Category - Internet
Topic - Internet Safety
Issue - Strategies against Cyber Bullying*
Tiptoid -
Cyber bullying - many people who use the internet are affected by it. I myself have so far not been a victim of a cyber bully (thankfully!), but I know that many of you have been. I am told it is a horrible feeling to be attacked online by nameless people, and I am sure that these insults can negatively affect a person for a long time. We all have to have strategies to keep us safe from such viciousness. So here are some ideas I read in an article titled “The Newest Breed of Bully, the Cyber Bully” which was written by Charlene G. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese. These strategies will keep us all safer from cyber bullies.
1. IMing, e-mailing, and blogs (web journals) are just a few of the ways you can be bullied electronically. Be careful how you use these technologies.
2. Talk about your values with your parents. Kindness and decency are important priorities no matter how difficult things may get for you in your life.
3. Don't share your password. Bullies can use others' screen names and send your friends offensive letters and messages.
4. Talk to someone if you've been bullied, and don't be embarrassed to tell someone about it.
5. Print and keep copies of any offensive letters, comments, messages, etc. received from bullies. Give these items to authorities who may be able to track the bully source.
The internet is a wonderful tool for us, but we need to be much more literate in how we use it. Protect yourself by being aware, and be careful! I am doing just that.
* adapted from The Newest Breed of Bully, the Cyber Bully, written by Charlene G. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese and reprinted in the Luther Jackson Middle School PTA News February 2006.
Glossary -
Cyber bullying - a way of harassing a person via the internet
Find Out More -
www.pta.org.parentinvolvement/parenttalk; www.ciconline.org/parents; www.controlyourtv.org
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Submitted by - Kelsey Tedder
Site Managers - Nana Yeboah, Kelsey Tedder
March 2006