Cyberbullying

Photo

Mon, 07 May 2012 23:41:00 -0400

TAKE THE PLEDGE: Everyone deserves to be respected for who they...

Mon, 07 May 2012 23:34:00 -0400

TAKE THE PLEDGE: Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I’ll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I’ll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that “It Gets Better.”

Photo

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:19:00 -0400

A number of businesses and organizations are in coalition to provide awareness and protection for...

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:14:00 -0400

A number of businesses and organizations are in coalition to provide awareness and protection for the escalating problem. Some aim to inform and provide measures to avoid as well as effectively terminate cyber-bullying and cyber-harassment.

Cyber Bullying has become a worldwide problem because of the difficulty to track its occurrences. In some cases it has been accepted as humor, but when is it taken to far? When a child has taken his or her own life?

Photo

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:03:00 -0400

Photo

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Remember, everyone has a story...

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:49:00 -0400

The boy you punched in the hall today, committed suicide a few minutes ago.
The girl you pushed down the other day, is already being abused at home.
The boy you called lame, has to work every night to support his family.
That girl you called fat, she’s starving herself.
The man you made fun of because of his scars, fought for our country.
The boy you made fun of for crying, his mother is dying. “

Born This Way Foundation Led by Lady Gaga and her mother, was...

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:33:00 -0400

Born This Way Foundation

Led by Lady Gaga and her mother, was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world.

“We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.”

-Lady Gaga

Attitude

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:06:00 -0400

Attitudes are not something you have when you are born; they are learned through experiences and contact with others and even through distinct instructions from parents, teachers, and other important people in a person’s life. For instance if a child grows up around their parents having a negative attitude toward gays or a certain race they likely will have that same attitude. Just like the Jamey Rodemeyer, and Ryan Halligan case, where both boys were oppressed for being gay.

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition..."

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:03:00 -0400

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.”

- Harvey S. Firestone

Photo

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:02:00 -0400

Social Influence

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:00:00 -0400

I tried to relate my psychology course to this topic and I came up with a theory of why cyberbullying might occur. The theory I found was in the social psychology chapter of my textbook; social psychology directly explains why some people act in certain ways. The main area in relation to cyber-bullying is social influence; the theory that people can influence others to follow along with their own thoughts, to agree to do things even when the person might prefer to do otherwise.

This theory plays the part of the bully; the bully can easily get their friends to gang up on a victim using social influence. His or her friends may not agree with the actions, but the bully may be able to easily influence them. A person changing their behavior to match that of other people is called conformity.

This theory relates to the case of Ryan Halligan where the group of girls teased Ryan. There was one girl who led the humiliating actions toward Ryan; she most likely used social influence to get her friends to join in on the taunting. Also relating to social influence, in the Megan Meier case, the adult involved in the bullying tried to get another adult to join in on the victimization; though in this case the other adult did not conform.

Megan Meier is a horrifying case of cyber-bullying that was very...

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:58:00 -0400

Megan Meier is a horrifying case of cyber-bullying that was very unusual because unlike most cases of youth on youth victimization, adults were involved in the bullying against the victim who was only 13. Megan Meier struck up an online friendship on the popular social networking site MySpace with a person she believed was a new boy in her hometown. In actuality, the “friend” was a group of individuals, including adults, who were intent on humiliating the Megan because of a friendship with another child that had gone awry. Megan was very upset when she found out the truth, then later committed suicide once the friendship had terminated.

Cyber-bullies seek to damage their victim’s earnings, employment, reputation, or safety.

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:47:00 -0400

Cyber-bullies seek to damage their victim’s earnings, employment, reputation, or safety.

(Dark blue) Law prohibits bullying of students based on sexual...

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:40:00 -0400

(Dark blue) Law prohibits bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity

(Med. Blue) Law prohibits bullying of students based on sexual orientation

(Light Blue) School regulation or ethical code for teachers that address bullying of students based on sexual orientation

(Yellow) Law prohibits bullying in school but lists no categories of protection

(Red) No statewide law that specifically prohibits bullying in schools

Photo

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:37:00 -0400

Studies are consistently identifying a relationship between cyber-bullying and psychological stress....

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:37:00 -0400

Studies are consistently identifying a relationship between cyber-bullying and psychological stress. The Metro West Adolescent Health Survey is a biennial census survey of high school students in the western suburbs and small cities of the Boston metropolitan area.

The survey grouped people into one of four groups, either you are…

1. Someone who is cyber bullied and bullied in school

2. Someone who is only cyber bullied

3. Someone who is only bullied in school

4. Not bullied at all

The results demonstrated bullying victimization was consistently associated with an increased likelihood of psychological distress across all measures from depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation to reports of self-injury and suicide attempts.

Reports of depressive symptoms were highest among…

victims of both cyber and school bullying (47.0%)

followed by cyber-only victims (33.9%)

and school-only victims (26.6%)

compared with (13.6%) of non-victims

Similarly, attempted suicide was highest among victims of both cyber and school bullying (15.2%)

however, it was also elevated among cyber-only victims (9.4%)

and school-only victims (4.2%)

compared with students reporting neither form of victimization (2.0%).

In 2003, 13 year old, Ryan Halligan committed suicide. Ryan was...

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:30:00 -0400

In 2003, 13 year old, Ryan Halligan committed suicide. Ryan was bullied mercilessly because of a learning disorder, and also his classmates spread rumors that he was gay. Before Ryan’s death, a group of girls from Ryan’s class thought it would be funny to pretend to like him online, and get him to share very personal information, which the girls copied and pasted into other instant messages that sent around for a good laugh at his expense. This was ultimately said to be what pushed Ryan over the edge.

Photo

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:29:00 -0400

GLSEN

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:26:00 -0400

Nearly nine in ten students who identify as LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) report being verbally harassed while at school. And 160,000 students miss school each day due to fears of bullying, harassment or physical violence.

GLSEN: The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network works with educators, policy makers, community leaders and students on the urgent need to address anti-LGBT behavior and bias in schools. GLSEN strives to protect students from bullying and harassment, to advance comprehensive safe schools laws and policies, to empower principals to make their schools safer, and to build the skills of educators to teach respect for all people.