Last week, two Florida girls, ages 12 & 14, were
arrested on felony charges of taunting and bullying after a 12 year old Florida
girls committed suicide. This is a sad
realty in our world today. Bullying is
no longer happening face to face. It is
happening everywhere we have access to the internet and at all hours of the
day. For a victim it is difficult to
escape or find refuge when the attacks are happening even when you should be in
the safety of your own home.
Rebecca Sedwick committed suicide by jumping from an
abandoned cement factory tower in Lakeland, FL on September 9th. She had been a victim of bullying by at least
15 other girls utilizing on-line social networking sites such as Ask.fm,
Instagram, Kik, and Voxer.
More often than not, bullying has been extended to the
digital world. For parents and schools,
this is a difficult evolution. It is
difficult for parents to keep up with the latest trends in social networking.
It seems many of us just figured out Facebook only to have to new application
such as Instagram or Ask.fm become the application of choice.
We are living in a digital age and the responsibilities of
parents, schools, and children have changed.
We have to educate our children about the proper etiquette for using
social networking. As parents we have to
be open and honest with our children and have to be willing to learn about new
technology and be willing to check on our kids.
It is fine line between protecting our children and respecting their
privacy.
In addition to parents having more responsibilities, so do
you students. Here are some tips on how
to prevent and stop cyberbullying:
·
Make sure if you are members of social networking
sites, protect yourself by using the security features (for example, make your
profile private if you are on Instagram)
·
Never accept a “friendship” request unless you
know the person
·
Refuse to pass on cyberbullying messages
·
Tell friends or others to stop
·
Block communication with cyberbullies, delete
messages without reading them
·
Never post or share personal information online
including full name, parents’ names, address
·
Never share internet passwords with anyone
·
Never put anything online you wouldn’t want your
classmates to see
·
Do not send messages when you are angry or upset
·
Always be as polite online as if you were in
person
If you are a victim of cyberbullying or become aware of
cyberbullying, you need to ask for help.
Find a
teacher or trusted adult and ask for assistance.
How many different social networking sites do you belong
to? Have you ever witnessed acts of
cyberbullying? Besides the suggestions I
provided, what are steps you believe would be helpful to stopping this behavior?
I am only part of one social networking site which is Facebook. I haven't been on my Facebook account for two years because I saw my friends everyday so what was the point? I have seen people cyber bullying and I don't join in on a good side or bad side. Sometimes if it's my friends i will start to stand up for him or ignore that guy off the bat. We have already tried to keep "kids" off the social networking sites such as Facebook but it is too easy to get past. I don' see any solution at the moment because any kind of test the answers will be obvious and they will still find a way to get past it. Obviously you cant just throw away a site so right now i think arresting people for cyber bullying will scare them away from doing it.
ReplyDeleteI'm only a part of like 4 social networks Facebook, Instagram, Flicker, and Youtube. Yes I have my brother made a fake facebook account and he put a weird profile pic on it and he gave the password to a lot of his friends and people (not Luke) used that the send people mean and not true messages.I love all of your tips for the cyber bully problem but I believe that you are missing a major one. That is the Golden Rule do unto others as you would want to be treated. I know what its like to be bullied because I have been bullied before and the best way to do it in my opinion is just to speak up and that is why I'm not being bullied anymore, now I have tons of friend!
ReplyDeleteEmile silly youtube is not social networking.
DeleteI am not part of any social network sites. There really is no need and it is just a time consuming app. So that answers the question of if i have witnessed cyber bullying, but the answer is no. So this is my rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated, this is one of the only rules that will stun bullies and they will be confused. Or another rule is kill them with kindness, how can u say something mean if someone is showering you with comments?
