Sticks and Stones Can Break My Bones, But How Can Pixels Hurt Me?

Abstract

Educators and the public alike are often perplexed with the enormous and evolving cyber mise en scène. Youth of the digital generation are interacting in ways our fore-mothers and fathers never imagined -using electronic communications that until 30 years ago never existed. This article reports on a study of cyber-bullying conducted with students in grades 6 through 9 in five schools in British Columbia, Canada. Our intent was to quantify computer and cellular phone usage; to seek information on the type, extent and impact of cyber-bullying incidents from both bullies' and victims' perspectives; to delve into online behaviours such as harassment, labelling (gay, lesbian), negative language, sexual connotations; to solicit participants' solutions to cyber-bullying; to canvass their opinions about cyber-bullying and to inquire into their reporting practices to school officials and other adults. This study provides insight into the growing problem of cyber-bullying and helps inform educators and policymakers as to appropriate prevention or intervention measures to counter cyber-bullying.

Sexting, Texting, Cyberbullying and Keeping Youth Safe Online

“…They also found that students were more likely to report cyberbullying about another student than they were to report it when it happened to them. Cassidy et al (2009) supports that cyberbullying takes place among groups of friends. Ybarra and Mitchell (2004) discuss how when there is poor caregiver monitoring of online behavior the children are twice as likely to harass others online.…”

“…Of the youth who said they harassed someone online, 82% said that someone else had said mean or hurtful things about them online. Cassidy et al (2009) determined that young people want to dialogue about cyberbullying and suggest that schools need to provide opportunity for students to discuss cyberbullying, its impact and ways to prevent this behavior.…”

“…Diliberto and Mattey (2009) discusses the role school nurses could play in schools to educate students and parents to both prevent legal action that may result from sexting and cyberbullying and to alert students and parents to the emotional stress that often accompany these behaviors. Cassidy et al (2009) reported that students want to talk about cyberbullying and be involved as part of the solution. They also found that students were more likely to report cyberbullying about another student than they were to report it when it happened to them.…”

“…This supports the need for adults to monitor carefully what their children are doing in cyberspace. Cassidy et al (2009) noted that given a choice of solutions for cyberbullying, the top four were "setting up anonymous phone lines where students can report cyber-bullying;… developing programs to teach students about cyber-bullying and its effects;…punishing students who participate in cyberbullying;…[and] working on creating positive selfesteem in students. "…”

Introduction: The Case for Rethinking School Violence

“…A recent Canadian study (Cassidy, Jackson, & Brown, 2009), which surveyed 365 students in grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 (ages 11-15 years) from three elementary and two secondary schools in a large metropolitan region of British Columbia, found that most students use the internet on a daily basis and that their most common vehicle for cyber-bullying was via chat rooms or over email.…”