Cybersafety
3/21 – 28/2011
How does Boyd’s literature review square with the media’s portrayal of the cyberbullying and cybersafety issue?
This week’s readings addresses the way bullying is ingrained in the social fabric of life for middle- and high-school students. The research cited shows clearly that bullying is not simply a function of troubled children struggling with their own aggression. Unchecked, a vicious cycle of bullying where children are jockeying for ever higher levels of social status can extend well into adulthood, damaging both personal and professional relationships.
In my generation, my parents worked to instill values, such as self-reliance, individual strength against crowd behavior, and that old one, “Do unto others.” I have often been told that parental involvement is the greatest preventer of children joining gangs… but it would also seem, based on Boyd’s statistics, that parents also are the greatest preventer of bullying. Although the stresses of work, financial problems, divorce and the many issues of life for today’s parents, it makes it hard for parents to take the time to teach their children the traditional values we learned from our parents. If parents will develop their children’s self-esteem, teach them by their own personal example to be good citizens (both on-line and off), be involved in their teens’ lives, and monitor their online and offline interactions (both to be aware of what is happening in their children’s lives as well as to ensure that inappropriate language and activities are not taking place) then children will be less likely to bully others or get in online or offline sexual situations. We need to teach our children about cyberbullying as it is a more extreme form of the face-to-face bad behavior of past generations. Now, the big concern seems that by the time children are exposed to cyberbullying it may be a little late.
Since tweens and teens are using media technologies (i.e. cell phones and the Internet) to communicate with others in the United States and throughout the world. New communication avenues, such as text messaging, chat rooms, and social networking websites (e.g., MySpace and Facebook), have allowed youth to easily develop relationships, some with people they have never met in person. With the technology explosion our youth can use electronic media to embarrass, harass or threaten their peers.
With this week’s readings I have been able to gain a deeper understanding about the increasing numbers of teens and pre-teens that are becoming victims of this new form of violence; cyberbullying. Like traditional forms of youth violence, electronic aggression (aka cyberbullying) is associated with emotional distress and conduct problems at school.
Electronic aggression, in the form of threatening text messages and the spread of online rumors on social networking sites, is a growing concern. Cyber-bullying tactics include humiliation, destructive messages, gossip, slander and other “virtual taunts” communicated through e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms and blogs. Although the majority of kids who are harassed online aren’t physically bothered in person, the cyber-bully still takes a heavy emotional toll on his or her victims. Teens who receive rude or nasty comments via text messages are six times more likely to say they feel unsafe at school and are more likely to get a detention or be suspended, skip school and experience emotional distress.
If we enforce rules banning communication devices in school buildings, then we lose the power to influence and educate and empower our youth to safely, responsibly and productively use media technologies. The best defense for cyberbullying is to provide a better offense. We should provide best practices through curriculum, for primary and secondary school students, which are embedded with dynamic community outreach activities to empower students, teachers, parents, law enforcement professionals, and other community members. Through education we can better prepare our children to handle themselves when cyberbullying happens. By exercising a learned and practiced ability to use the Internet, and other media devices, with a level of sophistication, could result in a reduction of incidents. In addition, I think schools need to create a way to handle cyberbullying intervention in how to handle situations that happen off school grounds but carrying into the school environment.
How can we help protect our children from cyberbullying?
Talk to our children:
Parents and caregivers often ask children where they are going and who they are going with when they leave the house. You should ask these same questions when your child goes on the Internet. Because children are reluctant to disclose victimization for fear of having their Internet and cellular phone privileges revoked; develop solutions to prevent or address victimization that do not punish the child.
Develop Rules:
Together with your child, develop rules about acceptable and safe behaviors for all electronic media. Make plans for what they should do if they become a victim of electronic aggression or know someone who is being victimized. The rules should focus on ways to maximize the benefits of technology and decrease its risks.
Connect with the schools:
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to work with their child’s school and school district to develop a class for parents and caregivers that educates them about school policies on electronic aggression, recent incidents in the community involving electronic aggression, and resources available to parents and caregivers who have concerns. Work with the school and other partners to develop a collaborative approach to preventing electronic aggression.
Educate yourself
Stay informed about the new devices and websites your child is using. Technology changes rapidly, and many developers offer information to keep people aware of advances. Continually talk with your child about “where they are going” and explore the technology yourself. Technology is not going away, and forbidding young people to access electronic media may not be a good long-term solution. Together, parents and children can come up with ways to maximize the benefits of technology and decrease its risks.
DISCUSSION BOARD
As you read this week, reflect on how you might integrate cybersafety into your program, whether you’re in a public or school library.
Boyd’s review is long overdue, in my opinion; nevertheless, the fears of online predation are very real. How do we create environments and operating procedures that allay these fears without squelching access for tweens?
Think, too, about how our ideas about cybersafety are evolving.
The first reaction to cybersafety was to apply filters on internet access; K-12 schools do this but libraries don’t (intellectual freedom). Technical evolution we have gone from blocking, banning, and controlling risk environments which has now become extremely difficult; we have been spending exuberant amounts of time playing catch-up. Now, we just need to except the risks and learn how to manage them through education with our children and for parents as well.
What seem to be the most pressing concerns?
In one of the articles for this week’s reading, “Online bullies pull schools into the fray” by Jan Hoffman, we learned that parents are coming to the school site and insisting that they discipline the student who had been texting “sexually explicit threat” messages to their child. The issue at hand is that schools may not have a policy in place that addresses these new bullying issues and how to handle them. There are legal issues that need to be addressed.
Which seem to be fear-based reactions to new technology?
I have heard of parents stopping internet access at their homes and even taking the computers away from their children; the same reaction with cell phones too.
In schools, I have heard that there are policies that require students to turn their cell phones off, not bring them to school (like that is going to work), and even teachers who collect cell phones from students as they enter their classroom and return them when the class is over.
I was thinking that a proactive approach would be a good way to address these issues. Let’s throw all the concerned parents, their children, teachers, librarians and school administrators together to discuss what is happening with cyberbullying. Then we could come up with a list of concerns and approaches to acceptable arrangements to handle these pressing issues.
READINGS WEEK 9
Boyd, D. (2010). Risky Behaviors and Online Safety: A 2010 Literature Review http://www.zephoria.org/files/2010SafetyLitReview.pdf
Hoffman, J. (June 27, 2010). Online bullies pull schools into the fray. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/style/28bully.html?pagewanted=all
MacDonald, G. (September 2, 2010). Cyber-bullying defies traditional school bully stereotype.Fairfax County News.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/01/AR2010090102648.html
Karrie's Corner 