User:Laurie GG/sandbox

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using electronic technology devices such as cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying is done on social media sites, text messaging, chat rooms, e-mails and websites. Cyberbullying messages and images can be posted on the internet anonymously and distributed quickly to a huge number of people, and it is very difficult to trace the source.

Kids and teenagers mostly cyberbully each other and they are motivated in doing so by anger, frustration, jealously, or even revenge. Some people do it just for fun or entertainment when they are bored. Kids or teenagers with a lack of parental supervision are likely to cyberbully for the attention. The effects of cyberbullying can be very serious and can lead to alcohol and drugs, skipping school, becoming withdrawn and unsocial, receiving bad grades, low self-esteem, health problems, and even suicide.

Educating your children and teenagers can help considerably in preventing and dealing with the consequences of cyberbullying. StopCyberbullying.org recommends educating people on their website, in setting up profiles and campaigns to help kids put an end to cyberbullying entirely. StopCyberbullying.org also recommends educating and helping kids understand how much bullying hurts and how words can hurt you, so that fewer people will cooperate with cyberbullies. As a result, the child or teen may think twice before sending a hurtful e-mail message or visiting websites that allow others to comment or take videos or cell phone pictures of personal moments or compromising poses for others to see. StopCyberbullying.org also recommends adults to teach their children not to stand silently by while others are being tormented, and report any cyberbullying activity that they may witness. The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) recommends preventing cyberbullying by doing the following: •	Refuse to pass along cyberbullying messages. •	Tell friends and others to stop cyberbullying. •	Block communication with all cyberbullies. •	Report cyberbullying to a parent or trusted adult. •	Speak with other students and take a stand by developing rules against cyberbullying.

According to OvercomeBullying.org, they recommend the following tips: •	Do not respond to cyberbullying attacks. •	Don’t delete information related to cyberbullying. •	Report any cyberbullying incidents to your Internet Service Provider. •	Report cyberbullying to your internet instant messages or mobile phone provider.

OvercomeBullying.org recommends parents report all cyberbullying to the local police department, and especially your child’s school if the person cyberbullying is a student. There are State Cyberbullying Laws and Policies that are currently in place. For more information, visit the Cyberbullying Research Center at www.cyberbullying.us.

References:

http://www.cyberbullying.us/Bullying_and_Cyberbullying_Laws.pdf

http://www.cyberbullying.us/Cyberbullying_scenarios.pdf

http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying/

http://overcomebullying.org/parents-bullying-stories.html

http://www.stopcyberbullying.org

http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/index.html