While most people are familiar with the term cyberbullying and would agree it is unfortunate and unwanted, it seems few people grasp its impact and prevalence in our society. Before I did my own research on the topic, I must admit I didn't know the severity of the issue, nor was I aware there are legal consequences for students found guilty of cyberbullying! For those interested in South Carolina laws specifically, I recommend www.stopbullying.gov.
So, what is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is defined by Dr. Sameer Hinduja and Dr. Justin Patchin (2022) as the "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices" (p.2). In other words, a student is participating in cyberbullying when he or she uses technology repeatedly as a way to abuse, harass, threaten, and/or humiliate a targeted individual (or individuals).
I think some people associate the word "bully" with grubby little kid squabbles on the elementary school playground. The word bully certainly doesn't seem to carry the same connotation as, say, abuse despite the fact they are one in the same. And abuse is multifaceted: it can be overt, covert, physical, mental, emotional, verbal, financial, and even spiritual (Faucher et al., 2015). To minimize or excuse the impact of abuse is simply re-traumatizing and utterly unacceptable. It's high time students, parents, councilors, teachers, administrators, medical professionals, and law enforcement start acknowledging cyberbullying as a destructive issue that carries on past primary school days.
What is the impact of cyberbullying?
Due to the ever increasing ways in which to communicate online, the problems with cyberbullying are and will be highly relevant to student's lives. In Kristen Hicks' (2015) article Teacher's Guide to Digital Citizenship, she uses language such as "horror stories," "serious threats," "stakes are high," "risks," and "scary" to describe the topic. Research published by the Cyberbullying Research Center supports that cyberbullying is indeed detrimental. Students often reported a connection between cyberbullying and experiencing depression, low self-esteem, anger, anxiety, family problems, frustration, academic struggles, poor concentration, stress, headaches, sleep problems, delinquency, school violence, and even suicidal thoughts and/or attempts (Hinduja & Patchin, 2022; Faucher et al., 2015). The research further shows that approximately 30% of students have been the victim of cyberbullying at some point, and "94% of tweens who were cyberbullied said it negatively impacted their life in some way" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2022, p. 3). The physiological and physical ramifications cannot be ignored. Especially since many victims carry the burden in silence rather than report the abuse for fear of retaliation by the perpetrators or other negative consequences.
View this short TEDx talk by Vincent Parson about the impact of cyberbullying.
How can educators and other stakeholders make a difference?
I would advocate for several strategies (not in any particular order):
1. Become knowledgable about what cyberbullying is and what your state laws are.
2. Communicate the importance of digital citizenship and anti-bullying culture to your administrators, fellow teachers, and, especially the parents (the other party ethically responsible for teaching their children values such as "do unto others and you would have done to you").
Involve as many stakeholders as you can as it is critical to for "educators to develop and promote a safe and respectful school climate" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2022, p. 7). Students cannot effectively learn where they feel threatened.
3. Encourage teachers to embed digital citizen into the curriculum. Help teachers lesson plan and provide resources for teachers and parents. Plan on teaching digital citizenship yourself in the library setting. Having links posted to a section of your website would be a helpful start.
4. Become familiar with the warning signs of bullying. This includes the symptoms listed under impacts, but also knowing statistical data such as girls are more likely to experience cyberbullying than boys (Faucher et al., 2015).
Teaching Digital Citizenship. Just Do It.
It's pretty easy to get overwhelmed with yet another topic to cover in school (however worthy it is). Thankfully, there are many resources for structuring lessons and curriculum online.
Kristen Hicks (2015) suggests categorical topics for digital citizenship such as online safety (predators), digital footprints, financial responsibility (online theft), respectfulness, legal consequences (bullying laws), information literacy, and legal restrictions (illegal downloads). She asserts that "teaching digital citizenship means embracing the reality that we're all interconnected through the Internet, and that we therefore need to understand the responsibilities and risks that come with life online" (para. 4)
Richard Byrne's (2014) analogy of similar digital citizenship topics to the seven deadly sins would make a very interactive lesson experience. Students could watch short video clips on the "sins" and think about how they might response to situations. Though, Byrne admits administrative approval would be best due to some mature content for older students.