ReplyDeleteI don't belong to any social networking sites, and I have not witnessed any cyber bullying. Maybe if you notice people cyber bullying someone, then to go to that person who is being bullied face to face and comfort them. Be solicitous about their feelings, and advise them that deleting their social networking accounts would probably be a good idea. If you're at a sleepover or something and everyone is on instagram or whatever cyber bullying someone, you should probably tell or persuade them that that's not nice and they should stop. There are a lot of things that you could do to stop or prevent cyber bullying, but here's my favorite quote about it, "Solution to cyber bullying; turn the computer off. Boom. Next Problem.."
ReplyDeleteI do not belong to any social networking sites. I have never experienced cyber bullying and I am very grateful for that. I like all of your guidelines for cyber bullying, but I think that if you see cyber bullying happening you should tell them to stop or just walk away and tell them that's not cool! If you are being cyber bullied just tell a trusted adult, or just handle it yourself and do it the way your daughter did it.
ReplyDeleteI only belong to social networking that have to do with school. I haven't experienced any cyber bullying. I don't really like to be around that kind of stuff. It doesn't make you cooler to cyber bully. Adding to the suggestions already posted i think having those kind of accounts is risky and should keep a limited amount of online friends. the more you have the more likely cyber bullying becomes
ReplyDeleteI am part of Instagram, Youtube, Vine, and Tumblr. I have only seen cyberbullying happen on Ask.Fm when people tell the user mean things because they are anonymous. Making your account private will keep people from seeing everything you post, and only people you know will see. Also, never tell anyone your password, even your best friend. They might start to use it against you without you knowing, posting things that are wrong. That is all I can think of right now.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a Facebook, but I deleted it a long time ago. I've never seen cyber bulling n the internet, but on PSN there is a lot of it. Because people have mics, but can't see faces, it makes it easy to do. I always mute everyone when I see that happening. My rule to add is that everyone must remember that there is another person on the other end of the line who has feelings just like you. People seem to forget that when they post hurtful comments.
ReplyDeleteI belong to four social networking sites. I have witnessed cyber bullying on instagram and vine. Some steps I think people should take are think if that would come up on there screen how that would make them feel. Also stand up and tell people that is wrong if they see it or if someone is pressuring you to do it.
ReplyDeleteI belong to Instagram. I haven't seen any bullying on Instagram but I used to have an Ask.fm but I got rid of it because someone was bullying my friend Olivia and calling her sorts of names and bad words. Everyone was trying to stop it but she kept going and I tried to stop her but she wouldn't. When she did stop I got rid of it because I was afraid it would happen to one of my friends or me and I didn't want that to happen. I tried to do a lot of things to stop that girl like asking her to stop, then telling to stop, then I told Olivia to just ignore her because nothing she was saying was true. So Olivia got rid of her Ask.fm.
ReplyDeleteI belong to Instagram and vine. I haven't seen any bullying but on a different account a person commented a rude comment trying to be funny and I really think hurt the other person. Some ways to start is making your account private and blocking anybody thats being mean to anyone. Stand up for yourself and peers.
ReplyDeleteI belong to instagram and vine and used to belong to ask.fm but somebody said "why are you such a @#$% &*)$#" and i instantly deleted my account that minute. that is pretty much the only cyberbullying i have seen. the only advice i would give you if you were being cyberbullied is tell your parents and delete your account.
ReplyDeleteI don't belong to any sites because like some people have already said "what's the point?" all it it is time consuming, drama feeding, safety issue creating, websites that people waste their lives on. Grace Howard's quote was pretty cool "Turn the Computer Off... done next problem" :) good one! Mr. Grant has some good rules but I want to add mine, which is to tell the offender " I can't change the way you think, but I hope you do" then the best you can do is console the person being hurt.
ReplyDeleteThen you pray for both of them.
oh and Mr.Grant i loved you story about your daughter! that was cool!
ReplyDeleteI belong to one social networking site, and it is Pinterest. All I post on Pinterest is cool backgrounds. My parents will not allow me to be on any other social networking sites. I have never witnessed cyber bulling before, but I think that is because I am not on big social networking sites, and I don’t have that many connections. Before you send something hurtful, think about what impact it could have on your future, or someone else’s future. Think how you would feel if you were the person receiving the text that you are about to send. If someone has your phone, watch to see what he or she is doing on it.
