As with all bullying,
students need to know that they are not helpless when it comes to
cyber-bullying, even if the bullying individual is apparently anonymous.
Here are some guidelines to help prevent cyber-bullying:
- Do not respond to cyber-bullying,
whether in email or instant messaging. Responses only
encourage the bullying behavior.
- When possible, save and print the
cyber-bullying message. Do not save it. Give it to a
trusted adult.
- Report cyber-bullying to an adult.
If you are cyber-bullied at home, tell your parents or guardians.
- Always report cyber-bullying you
receive at school on school computers.
- If you receive a threatening or
unpleasant message while using a computer away from school, but the
message relates to your school somehow, report it to school
authorities.
- Learn about "netiquette" and
encourage your friends to be careful about what they say while
online.
- Unless you know that you are
chatting or communicating with a trusted friend, do not identify
yourself online.
- Never trust a stranger online to be
what he or she says he/she is. Adult predators commonly pose
as children or teenagers.
- Don't reveal information that can
identify you, even if you don't use your name. Others might
discover who you are by "putting two and two together." If you
mention school activities, such as athletics, or interest and
hobbies, you might be revealing more than you realize.
- NEVER meet somebody in person that
you met online unless there is a responsible adult who can accompany
you. Going alone to such a meeting is one of the most
dangerous things you can do.
- Encourage your school to have
meetings and classes on cyber-safety. It's good to have a safe
forum where you and your fellow students can discuss their
experiences online.
- Don't be a cyber-bully yourself.
It's not funny and it's not healthy.
- Be careful what kind of information
you place on a personal web page, such as a "MySpace" page.
Anybody can find it. Think about who might see it. A teacher?
A grandparent? A potential employer?
- Remember that emails and instant
messages can be saved. Don't think that a message is gone
forever just because you erased it from your screen or a local hard
drive. The chances are better than even that those messages
are still on a server somewhere.
- Finally, remember that computer
messages can be traced, because they leave a trail. If you
believe that a cyber-bully presents a possible danger to you or
others, save the messages and call the police. Computer
forensic experts are good at tracing messages to their source.
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Having meetings at school, whether in a
class setting or in an activity meeting, can do a lot to change the
social norms and discourage cyber-bullying.
- You can support and encourage fellow
students who are bullied online.
- You might find that the same
individual is abusing several of your fellow students online.
That can help identify him/her.
- You can draw up rules of
cyber-behavior that everybody can follow.
- You can agree that, when one of you
is bullied online, it affects everybody. Don't let victims of
cyber-bullying feel alone or isolated.
- You can encourage your fellow
students to report bullying, whether it happens to them or to
somebody else.
- When students compare their
experiences, they can frequently identify potentially dangerous
individuals who should be reported to law enforcement.
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