CYBER BULLYING

Aly, an ADAVIC volunteer writes about cyber bullying

Cyber Bullying

By Aly 

School bullying has been the focus of much research over the last few decades. However, a new form of bullying known as cyber bullying has now become increasingly recognised and investigated in the 21st century. With the advent of modern   forms of communication, students are beginning to use technology such as home computers and mobile phones to bully their peers. Although there are still many debilitating consequences with traditional bullying methods (at school), the victims are fortunately able to come home and be safe from the taunting and teasing of their bullies. Now, with bullies making their way online, some victims feel they have no safe place, because the bullying can happen anywhere - through internet or mobile access. It can also happen at any time of the day or night.

Moreover, cyber bullying can have deleterious effects on a child’s mental health. In particular, it can leave teenagers with low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, less interest in school, a deep sense of loneliness, self-harming and, in some cases, suicide.

Recently, there has been much media attention concerning this topic and its relationship to suicide. It is unknown whether other factors play a part, but cyber bullying is a contributing element in teen suicide. Many were affected by Sheniz Erkan’s suicide, a victim of cyber-bulling who was sadly too afraid to speak up. Interestingly, a third of those who experience cyber bullying do not report it. If we are to succeed in preventing bullying, we need to break the climate of silence in which it thrives by empowering children and young people to speak out and seek help.

Cyber bullying can be tough to spot. Many young people who are being bullied don’t want to tell teachers or parents, perhaps because they feel ashamed or they worry about losing their computer privileges at home. Parents often tell their children to turn off the mobile phones or stay off the computer. Many parents don’t understand that the internet and mobile phone act as a social lifeline for teenagers to their peer group.

As a parent, you might find it hard to keep up with the different technologies your child uses. Or you might not know how to bring up the subject of cyber bullying.

Some warning signs that your child might be a victim of cyber bullying include:

• Being upset during or after using the internet

• Withdrawing from friends and activities 

• Being more moody than usual, or showing obvious changes in behaviour, sleep or appetite

• Spending much longer than usual online, or refusing to use the computer at all 

•  Exiting or clicking out of a computer activity if a person walks by  

• Avoiding school or group gatherings

• Bringing home lower marks than usual 

• ‘Lashing out’ in anger at home

• Having trouble sleeping

• Feeling sick or complaining of frequent headaches or stomach aches.

Some steps for parents to follow to help prevent cyber bullying are:

•  Making sure the household computer is placed in a central location in the home and not in the child’s room where its use cannot be monitored properly.

• Allocate times where children are allowed to go on the computer, for example, 30mins before/after dinner.

• Have weekly family discussion sessions, such as sitting around the table for dinner and talk about how school is going etc.

• Select schools which have a zero tolerance to bullying.

Tips for people experiencing bullying: 

• Talk to your parents or someone else you trust, about what is going on; don’t try to deal with the situation on your own

• Print or save all emails, text messages, or chat conversations where the bully interacts with you

• Report bullying to your parents, school teacher, Internet Service Provider (ISP), or police if it continues

• Use privacy options on Facebook and MySpace

• Change your mobile number and block your number ID in future to prevent it being recorded when making calls with general phone use  

 Some other resources for people who are/know victims of cyber bullying and need support/help: 

• ADAVIC Against Bullying – a forum on Tumblr with resources on bullying and where individuals can express their experiences/concerns and receive support and information in turn. http://adavic-againstbullying.tumblr.com/

• Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800

• Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636

• Lifeline - 13 11 14

References

1. www.raisingchildren.net.au
2. http://www.cyberbullying.info/resources/downloads/ChrisWebster_WhatIsCyberbullying.pdf

The Line...

For more about The Line, see their website.

I will STAND UP to bulling!

Cyber-bullying

Cyber-bullying is using technology to deliberately and repeatedly bully someone else. It can happen to anyone, anytime, and can leave you feeling unsafe and alone.

Cyber-bullying can include:

-abusive texts and emails
-posting unkind messages or images
-imitating others online
-excluding others online
-inappropriate image tagging

Remember, treat others as you would like to be treated when communicating online.

While cyber-bullying is similar to face-to-face bullying it also differs in the following ways:

-it can give the person doing the bullying a sense of being anonymous
-it can occur 24/7 and be difficult to escape
-it is invasive and you can be targeted while at home
-it can have a large audience - sent to groups or posted on a public forum
-it can be permanent

How to deal with it:

-Don’t retaliate or respond.
-Block the person doing the bullying and change your privacy settings.
-Report it - Click the report abuse button.
-Collect the evidence - keep mobile phone messages and print emails or social networking conversations.
-Talk to someone you trust, like a family member or friend.

Talking to your teachers or parents can make a difference. Your school may have policies in place to deal with bullying and cyber-bullying.

Remember, if you witness someone being bullied, ACT! Tell someone, offer support, don't become a part of it by forwarding it on...

