Five Things to Do if Your Student is a Cyber Bully
It might sound a bit weird to think of bullies online as compared to the bigger or more frightening kids taunting other students in the classroom, but they do exist. In fact, your students might even be one of them.
Have they ever, for example, teased or frightened someone over Instant Messenger? Or used information or gossip found online to embarrass or harass someone else?
Or what about using someone else’s email or Friendster account? Insulting someone in an interactive game room? They might have even used bad language online or posted rude comments or lies about someone online, or voted for a bashing poll.
These are the things constituting acts of cyber bullying, things that you need to make your students be aware of. So if they ever say yes to any of the above circumstances, slowly let them in on a secret: there are things they can do to stop it.
- When on the verge of losing temper or getting an intense desire to humiliate someone else, tell your students to simply put down the mouse and step away from the computer. Shoot some hoops, take a walk, read or talk to a friend. Considering the power of the Internet, there is a big possibility of being dangerous to oneself and to others, especially since just about anyone (even kids) can use it and take advantage of it.
- Advise them to think twice before doing something naughty or judging someone. The casual way people handle communication over the Internet, from emoticons like >:) to acronyms like “jk” for just kidding, also has a down side. It makes people judge others only based on the words that appear on the screen, unlike face-to-face interaction where there are body language and eye contact. Things taken out of context or misunderstood are common problems that cause hurt or embarrassment.
- Have them consider the person they are communicating with. Check first if it’s okay to send a lot of jokes, attachments, marketing gimmicks, chain emails and cyber rumors to another person. Otherwise, they might only annoy, or worse, harass, them.
- Warn your students to stay away from controversial topics unless they are prepared to take responsibility for their opinion. Anything involving politics, religion, race, sex, nationalism, war, special physical or mental limitations, money and gender-based issues need to be approached with caution, considering the Internet’s universality and the cultural differences of its users.
- Teach your students to practice netiquette. Also Internet Etiquette, this refers to a set of practices to make the Internet experience more pleasant for all the users. Reminders like avoiding flaming (the act of sending an outrageously insulting message through email, chat rooms or bulletin boards in cases of disagreement with another person) are good for those who find themselves on the bullying side.
These days, with the growing aggression that can be found on the Internet, cyber bullying is one of the challenging issues that face teachers and parents alike as their students and children embrace the latest Internet technologies.
But if both teachers and parents take responsibility in educating and monitoring students’ Internet activities, occurrence of cyber bullying can be minimized, if not completely prevented.
Here are some resources on cyber bullying to guide you:
Sources:
“Are you a cyberbully?” Retrieved May 21, 2008 from
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/teens/are_you_a_cyberbully.html
“Avoid Flaming.” Retrieved May 21, 2008 from
http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ia_nq_send.htm
“Ms. Parry’s guide to correct online etiquette (Netiquette).” Retrieved May 21, 2008 from
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/teens/msparrysguidetonetiquette.html
“Take 5!” Retrieved May 21, 2008 from
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/teens/take_5.html
(Published 02 June 2008, Smart Communications, Inc.)