ReplyDeleteI don't belong to any social networking sites. I have never witnessed cyber bullying. Another rule to your cyber bullying prevention list could be like the Golden Rule.
ReplyDeleteI belong to two social networking sites they are Instgram and snap chat. I only follow friends and family on both my accounts. I am also private on both my accounts. I have never seen cyber bulling on both my networks I think this is because I am very cautious about what I look at and who I follow. Some other ways to prevent cyber bulling is to tell an adult or stand up for your friends and peers.
ReplyDeleteThe only site I belong to is Instagram. I have never really seen cyber bullying. I am usually never on Instagram. If I were to do something about cyber bullies I would just block the person or if it gets to out of hands I would call the cops.
ReplyDeleteI only belong to three right know. No and I never wish too ever. dont let it happen and keep caim and carry on
ReplyDeleteI belong to three social networking sites. No I have never witnessed acts of cyberbullying and I am glad. Some steps that would help this behavior is stand up for yourself and tell someone. Never tell anyone you passwords, not even your best friend.
ReplyDeleteI don't belong to ANY social networking sites. What's the point? I honestly don't want to be a part of drama, bullying, or any stupid stuff like that, and that is what is on those kinds of websites. I think that steps to not being cyberbullying are basically to stay off of those sites or just not take the bullying seriously. Tell an adult and just know that nothing they say is true and they are just full of themselves!
ReplyDeleteI belong to to three social media sites. I haven't witnessed any cyber bullying on these sites. Some steps that you could take to avoid this are, be careful on what you say and ask yourself how you would feel if that came up on your screen, be careful about what you post and make sure that the photo doesn't insult or hurt anybody, and last but not least maybe look and pay attention to see if any cyber bullying is going on and stand up for the victim.
ReplyDeleteI belong to Twitter, Vine, Instagram, and Snapchat. I thankfully have not witnessed cyber bullying. Two steps to avoid the bad behavior is to follow The Golden Rule and to just think about something before you do it.
ReplyDeleteI belong to 2 social networking sites.I have witnessed cyber-bullying only once and the matter was resolved.Block inappropriate words from being put in the text box and try to see inappropriate pics before they are posted.
ReplyDeleteI belong only to 1 instagram which i don't even use all that much.For the people that are getting cyber bullied lucky we have the option to block users on most of the social networks but some networks cant do that if they don't have that option then don't go on that website.I have wittnesed 1 act of cyber bulling and that was resolved.
ReplyDeleteI don't belong to any social networking sites. Many of my friends belong to Instagram and Snapchat, but I am not allowed on any of those sites. I have never witnessed any acts of cyber bullying. It makes me sad that some people are so fed up with being cyber bullied that they are willing to kill themselves. That should never happen! To avoid cyber bullying, you should never post something that you don't feel comfortable with your teacher or grandma seeing. Also, never follow people that have weird profile pictures or descriptions. Cyber bullying should not happen ever and I hope that we put a stop to it soon.
ReplyDeleteI belong to four different social networking sites; Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and Twitter. I haven't witnessed any cyber bullying on any of the sites I belong to. If I did, I would stand up for the victim and try to make the bully stop. To stop/avoid cyber bullying don't post anything that could get you or others in trouble or embarrassed, be careful what you say, tell an adult if it does happen to you and if you see someone getting bullied, stand up for them.
ReplyDeleteI belong to three social networking sites: Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine. I have seen lots of cyber bullying on Ask.fm, even though I don't have one. To protect yourself from cyber bullying, people need to think before they post something rude or embarrassing. Also, people need to tell an adult if something is going on online to protect themselves and others. People NEED to keep their passwords to themselves and to have them as random as possible. Having a different password for each site keeps things under control, because it helps from getting hacked.