J. Orech (2012) also provides insights on classroom digital citizenship projects by describing the Digital Citizenship Project in which older students mentor younger students by researching essential topics such as the negative effects of cyberbullying. I really liked the community service aspect of this plan. I think it would be a great learning experience for students while also providing them the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of younger children.
In addition, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Common Sense Media also has lessons for digital citizenship by age group!
Finally, last but not least, my favorite resource is the Cyberbullying Research Center! It is pretty much a one stop shop. It is well organized and has tons of researches no matter your need (student, parent, teacher, etc.). You can report cyberbullying through their site, read analysis of bullying laws, view and use presentations, as well as read and share informative blog posts. There is also a research tab in which you can discover statistics and review study findings. I was very impressed!
Conclusion
I hope this condensed discussion about cyberbullying was helpful. I could have guessed cyberbullying was a problem before my research on the topic; however, I never would have guessed what marked significance it has on our students today. If I had known the importance, I still would have likely been lost as to how to combat the issue. I was completely unaware of our laws and the numerous teaching resources available. I'm so glad I know better now. I plan on incorporating digital citizenship and literacy in my library curriculum and building awareness where I can in the future.
References
Byrne, R. (2014, August 4). Seven digital deadly sins - good material for conversations on digital citizenship. Free Technology for Teachers. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/08/seven-digital-deadly-sins-good-material.html#.WjMOYGQ-fBl
Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(6), pp. 111-125.
Hicks, K. (2015, July 9). Teacher's guide to digital citizenship. Edudemic. https://web.archive.org/web/20181129151348/http://www.edudemic.com/teachers-guide-digital-citizenship/
Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J.W. (2022). Cyberbullying: Identification, prevention, and response. Cyberbullying Research Center. http://cyberbullying.org/Cyberfullying-Identification-Prevention-Response-2-22.pdf
Orech, J (2012). How it's done: Incorporating digital citizenship into your everyday curriculum. Tech & Learning, 33(1), pp. 16-18.
I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the interactive experience of the 7 sins as well. I could totally see this being used at a middle and high school level. Maybe because the internet wasn't as prevelant nor phones when I was in middle high school do I remember cyberbullying being as big of an issue as it is now. My son is only 2 but as he gets older,I know this is a trouble that I will have to combat when teaching him about social media. I truly think that cyberbullying is not only the schools responsibility but it must come from home as well. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think you organized the information well! I agree with the comments you made about making sure parents are aware of the effects of cyberbullying. As educators we often say that what we teach at school needs to be addressed at home to really enhance the learning experience. We expect students to go home and read for 20 minutes as second graders to fortify their reading skills. The same should be true of digital citizenship. Students should continue their learning at home, and considering that's when students are more likely to be left to their own devices (pun intended), that's when it really matters. I'm so happy to see that many resources out there are geared towards educators AND parents.
ReplyDeleteHey, Reagan!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, before this module, I did not know what all cyberbullying entailed. I was familiar with the term, but not the true definition of cyberbullying. Honestly, I have never been cyberbullied, but reading through this module I see how it can affect many children and young adult’s lives. There are stories published every day about how cyberbullying has affected a child’s or adult’s life for the worse. This is why we must, as librarians or educators, be equipped to teach children at a very young age how to be a good citizen in a physical environment as well as in a digital environment. While teaching them how to be a good citizen, we also need to be ready to teach students how to identify cyberbullying and what to do when it is identified. I think if we make this a priority in our teaching, it will better help our children be better citizens all the way around.
Thank you for sharing all you learned through this module. Also, thank you for sharing the South Carolina Laws on Cyberbullying. It was very interesting to read.
Sincerely,
Courtland Smith