Cyberbullying In Middle Schools

Through out the book, Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard, authors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin (2015) provide the reader with many real-life stories from teens that have been victimized by cyberbullying. What each of these stories have in common is that in each experience, there were ample opportunities for someone to step up, get involved, and help the victim respond to the abuse. Unfortunately, in many of these stories, those opportunities were missed, and many of the people that could have helped, chose not to get involved. Therefore, with a hope to change the outcome of future cyberbullying scenarios for the better, the authors Hinduja and Patchin (2015) have devoted chapter 6 of their book, Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard, to better preparing the reader to respond to cyberbullying, and they provide several methods that have

Part I focuses on the “recent emergence of cyber-bullying and its devastating effects on minors” (220), Part II discusses “why current laws fail to protect victims” (220), and Part III discusses “how to criminalize the act of cyberbullying” (220). I found this article in particular to be very useful because it poses a detailed examination of the types of laws in place regarding bullying and why they need to be updated. It also specifically talks about the failure of schools and courts to effectively punish cyberbullying as a crime because of First Amendment issues, “Schools face the challenge of balancing the rights of students, while judges face the challenge of balancing the First Amendment right to free speech” (237). Lastly, this article lists many case examples of students who have fallen martyrs to cyberbullying or experienced the serious short-term or long-term effects that

1. This article was written based on a study of cyber bullying behaviors in a large group of middle and high school students. Increases in technology, and access to that technology have increased student ability to bully using an online forum. Not a lot of research had been done into this subject at the time of this article. Taking this into consideration there had been a few large scale studies done that corroborated the belief that cyber bullying is a significant problem. Researchers believed that due to the potential for exposure to this type of bullying, more studies needed to be done. With increased research there was the hope of diminishing the number of incidents of cyber bullying and the effects of those incidents. The research that had been completed also pointed to additional issues, including behavior problems, suspensions, substance abuse and depression among students who had experienced cyber bullying. The other side of previous research showed that the students who used cyber bullying as a weapon were more aggressive in their behaviors.

Schools today are constantly updating their code of conduct due to cases involving cyberbullying. The average teenager has a social media account and can easily access the account at any given time. Many teenagers rely on social media for various reasons which then increases the potential for cyber bullying to occur. Cyberbullying can be seen on such media like, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Cases of cyberbullying between teenagers have created a great dilemma upon parents and school districts. Since online bullying is not done face to face, the bully feels more daring and aggression towards the victim. Most of these cases have ended in tragedy and were not taken care of correctly by administration at schools. Bullying and harassment

Bullying is any kind of repeated aggressive, mean, or hurtful behavior that scares or upsets someone else, sometimes to the point of suicide. It is spreading rumors, posting inappropriate pictures, verbal threats, even excluding someone on purpose. Bullying can happen to anyone, it can be in person or online, and it is always serious.

Attention Getter: According to Caralee Adams a school official states in her article Cyberbullying: What teachers and schools can do from the Scholastic Inc. in 2014, “42% of kids have been bullied online—1 in 4 have had it happen more than once”.

Cyberbullying is a relatively new threat, and it is very similar to traditional bullying. Despite the fact that cyberbullying and traditional bullying both share the common goal of harassment, cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it does not stop at the schoolyard, and can continue when the victim is far away from the aggressor. It is just as devastating as common bullying, and sometimes is even more damaging. Professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin note in their journal, “Cyberbullying Creates Dangerous Stress and Anxiety”, that cyberbullying affects anywhere between 10-40% of students (contingent on their age group) (par. 1). J.D. Kelly A. Albin, in her article “Bullies in a Wired World”, defines cyberbullying as “…the ‘willful and repeated harm inflicted through use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices’” (157). It is caused by the fact that children feel their actions are mitigated when they use social media, as it creates the illusion of indirectness, and its effects range anywhere from mild depression to suicide.

The issue of cyberbullying affects not only students, but all members in the community. Each member of the community has an important role in developing approaches to address and prevent cyberbullying. In order to successfully implement a modified version of Olweus’ Bullying Prevention Program to address cyberbullying in San Antonio Independent High Schools, we must first identify the key stakeholders who will support this intervention.

The purpose of this article is to enlighten teachers, school administrators, and school counsellors about this new technological danger, describing the warning signs to help recognize both victims and perpetrators, and detail school-and home –based strategies for preventing cyberbullying and healing those affected by the phenomenon.

Cyberbullying affects middle schoolers and middle school faculty which forces them to address the issue although some believe they should not. Counselors are sometimes confused on how to help the person who is being cyberbullied and the bully because it does not happen during school hours and it could violates the student's rights. Teachers have also said that they can not tell when it is happening and do not plan to baby sit it. This is understandable because teachers are there to teach. Some do not feel it is necessary to spend more time watching the students than to teach them. Counselors now are taking the time to have group discussions with students to talk about various ways of bullying. Counselors main goal should be pointing out the importance of treating everyone equally and

Hearing the shouts of students excited for the lunch bell, I fought my way through the crowd to find my friends. In a small group, we walked towards the lunchroom. We soon sat ourselves down. The lunch room was filled with voices in the air. The grounds dirty with food thrown down and the tables. I mean, this was your typical school lunch. “AYE MARCUS! CATCH!” A boy had shouted from afar, I watched as the boy threw a granola bar at the kid, “Marcus.” Shaking my head, I diverted my eyes back to the conversation.

In this wonderful and at times, overwhelming age of technology, in which any person can send and receive information instantaneously and anonymously, cyber-bullying is rapidly emerging as one of the top problems facing today's youth. Cyber bullying is described by the National Conference of State Legislators as being "the willful and repeated use of cell phones, computers, and other electronic computer devices to harass and threaten others." Recent, highly publicized cases of cyber-bullying such as the stories of Tyler Clemente and Audrie Pott are only the tip of the iceberg in what is rapidly becoming an epidemic of cyber-bullying in America. At this moment, forty nine of fifty states have some type of anti-bullying laws in place, with eighteen

Bullying had always been a part of my life. It first started when I was in elementary school and it usually started with little things, such as the fact that I wore glasses or how many people thought I was weird for reading books and being a loner most of the time. Then, it followed me to middle school. People would look at me, point, and proceed to say rude things about me. People would make fun of my clothing and it affected the way I saw myself.

Cyberbullying is an epidemic that can effect anyone. It is a disease that is spreading more rapidly every day and is costing us our most precious resource, our children.

There are few people who are unfortunate to have been bullied. I am thankful for being