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Cyber Bullying: Technology Adds a Twist to an Old Problem

The October 2006 suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, MO, following an online flirtation turned ugly with a boy she met on MySpace-later revealed as a cruel prank perpetrated by an adult in her neighborhood-focused the nation's attention on an old phenomenon with a new twist: cyber bullying.

Traditionally, bullying has involved physical aggression such as hitting or punching, verbal aggression such as teasing or name-calling, or other forms of intimidation. Such acts reflect an imbalance of power between the bully and his or her victim. Bullying is one of the most common forms of violence that occurs among young people, with about 17% of preteens reporting that they have experienced recurring verbal or physical aggression.

What is Cyber Bullying?

Over the past few years, the advent of the Internet has given rise to a new avenue for bullying behavior. Also called online social cruelty or electronic bullying, cyber bullying behaviors include:

• Sending mean, rude or threatening messages or images;
• Posting sensitive, private information about another person on a web site;
• Posing as someone else in order to put that person in an unflattering light;
• Intentionally excluding someone from an online social group.

Cyber bullies may use email, instant messaging, text messages or photos/videos from a cell phone, web pages, blogs and/or chat rooms as channels for delivering their hateful messages. These technologies give cyber bullying some unique characteristics compared to traditional bullying behaviors: they can occur at any time of day, they can be distributed quickly to a wide audience, and the cyber bully can remain anonymous, making it difficult to identify the perpetrator.

As students' use of these technologies has increased, so has their exposure to cyber bullying. In one study, 17% of 6-11-year olds and 36% of 12-17-year-olds reported that they had been the victim of a cyber bully. Research with middle school students revealed that girls were almost twice as likely as boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying. In a telephone survey, 45% of preteens and 30% of teens reported they had received cyber bullying messages at school, yet only 27% of preteens and 9% of teens reported the experience to a teacher.

Legal Questions

Cyber bullying raises new challenges for schools because the actions of students who harass others at school from their home computers may not fall under the school district's jurisdiction. The laws governing cyber bullying are evolving; most student speech is protected under the law, even when it is insulting or hurtful. In many areas, the law is non-existent. In the case of Megan Meier, for example, there were no statutes on the books that would have allowed charges to be filed against her tormenters. Many states are now grappling with these issues. The State of Washington, for example, is considering a bill that would require school districts to create cyber bullying prevention policies.

What Schools Should Do

Experts advise that schools should:

• Educate students, teachers and parents about cyber bullying and what to do if someone is a victim;
• Review the school/district's bullying policy to be sure it addresses cyber bullying;
• Put cyber bullying on the agenda of the School Health Advisory Committee;
• Monitor students' use of computers at school; and
• Investigate allegations of cyber bullying immediately. Notify parents of cyber bullies and their victims; provide counseling and support to victims; involve the police if the cyber bullying involves threats of violence, extortion, harassment or hate crimes, or child pornography.