Boarding Schools for Girls

A new study from the Kamaron Institute of Management Consulting Educational Services found that 48 percent of American pre-teens and teenagers -- and 30 percent of elementary students -- are affected by cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is a term that describes the use of Internet e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, cell phones, or other forms of information technology to deliberately hurt, taunt, ridicule, threaten or intimidate someone.

About 70 percent of those surveyed told researchers that they were unlikely to tell their parents about the incidents. The most popular reasons given for cyberbullying were not liking a person and believing bullying is humorous.

The Institute surveyed thousands of students and teachers in order to design lesson plans, activities, prevention strategies, videos, and guides for parents and teachers.

"Most students we survey are unaware they could be leaving a trail of electronic fingerprints in their wake," said Margaret Ross, CEO of Kamaron. "When I speak with teen leadership organizations discovering they may not be as invisible as they thought, it makes a big impact."

Labels: cyber-bullying

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

For those who care about the safety and well-being of children, adolescents and teenagers, the rise of cyberbullying (online harassment) has been among the more troubling developments of the Internet age.

While acknowledging the dangers associated with this practice, the LA Times editorial board argued in a Jan. 2 article that parents, not schools, bear primary responsibility for curtailing this type of abuse:

We feel for the Beverly Hills eighth-grader who complained that she had been described as "spoiled," a "brat" and a "slut" in a YouTube video posted by a classmate. But sympathetic school officials went too far in suspending the girl who produced the video. Punishing the student for behavior outside the school was illegal, wrote U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson, "without any evidence that such speech caused a substantial disruption of the school's activities." &

Public schools rightly prevent students from insulting one another in the classroom, where even verbal disputes can interfere with a lesson, or elsewhere on school grounds, where conflicts can undermine discipline and order. ...Still, educators should recognize the reasonable limits of their authority and confine their discipline to girls and boys who are mean to one another -- or to their principal -- at school.

Labels: cyber-bullying, abuse, harassment

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A study that was sponsored by Cox Communications found that teenage cyberbullying and "sexting" were a bit less common than adults might think and previous studies have found.

The new survey, performed by Harris Interactive, involved 655 teenagers ages 13 to 18 years old.

Cyberbullying, defined as harassment, embarrassment, or threats online or by text message, was common. About one third of the teams in the study experienced it, engaged in it, or knew of people who had done it.

Sexting was defined as sending sexually suggestive e-mails or text with nude or nearly nude photos. Only nine percent of the teens had sent such a message, although 17 percent had received one, and three had forwarded one. Other studies indicated that 20 percent of teenagers were sexting.

The majority of teens told researchers that they understand that posting personal information or photographs of themselves on the Internet is unsafe. Nevertheless, 62 percent did post pictures of themselves, 50 percent shared their real age, 45 percent named their school, and 41 percent gave the city where they live.

Labels: cyber-bullying, sexting

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

The children who bully others online and their victims are both more likely to have physical and mental problems, according to a new study from Finland.

• Dr. Andre Sourander and his colleagues studied 2,215 teenagers ages 13 to 16 years old.
• About 5% were victims of online bullying, and 7.4% admitted to being cyberbullies.
• They tended to pick children their age to bully, and they tended to be boys.
• Sixteen percent of the girls had been bullied by boys, compared to 5% of boys bullied by girls. They also were more less likely than average to be living with both biological parents.

The bullies in the study had frequent headaches and felt unsafe at school. They had emotional difficulties, and problems getting along with other children and concentrating. They were more likely to have conduct problems, abuse alcohol and smoke, and to be hyperactive. What was interesting was that the victims had the same physical and mental health issues.

One problem with the rise of cyberbullying -- a prevalent form of harassment that is acute among girls as well as boys -- is that victims who used to feel safe at home now have a harder time escaping the reach of their tormentors.

The study appears in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
 

Labels: cyber-bullying, bullies, internet

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

Parents are increasingly worried about the phenomenon of cyberbullying, and according to a New York Times report, some are asking school officials to help curtail the problem.

Cyberbullying can begin as early as fourth grade, and becomes more sophisticated as children grow older.

Although 44 states have passed laws about cyberbullying, these statutes often do not spell out what schools' responsibilities are, and most schools do not have cyberbullying guidelines in their codes of conducts.

Some principals are willing to talk to the bullies; others are advising parents of victims to go to police.
 

Labels: cyber-bullying, bullying

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 1 Comment

Cyberbullying is becoming a serious issue among teenagers -- girls as well as boys. More than one case of cyberbullying has ended with the bullied teen taking his or her own life. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center wants to help kids get help when they are being bullied.

In the U.K., Facebook is launching easy access to a mini-application for teens who believe they are being subjected to cyber-bullying. The button connects the user to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP), a semi-governmental organization in the U.K. [Source: News Factor]

Once they’re on the CEOP web site, they can answer a few questions aimed at helping them determine if their situation is serious enough to require intervention. Industry analysts believe it’s just a matter of time before a similar feature is made available on the U.S. version of Facebook.

 

Labels: cyber-bullying, online, internet

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

An 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, after his roommate posted a video on the Internet of his intimate encounter with another man.

Authorities are now determining how to charge Dharum Ravi and his friend Molly Wei, also a college student. So far Ravi faces five years in prison for invasion of privacy, but that could increase to ten years if his crime is deemed a hate crime against homosexuals. The case is very high-profile, with activists demanding that Ravi and Wei be charged with manslaughter.

The victim, Tyler Clementi, was a violinist majoring in music, whom friends described as "shy and brilliant."

This latest incident is one of the high-profile cases of cyberbullying, but not the first suicide of a young person linked to that activity. A Massachusetts high school student, newly arrived from Ireland, hanged herself after being teased publicly on the Internet; in 2008, an 18-year-old girl committed suicide after her boyfriend circulated nude pictures of her; and 13-year-old Seth Welsh also killed himself after cyberbullying incidents.

Though many people mistakenly believe that bullying is a boys' activity, many girls are involved in bullying (as both victims or perpetrators), with cyberbullying an unfortunately common type of bullying among girls.
 

Labels: cyber-bullying, bullying, suicide

Posted By: Boarding Schools for Girls 3 Comments

In a Nov. 12 article on the Huffington Post, Lesli Rotenburg (Senior Vice President of Children's Media at PBS) called for additional efforts to educate young children about the dangers of cyberbullying:

We need to teach young children what it means to be a good digital citizen and how to deal with cyber-bullying before they become even more immersed in digital media as tweens and teens.

The elementary school years are the time when kids begin to recognize how they contribute to the world around them -- understanding their larger community and learning to make sense of what they and others contribute to it.

These are the developmental milestones that lay the groundwork for how children interact with others -- in both physical and virtual spaces -- which is why early education is critical for helping them learn how to explore the online world safely and respectfully

Cyberbullying is an unfortunate reality for thousands of U.S. students, and digital harassment is a popular form of peer abuse among female students.

Labels: school, cyber-bullying, bullying

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