Cyberbullying in Middle Schools: Prevalence, Consequences, and Prevention, Exams of Law

Download Cyberbullying in Middle Schools: Prevalence, Consequences, and Prevention and more Exams Law in PDF only on Docsity! Exposing the Cyberbully By Nancy E. Marden Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Degree in Writing General Writing Option May 11, 2010 WRT 465/Thesis Advisor: Prof. John Briggs Abstract This thesis takes a close look at the dynamics that make school-aged bullies not only dangerous, but too often deadly. Today’s bullies have a new “playground” called cyberspace, where they can harass, humiliate and threaten their victims: They are called cyberbullies. In the United States as many as 35-45 percent of teens admit to being victims or engaging in online bullying. As a result of advancing technology and internet accessibility combined with over two hundred social websites, cyberbullying is escalating. 1 (instant messaging), and texting via cell phones. Children as young as 5 years old are using social websites for communication; and that number is increasing daily. 4 Defining Cyberbullying “Cyberbullying is being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material or engaging in other forms of social cruelty using the Internet or other digital technologies. It has various forms, including direct harassment and indirect activities that are intended to damage the reputation or interfere with the relationships of the student targeted, such as posting harmful material, impersonating the person, disseminating personal information or images, or activities that result in exclusion.” (Willard). Cyberbullying is even more powerful than traditional bullying because the bully has a much larger audience allowing the attack to be more devastating for the victim while the bully can remain anonymous. Alex Bioanghu, a guidance counselor at Whisconier Middle School in Brookfield, Connecticut, said children who cyberbully engage in a term he calls “disinhibition effect,” where “there is a psychology of cyberspace that lends itself to certain behaviors; (where children) are known to say or do things they might not do face-to-face…” (Danbury News- Times, March 14, 2009). The 2006 National School Safety Center (NSSC) published Bullying in Schools- Fight the Bully Battle fact sheets which are used to teaching and training in the school communities. Bullying is considered an act of violence, whether it is verbal, physical or emotional. According to research, it is shown that boys tend 5 to bully physically or directly, while girls bully emotionally or indirectly. Bullying or cyberbullying can take on a sexual form of harassment. Name calling such as: “fag,” “slut,” “whore,” “pussy,” etc., imply that the gender being attacked is lacking in what is deemed socially acceptable by teens. Even if these statements are not true, they have long-lasting emotional affects on the victim. Males tend to bully more aggressively, whether it is physically or while “online gaming.” Of the 21-30 percent of cyberbullies, almost all of them have made rude, nasty or mean comments. This was followed by spreading rumors, threatening or aggressive comments and finally embarrassing their targets. (Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc.) A very popular forum for entertainment and socializing is the ability to play video games over the internet against another opponent through gaming systems like Xbox. This type of venue increases the level of competition and chances for online bullying among teens. Indirect (passive or relational) bullying is used mostly by females which is a “systemic diminishment of self, which is done through ignoring, isolating, excluding, or shunning…it can involve rolling of the eyes, sneers, or hostile body language.” (Donohoe and Burger). “Current estimates indicate that 20 to 35 percent of children and adolescents report experiencing cyberbullying (Diamandurous, Downs, & Jenkins). A study which only included students under age 17 indicated that about 6 consequences of being bullied include: bullying others, committing suicide and seeking revenge. According to www.webmd.com, children who are bullied tend to be: Sensitive; Socially withdrawn, they think poorly of themselves, or may have a quiet temperament; Anxious; Passive, they often let others be in control and do not stand up for themselves; and More likely to get depressed. Targets were harassed by older teens aged 13 -17 rather than 10-12 year- olds, with about half of the bullies being male, 30 percent female, and 20 percent unknown to the victim. Further, about half of the victims knew their harasser as being from school while the other half had no idea who the perpetrator was. (www.cyberbully411.com). 9 Why Some Children Bully “Children who bullied tended to be aggressive and lacking in a moral compass and they experienced a lot of conflict in their relationships with their parents. In addition, their relationships with friends also were marked by a lot of conflict, and they tended to associate with others who bullied” (Science Daily, March 27, 2008). By looking at how a child relates to those around him or her, will give an good indication as to whether or not they are prone to bully, offline or online. As for gender differentiation, female and male teens who engaged in cyberbullying or electronic aggression were equally likely to harass others online; whereas boys were more likely to harass others by traditional bullying methods. Cyberbullies were more likely to be aggressive and break rules more often, were reported being depressed or withdrawn twice as often as teens that did not harass others online.