ReplyDeleteI belong to three social networking sites: Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine. I have seen a little bit o cyber bullying on instagram but no much. To avoid cyber bullying it is important to not share your password wit anyone because people can hack your account and write something rude about someone and that person will think you wrote it. DONT FOLLOW PEOPLE YOU DONT KNOW, they could be petafiles and track you down. Lastly if you seesomeone getting cyber bullied stand up for them and tell whoever is doing it that it is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI belong to three social networking sites. Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine. I haven't seen any cyber bullying to people I know. I have seen it on celebrity's accounts but I guess that is just because there are some people out there who just don't like them. I have never been cyber bullied. I have seen tons of cyber bullying on Ask.fm even though I do not have one. Some of the comments are telling the people to "drink bleach. " That comment is one of the worst things someone could ever possibly think of to tell a person. The bullies only think about hurting someone and not what the outcome may be. If anyone is getting cyber bullied, STICK UP FOR THEM. It is never right to allow cyber bullying to happen. Never share you passwords with anyone. You never know when something bad could happen. Let your parents know if you are being cyber bullied. It is very important to not let mean comments get to your head.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI belong to six social networking sites; instagram, youtube, vine, twitter, snapchat and tumblr. I have not witnessed cyber bullying and am glad, because if I did the person bullying would have wished that they never done what they did. Some people don't like some celebrities and they there for tell that to them by commenting on their account. This is cyber bullying but it part of being a celebrity. Some things to prevent this is to think before you say, but in this case think before you type and remember whats you put online stays online. If you do see cyber bullying stand up for that person wether you know them or not because it could be saving someones life by standing up.
ReplyDeleteyoutube is not social network
DeleteI belong to 3 social networking sites Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine. I have seen some bulling on Insatgram. I know a lot of people get bullied on ask.fm.
ReplyDelete~ Be considerate to others
~ Follow the golden rule
~ If you wouldnt send it to your best friend don't send it at all
~ If you get bullied delete the app
~ Ask for help
I have a Facebook but I never go on it, so I haven't seen any types of cyberbullying.
ReplyDeleteI would treat others the way I would want to be treated.
Think about your future and if your future boss can see it then don't post things that are inappropriate.
Try to not go on the sight that much and only post things that you can't be made fun of.
Ask an adult for help.
I don't belong to any social networking sites. Many of my friends belong to Instagram and Snap chat, but I am not allowed on any of those sites. I have never witnessed any acts of cyber bullying. Mainly because i cant do them. Of course i have email but thats pathetic. bullying is terrible and it should stop. I think that steps to not being cyberbullying are basically to stay off of those sites or just not take the bullying seriously.
ReplyDeletei belong to instagram and vine. i have only seen little cyber bullying on ask.fm. my account is now deleted but making your accounts private can help becouse only people you now can see and comment on your post
ReplyDeleteI do not belong to any social networking sites. The main reason I don't is because my parents will not let me. I have not seen any cyber bullying for that reason. I have seen bullying but it was not cyber bullying. I think that before you can get a social networking site that you have to add a Guardian. You would not be able to get a site without this guardian. The Guardian could be a teacher, a Parent, or any one responsible that is an adult. What this would do is that whenever the computer sensed any type of bullying going on it would send the bad message to that guardian. That way if the computer got an inappropriate message the guardian could deal with it right away. The guardian would also not be watching you all the time it would only see any type of inappropriate message sent or received. Hopefully this would stop people from bullying because they are worried they will get in trouble if they do.
ReplyDeleteI am currently on 4 social networking sites. I see alot of cyber bullying. On pictures of people sometimes I see that others post hurtful comments about how they look. Sometimes on famous people's accounts people tell them mean things. The number one way is not to have social networking sites. If you are on one stay away from cuss words they give off the wrong message. Also don't post hate on someone else's photos or tweets.
ReplyDeleteI belong to five social networking sites. yes I have witnessed cyberbullying. try to turrn the bullying into a joke or leave hime alone.
ReplyDelete