For this article and more on cyber-bullying check out cybersmart.

Delete Cyber Bullying by Jasmine (ADAVIC Volunteer)

At one point in your life you may have been the victim of bullying. Bullying is not a recent phenomenon, however as technology improves there are more avenues that bullies can use to target their victims. Cyber bullying is just another form of bullying that takes place using interactive digital technologies. Whether a child is being bullied at school or an adult is bullied in the work place, bullying can have a huge impact on anyone’s life. But what is bullying? Who gets bullied and who are the bullies? Most importantly, what can you do about cyber bullying? Here are some answers to these questions:

What is bullying?
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, bullying can be defined as “any form of aggressive behaviour that isrepeated, intended to cause harm, characterised by an imbalance of power and is hidden from or unacknowledged”. Power imbalances can take many forms: Group power, older/younger power imbalances, experienced- inexperienced and imbalances between socially isolated people and those who are socially connected. These power imbalances can often create a platform for the bullying to begin.

Bullies can use technologies in a variety of ways: creating derogatory websites about victims, sending derogatory mobile phone or email messages and harassing on forums or social networking sites. The intention of bullies could be to defame, threaten, humiliate or badger. There is evidence to suggest that cyber bullying can be more harmful than other types of bullying. This is because a wider audience can witness the bullying adding to the humiliation of the victim. It also means every insult is digitally recorded for the victim to relive so there is less opportunity to escape the harassment.

Who bullies?
Often a child who was bullied themselves will become an adult bully, but adults and children might bully for different reasons. According to the website, Online Bullying, when an adult gets bullied it is usually because they are popular, well liked or good at their job. However, a child is often targeted because they will not or cannot fight back. In most cases, the bully is driven by envy and/or motivated by a need to release feelings of frustration and anger. The following are examples of three types of bullies:

The ‘accidental bully’: their behaviour may be a response to stress and they also may be unaware of the impact they have on others.

The ‘narcissistic bully’: they have a desire for power and will cut down anyone who gets in their way. They may not intentionally set out to be a bully and their behaviour is more of a reaction to any perceived attempts to take away the power.

The ‘serial bully’: they may set out to intentionally hurt others and they are often lacking in empathy or remorse. This bully-type usually does everything out of self interest.

Being bullied can lower self esteem and make one feel sad, alone and scared. The bullying can have a negative impact on psychological and physical health; in some cases a victim could become depressed or anxious as a result of bullying or become physically sick as a result of the stress. While it can be tricky to deal with a cyber bully, you can overcome cyber bullying.

What can you do?
Making threats or harassing someone is illegal and you can report this to the police, your manager or principal. If you want to report the bullying you may have to accumulate some evidence and take action. For example you can take a snap shot of the screen displaying the offensive material and save it. You can also block the offender from sending you emails. If you need instruction on how to do any of these things and more go to www.cyberbullying.ca

Alternatively, you can ignore the bully. If you are being bullied online, one of the initial ways of dealing with it is to ignore the bully. If the bully cannot get a reaction out of you then they do not get what they desire. Usually when someone does not get what they desire they move on to something else. While an adult may have the ability to ignore a bully, a child is not always as capable. If your child needs help, the following book maybe useful:

Field, E. (2007). Bully blocking: Six secrets to help young children deal with teasing and bullying. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

If you are experiencing work related bullying you may find the following book useful:
Field, T. (1996). Bully in sight: How to predict, resist, challenge and combat workplace bullying. Oxfordshire, UK: Success Unlimited Books.

References
www.bullyonline.org
www.aic.gov.au (Australian Institute of Criminology)
www.psychology.org.au (Australian Psychological Society)

Sheniz Erkan a victim of cyber bulling!

As many of you will have seen in the media, there has been an alarming increase in the number of young people in Australia who have taken their own lives as a result of cyber-bullying.

ADAVIC’s thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Sheniz Erkan who took her own life in January after being a target of cyber bullies.

I personally feel it is time that ADAVIC played a role in stamping out bullying.

Lets all work together to STOP THE BULLYING!!!

Bullying. No way!
http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/?utm_source=ADAVIC+Monthly+Enews+list&utm_campaign=86d0c6df5c-Jan_Newsletter18_01_2012&utm_medium=email

Cure the Bullies

http://www.curethebullies.com.au/flash/

Kids Helpline

http://www.kidshelp.com.au/

Bullying Action Group - New Facebook Page!

New facebook page created to help victims of bullies
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bullying-Action-Group/109700299131268

BULLYING ACTION GROUP (BAG)
Dedicated to being a beacon to ALL touched by the spectre of bullying – The bullies, the families of the bullied; and even the bullies themselves

Note:
The Administrators and helpers of this group are not professionals – they are mothers who have experienced bullying, psychology students passionate about helping victims of bullying and other individuals who have been associated with domestic violence.