(Internet solutions for Kids, Inc). Another contributing factor to becoming a bully is retaliation: “Twenty- seven percent of girls who were bullied online retaliated back with their own cyberbullying.” (Cengage Learning). The bully gains a sense of power and control when he/she bullies their target. “Bullying behaviors that continue into adulthood can turn into child abuse, domestic violence and other criminal activities.” (Quiroz, Arnette and Stevens). 10 “Boys who were identified as bullies in middle school were four times as likely as non-bullying peers to have more than one criminal conviction by age 24.” (HRSA). There is a psychological profile or makeup for children who bully other children. Characteristics of children who bully, according to US Department of Health and Human Services: • impulsive, hot-headed, dominant; • easily frustrated; • lack empathy; • have difficulty following rules; • view violence in a positive way; and • tend to be physically stronger than other children (US Dept. of Health and Human Services, HRSA) Further, the US Department of Health and Human Services reports that family risk factors include: a lack of warmth and involvement on the part of parents; overly permissive parenting; lack of supervision; harsh, physical discipline and / or a model of bullying behavior. There are many myths about bullies; that they are “loners” and have “low self-esteem”, but they actually make friends easily and have friends that encourage their behavior, as well as having good self-esteem, according to HRSA. 11 bullying will stop. • Teachers generally do not have the opportunity to take any action because they are typically not present and are not told about it. • A large proportion of students would like to see bullying stopped. The behaviors that are not addressed in a child’s early age suggesting that the behavior will carry-over into adulthood, family life and the work place. Examples of this can be seen where sexual harassment, racism and discrimination are prevalent in the workplace. Empowering children (bystanders) to believe that they can make a difference by not tolerating harassment, or any deviant social behavior, could not only prevent bullying, but set socially acceptable behavior. 14 Cyberbullying: Indirect vs. Direct Cyberbullying, like traditional bullying, can be either direct or indirect. There are several forms of cyberbullying that have been labeled as; flaming, impersonation, outing and trickery, denigration, harassment and stalking and exclusion. Indirect Cyberbullying Flaming is an indirect form of cyberbullying and was defined by Nancy Willard (who is a recognized authority on issues related to the safe and responsible use of the Internet) as an argument between two people that includes rude and vulgar language, insults, and threats. This method of bullying usually occurs via instant messaging, chat rooms or emails where cyberbullies can exchange comments back and forth, typically one on one. Impersonation is breaking into someone else’s email and using it to send vicious or embarrassing material to others. Lori Drew, whose daughter was a former friend of the 13 year-old Megan Meier, created a fake MySpace profile and pretended to be a teen-aged boy interested in Meier. After months of gaining Meier’s trust, and confidence, Drew used this to cause emotional distress and stated such comments to Meier as “the world would be a better place without you.” (Stelter, NYTimes, Nov. 27 2008) Megan Meier was found hanging in her room shortly after. 15 Outing and trickery is engaging someone in instant messaging and tricking them into revealing personal or sensitive information and forwarding or distributing it to others (Willard, 2007). Direct Cyberbullying Denigration is a form of direct cyberbullying, according to Willard, is when a student or students set up a website used to ridicule or damage the reputation of the victim. A recent incident occurred at a middle school in Connecticut where an 8th grade female was the target of a Web page created on Facebook called “I hate …(Girl’s Name Withheld)” where there were 39 members from the school. The perpetrators consisted of five male students and one female student who created the Web page to humiliate the target because they felt she had “ratted” on them. According to the victim’s mother, “there was no real “incident,” but it started with some confrontations which included vulgar and sexual comments only occurring on the school bus.” Some of the actual comments on the Facebook site included: “She is a parent’s wet dream” “Whoever created this website is genius, I love this picture” (Victim’s picture was altered to include horns and pitchfork). When the target told her parents about the bus incidents, they became involved by notifying the school. It is believed that this sparked the creation of the webpage. 16 Statistics Studies show that the use of IMs and Webcams has increased the incidents of cyberbullying, due to the sharing of pictures and video, by almost three times. (Juvonen and Gross). Webcams allow live online video chat and the ability to record what is being transmitted without sender’s permission. Cyberbullies can directly harass, tape and broadcast live. Another popular website, YouTube, allows its users to upload videos for public viewing and commenting. This is just another tool for cyberbullies to either make fun of their targets by making videos to harass or threaten their targets or using images of their targets without permission that may be hurtful or humiliating. While ninety percent of children 12 years-old and younger say their parents know where they go online, only 41 percent of children 13-15 years-old admit their parents really know what sites they visit online, and 25 percent know “little” or “nothing” about what they do online.