CultusBelieve it or not – 25% pupils experience Digital age suffers from bullying!
On 1 November 2012, Gerald White, from the Memorial University of Canada has been introduced among school children, on using Internet. The presentation: “School, family, and community factors related to cyber victimization: Findings from research in Newfoundland and Labrador schools, sponsored by the Graduate Programs and Memorial Faculty of Education established the fact that 25% of the pupils were experiencing bullying in various forms while using the world wide web searching.
White defined cyber bullying as “an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend his or herself.”
The wide reaching nature of cyber bulling is explained in the following statement: “What’s happening in the schools is not staying in the schools.” Technological advances gives more opportunity for children to be victimized.
White researched schools in the province, and collected data from youth. Almost 6,000 students were surveyed with age range from kindergarten to grade twelve.
White announced that the majority of bullying victims are female. The highest amount of bullying is among students between grades nine and twelve. Rates were higher for students that are receiving bullying of other types, and generally occurs among schools with high states of distress.
The number of kids experiencing cyber bullying is also influenced by a lack of respect for teachers in the education system. The levels of respect decline, as youth move up through the school system. By the time they reach Grade 12 the level of respect has a greater impact on cyber bullying.
It is clear that in the issue of both bullying and cyber bullying all comes down to respect. “The solution to bullying and cyber bullying, [is] resting among and between students and [their] respect over one another and [their] teachers.”
White’s study is a result of a thorough research project of the issue of cyber bullying in Newfoundland and Labrador. However, some in the audience who felt that the presentation did not properly convey its intended message stated that “although the statistical information was thorough, the presentation was not clear, nor articulate in providing the audience with facts that were easily understood.”
Slight doubt might exist in this particular fact, as the information from the survey may not have been presented quite as clearly as White intended. Regardless of this fact, the information regarding cyber bullying is announced, and hopefully ready to be acted upon.
Be aware that cyber bullying is a crime. There should be a zero-tolerance rule for bullying. The steps you should take if bullied are clearly defined, together with the consequences for students who engage in bullying others.
Harassing, intimidating or threatening someone via phones, e-mail, chat rooms, or any social-networking sites is abuse.
If university is more worried about its public image than maintaining a safe campus, its officials will ignore it or try to minimize the issue.
If that happens, a police report online can be done with the off together with the campus police.
You will need evidence of things your roommate, or whoever was bullying you has been saying about you. Print out copies of tweets, facebook’s posts or any other social media are needed.
These can be also send to the university administrator in charge of resolving such problems.
Student should inform parents and solicit their help in confronting school officials. School newspaper can be involved to write about cyber bullying, but without mentioning details that would turn your story into campus gossip. It should be explained how it feels like to be the victim of cyber bullying and why it should be stopped. Share how alone and helpless a bullying victim feels, and how those painful feelings increase when the expected, advertised and promised support from the campus community never materializes. Emphasize how failure to take action is support to the bully’s behavior.
Learn more at: Stop cyber bullying or From cyberbully to thoughtful parents guide
If you do nothing then you do not respect yourself and it might happen to you again.
You can check the following videos about cyber bulling and how to stop it:
Stop Cyber Bullying (Stop Animation Project)
PSA – STOP BULLYING