targets of the cyber bully, might be the bullies at the school and in other cases the targets. • Harmful bystanders - Those who encourage and support the bully or watch the bullying from the sidelines. These people often do nothing to intervene or help the target. • Helpful bystanders - People who seek to stop the bullying, protest against it, provide support to the target, or tell an adult. Cyberbullying

9. Ryan Halligan • Ryan Patrick Halligan was a victim of cyber bullying. • Ryan took his own life on October 7,2003. He was 13yrs old. • During 5th grade Ryan started to get bullied at school. Kids picked on him because of his academic issues, and his learning disability. • Ryan’s issues with bullying became worse when he entered middle school. He was picked on regularly. Cyberbullying

10. Ryan Halligan • In 7th grade it got even worse, when a girl he liked started to talk to him online. • This girl was someone who had stuck up for him in the past. She began an online relationship with Ryan making him think she liked him. When Ryan got the courage to actually talk to her, she told him she never liked him. • The girl and other students relentlessly made fun of Ryan after this incident. All information from www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org Cyberbullying

11. Ryan Halligan Cyberbullying

12. Cyberbullying Laws • Eighteen states now have laws targeting internet harassment and cyberstalking. • Most states are requiring school districts to make policies about cyberbullying. • Missouri passed Megan’s law after Megan Meier committed suicide. She was being cyber bullied by a parent of one of her classmates. • The mother who cyber bullied Megan was charged under Megan’s law. Cyberbullying

13. Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act If anyone uses any type of technology (cell phones, IMs, emails, communication through social networking sites such as Face book, MySpace, etc.) to “intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to anyone” they are putting themselves at risk for criminal charges being placed on them, serving time in jail, and/or a fine. Cyberbullying

14. Missouri State Law • Harassment. 565.090. • 1. A person commits the crime of harassment if he or she: • (1) Knowingly communicates a threat to commit any felony to another person and in so doing frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to such other person; OR Cyberbullying

15. Missouri State Law (continued) • (2) When communicating with another person, knowingly uses coarse language offensive to one of average sensibility and thereby puts such person in reasonable apprehension of offensive physical contact or harm; OR Cyberbullying

16. Missouri State Law (continued) • (3) Knowingly frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to another person by anonymously making a telephone call or any electronic communication; OR Cyberbullying

17. Missouri State Law (continued) • (4) Knowingly communicates with another person who is, or who purports to be, seventeen years of age or younger and in so doing and without good cause recklessly frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to such other person; OR Cyberbullying

18. Missouri State Law (continued) • (5) Knowingly makes repeated unwanted communication to another person; OR Cyberbullying

19. Missouri State Law (continued) • (6) Without good cause engages in any other act with the purpose to frighten, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to another person, cause such person to be frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed, and such person's response to the act is one of a person of average sensibilities considering the age of such person. Cyberbullying

20. Resources • If you think that you are being cyber bullied, tell someone. • It can be a parent, teacher, principal, counselor, or your SRO. • Don’t wait until its too late tell someone. Cyberbullying