(webwisekids.org). As for social website popularity, “Facebook rules with 400 million worldwide users, with MySpace in second place with 100 million” (Bazelon). But when it comes to connecting with their friends, middle school-aged to high school-aged teens it is the cell phone that dominates technological use for communication in the form of texting. 19 “Cell phones continue to be the most popular technology utilized by adolescents with almost 83% of youth in our sample report having used one at least weekly. A greater proportion of adolescents are now using Facebook compared to MySpace, and twitter remains unpopular among most youth.” (www.cyberbullying.us). 20 Bullying victims were two to nine times more likely to report suicidal thoughts than other children were” (Science Daily Magazine, 2008). Signs of suicidal behavior include: declining school performance, social isolation, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, change in eating and sleeping habits, and not wanting to attend school. “Current estimates indicate that 20 to 35 percent of children and adolescents report experiencing cyberbullying … A study which only included students under age 17, indicated 32 percent of boys and 36 percent of girls were victims of cyberbullying (Hinjuja & Patchin, 2008). It was estimated that in 2006 that more than 13 million children and adolescents ages 6-17 were victims (Feinberg & Robey 2009). According to the Connecticut Department of Education, there are currently 572,293 students, or approximately 114,000 to 200,000 students admit to being cyberbullied. In another study, Web Wise Kids reports that as many as 43 percent of teens were victims of cyber bullying in 2008. Middle school students tend to be victims of cyberbullying by instant messaging, followed by chat rooms and then emails with only about half of them knowing who is bullying them (Kowalski & Limber 2007). According to Weekly Reader (WR News, Senior Edition 2008), “only five percent of middle school kids who are cyberbullied tell a parent…experts say the victims are ashamed of being bullied, and my worry that their parents will take 21 and needs to be added to the books. The legal argument comes down to the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech and what is considered to be bullying. In other words, what distinguishes a joke, prank or statement of opinion from a cruel statement intended to cause harm? On September 30, 2009 there was a Congressional hearing in response to addressing cyberbullying and online issues facing children addressed the definition of cyberbullying to also include the use of “rumors or lies or publication of something meant to be private, or the personification – or impersonation of another person.” Specifically, there was testimony heard regarding two bills that would address cyberbullying: • H.R 1966, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act: will make it a federal crime, specifically a felony, if technical communication is used to “coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress… that is repeated and hostile behavior.” • H.R. 3630 The Adolescent Web Awareness Requires Education Act (AWARE Act) will authorize $125 million for grants to create programs and educate children, schools and communities. (Congressional Hearing Transcript Database, Web. 30 Sept. 2009) 24 The first is H.R. 1966, “Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act,” which was in response to 13 year-old Megan Meier who committed suicide after being tormented and harassed by Lori Drew; who was initially found guilty of failure to comply with the Terms of Service contract for MySpace but was ultimately overturned. At the time, there were no existing laws in Missouri to convict Drew criminally. If this bill were to pass it would make cyberbullying a federal crime punishable up to two years in a federal prison. Arguments surrounded the issue of what would constitute a criminal act as opposed to a civil one. The perpetrator of cyberbullying often engages in an emotional psychological attack on their victims (“intentional infliction of emotional distress”) through images, words, texts etc., which would be difficult to categorize as criminal, due to the lack of what the Constitution regard protected speech considers a “ true threat.” The issue or problem facing lawmakers is the fine line between free speech or protected speech, and “true threats” which are those indicating bodily harm, which are exempt from protected speech. (Congressional Hearing Transcript Database, Web. 30 Sept. 2009). The difference between being charged with the act cyberbullying vs. cyberstalking is that cyberstalking involves a “credible threat of harm to the victim and cyberbullying does not.” (Congressional Hearing et al). 25 When Bullying Becomes Deadly Ryan Halligan never told his parents that he was being bullied at school. Ryan was considered ‘Special Ed’ due to speech/motor skill problems through the fourth grade. By the time he entered the 5th grade was behind the other students academically, resulting in ridicule and start of his bullying experience. This only continued and escalated in the 7th grade. Ryan hated school, but he didn’t want his parents to get involved for fear of the bullying becoming worse. The main reason for victims not telling someone is due to a fear of retaliation from their perpetrator. Other reasons include the embarrassment and fear or losing access to their computer, phones etc. He spent the summer of 2003 online and began using instant messaging and revealed intimate personal information. It was not long before he was being bullied online, and through “outing and trickery” the cyberbully befriended him having gained his trust only to humiliate and embarrass him by exposing personal information about Ryan in school. Ryan took his own life on October 8, 2003. “For too long, we have let kids and adults bully others as a rite of passage into adulthood…” (John Halligan, Ryan’s father). In the recent case of Phoebe Prince, a 15 year-old student at South Hadley High School in Mass., recently took her own life in January 2010 after being bullied by nine students over the course of a three month period. Of the students 26 Lifelong Affect Bullying in any form has long lasting effects on its victims. Many will suffer the psychological and emotional damage into their adult and parenting years. On psychologist and author, Elizabeth Bennett considers herself an “Adult Survivor of Peer Abuse”, her experience from being bullied, or Peer Abuse, as she refers to it, has altered her life. According to Bennett, she was “different”… “I cried a lot, was sensitive, silly and was a quiet child” In grade school, one girl was a bully, and Bennett wondered why “others girls continued to "worship" her and always place her on a pedestal, she was so mean and bitchy.” Her parents began to think she was the one not trying to make friends and that she just needed to toughen up and deal with it. The years of bullying at school only continued and worsened: “It became a daily ritual of being slammed into lockers, pushed around, had spitballs in my hair, called all kinds of names and on my first date that year, I was raped. Also, when I was 12, all of this triggered my first bout with what was to be clinical depression. My parents were furious because my self esteem was so low and my grades were terrible…I wanted to die and considered it at the age of 12.” (Bennett) By the 9th grade she was using alcohol and smoking cigarettes as an escape. Her grades suffered and her self-esteem was non-existent. The years of being bullied lead to her dating men who were both physically and verbally abusive. It wasn’t until after college that she sought treatment for her years or 29 peer abuse and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, that she began therapy and medication that helped her to move past her years of being bullied. “Victims of traditional bullying say it has affected them to the point where they have attempted suicide, run away, refused to go to school, or been chronically ill.”(Hinduja & Patchin). The Cyberbullying Research Center did a study on 3,000 students grades 6-8 who were victims of bullying, the results show that both male and females felt mostly “angry” and “frustrated,” followed by feeling “sad” and then “embarrassed.” Additionally, almost half of the males studied said they felt “scared,” compared to only about 25 percent of females feeling the same. (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). It would appear that bullying whether it is verbal, physical or written has negative long term effects on children well into their adulthood. It carries over into work bullying, or better recognized as harassment or discrimination. Below are some blog entries from the website (www.cyberbullyalert.com): (The blogs have been edited for content and brevity) hazeleyes Says: February 2nd, 2010 at 9:13 am “I was also cyber bullied by a girl that had a serious grudge against me and my boyfriend at the time. . .The message damaged my confidence and I never could let it go. When I reported it to my principal he said there was “nothing he could do” because it was outside of school….” soccerghurl808 Says: March 2nd, 2010 at 2:23 pm “…I am in eighth grade … My BEST FRIEND has been cyberbullying me for a month now and it just won’t go away! All you people say just tell a teacher, but that made it worse… I have had thoughts of suicide… I have not 30 wanted to go to school though!… These memories will torture me for the rest of my life and they will NEVER go away…” Sydney Says: March 14th, 2010 at 7:09 pm “I’ve been a victim of bullying all of my life, I’ve tried to put an end to my life a few times now because of it, … I do believe that I have developed an unhealthy view on life because of what people have done to me, but I can’t help but feel that way.” Gender does not seem to make a difference with regard to cyberbullying. Both male and females will bullying via the social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Formspring.me, Youtube, etc) to harass, embarrass and intimidate their targets. This does differ from bullying in person because there is a sense of being anonymous and ‘hiding’ behind a screen name or persona. 31 including higher incidences of in-school discipline, truancy, emotional distress, and feeling unsafe at school.” (Camassar) When asked if there was any type of follow up to the student who bullied, such as mandatory in-school counseling or a school-based program as to helping the bully, she said they were not required to do so. It would appear that without rehabilitation for the perpetrator, the likelihood of the student repeating his/her behavior will only continue. Education and uniform training of school administrators is essential in the prevention and intervention of bullying, as well as cyberbullying. Too often, bullying is “common knowledge” and teachers and faculty are not given the proper training, skills or programs available to address it. During a recent visit to local schools, and using random inquiry, several middle school and high school students were asked if they knew anyone at their school who was bullied. They all answered yes, and they knew the student’s name, and who was doing the bullying. This can only lead one to believe that schools are very much aware of the extent of bullying in their schools. All schools have student handbooks that are to be reviewed and read by both parents and students. The following are examples of middle and high school student handbooks, and bullying. 34 Student Handbooks: Whisconier Middle School Brookfield, CT 06804 Grades 5-8 “Bullying of a student by another student is prohibited. “Bullying” means any overt acts by a student of a group of students directed against another student with the intent to ridicule, humiliate or intimidate the other student while on school grounds or at a school- sponsored activity which acts are repeated against the same student over time. Such behavior will result in disciplinary steps as per BOE policy 5131.911.” (WMS Student Handbook 2009-2010) Basically, the Board Of Education has required all Connecticut schools to implement a program that will define bullying, require school staff to investigate, report, and address all instances of bullying through a definitive prevention and intervention program which includes disciplinary action. Some argue that the policy and Connecticut statutes regarding bullying are too vague. For example, there is no mention of bullying via the internet, texting, and any social websites that have become an all too common forum for children and teens. Questions that need to be addressed are: At what point does the cyberbullying interfere with school; and if it happens off school property, what legal obligations does the school have to intervene. In comparing the student handbooks between Whisconier Middle School and Brookfield High School, the policy on bullying was comparatively ‘lean’, not as descriptive. It maybe because most of the children would have been exposed 35 to the policy and rules against bullying in their four years at middle school, where bullying appears to be most prevalent, as compared to high school-aged students. According to Deane Renda, principle of WMS in Brookfield, he says “that bullying is common in all middle schools with 99% of it happening during unstructured times; hallways, bus, cafeteria etc., rarely in front of school staff.” In a most recent incident, a student was verbally bullying another student repeatedly and warranted a two-day suspension. There was a meeting which involved the parents. According to Renda, the middle school addresses the students regarding bullying via discipline assemblies. “This involves the school counselors providing lessons that address bullying, cyberbulling, etc. Our health teachers have lessons on this topic also.” Local Brookfield police officer, Gary Gramling, volunteer Kelly Mullins from the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury speak to students, as well as a Connecticut State Police officer specifically addresses cyberbullying, said Renda. “The biggest problem students deal with is the internet and cyberbullying because (students) say things they wouldn’t in person,” said Renda. Rebeca Delgado, has been a school counselor for 8 years, currently working Brookfield High School, has seen an increase in internet bullying. When bullying occurs in the school it is primarily handled through the assistant principle. According to Delgado, she works with students being victimized 36 Most children admit that there is little to no parental supervision as to what they are doing, or where they are going, on the internet, or with whom they are texting on their cell phones. Technology is advancing our ability to communicate and explore vast opportunities and endless places on the internet: But with that comes the prospect for abuse, deceit and corruption. When a teenager is obtaining a driver’s license to operate a car, they need to be educated on how to operate the vehicle (current technology), learn the rules of the road (laws and rules of acceptable internet use), and be able to interpret the road signs (navigate safely on the Web). Just as an unlicensed teen would not be allowed to drive a car anywhere, with anyone or at anytime; neither should they be allowed to use their computer or cell phone in the same irresponsible manner. Cyberbullying is like a fire that if left unattended will burn wildly out of control. Until there is a way to legally regulate or police the internet it is the ultimate responsibility of parents, schools and adults in our community to educate and supervise our children when it involves the internet. 39 ‘Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin (2010) Percent 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Cyberbullying by Gender N~4000 Random sample of 12-18 year-olds from large school district in the southern U.S. Ihave been cyberbullied (lifetime) Ihavebeen Someoneposted Someoneposted Ihave Ihave Ispreadrumors I posteda cyberbullied meanor hurtful ameanvideo cyberbullied cyberbullied —onlineabout | mean/hurtful (previous 30 comments aboutmeonline others others others picture online days) online (lifetime) (previous 30 days) @ Male (n=2086) G Female (n=1880) Cyberbullying Reseach Center www.cyberbullying.us 40  ‘Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin (2010) Percent 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Cyberbullying Offending N~4000 Random sample of 12-18 year-olds from large school district in the southern U.S. 10.9 Ihave cyberdullied others (lifetime) ereraae 82 63 5.0 oi ae have [posted spread IthreatenedIthreatened pretended Iposted a Iposted a Icreated aOne or more cyberbullied meanor rumors tohurt tohurt © tobe = meanor = meanor meanor ofthe forms, others hurtful about © someone someone someone hurtful hurtful hurtful webtwo or more comments someone whileonline through a elseonline picture videoonlinepage about times about online, cellphone and acted in online of ofsomeone someone someone through text text away that someone online messages, message was mean oremails or hurtful to them La previons30 days i rl Cyberbullying Reseach Center www.cyberbullyingus 41 Works Cited Abbott, Cindy. Personal interview. 16 Apr. 2010. Bazelon, Emily. “How Should Facebook and MySpace Handle Cyberbullying?” Slate. 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