Cyberbullying: Can We Really Make A Difference?
Cyberbullying, and bullying in general, can be overwhelming to talk about and address. This was proven in Faucher, Cassidy, and Jackson’s article that addresses bullying in K-12 schools, higher education, and even in the workplace (2015). No one appears to be safe from bullying, harassment, “mobbing”, and the effects of these behaviors, no matter what stage of life an individual is in. Bullying is only becoming more prevalent with the rise in use of social media, increased access to technological devices, and our dependence on these devices at school, work, and home. Gone are the days in which individuals may have experienced a reprieve from bullying and harassment; access to social media and devices allows perpetrators to bully and intimidate others on any day and at any time.
So, how do we make a difference? How do we stop it? Do we even have the ability to make a difference and stop (cyber)bullying?
I believe we do.
As educators, I believe we are uniquely positioned to have the greatest impact on our students’ awareness of bullying and cyberbullying, as well as the short-term and long-term effects of these behaviors. I also believe that we have a responsibility to educate students about these issues, especially while they are in stages of their lives when they are exploring and developing their “digital footprint.”
According to Common Sense Media’s “Common Sense Census” videos about teens and tweens, teenagers spend an average of 9 hours per day on a device, while tweens spend an average of 6 hours per day on a device. During these hours, teens and tweens have access to a plethora of devices and platforms on which they may bully others or become a victim of bullying. These devices and platforms include, but are not limited to, XBOX consoles, PlayStation consoles, iPads, Chromebooks, Mac Books, Instagram, TikTok, SnapChat, Twitter, Facebook, and email. Thankfully, educating students about digital citizenship and cyberbullying is applicable across all of these forums.
In her “Teacher’s Guide to Digital Citizenship,” Kristen Hicks outlines topics that should be addressed with students when discussing how to be a good digital citizen and avoid bullying online. These topics can be used as a starting point when curating lesson plans and outlining objectives related to digital citizenship. Hicks mentions in her article that online legal restrictions should be discussed with students, but we also need to understand legal consequences for students who participate in bullying another individual online. I would assume that these laws vary by state, and I will definitely be doing more research on that in order to address it with my students. The Cyberbullying Research Center has moving and informative videos about bullying and cyberbullying that can be used to address these issues, and each video has discussion questions to help guide discussion and reflection among students.
I believe that the key to making an impact on students and their understanding of (cyber)bullying is to consistently address the issue. As educators (teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, administrators), we should be having discussions with students about bullying and harassment, modeling and enforcing our expectations, and engaging them in activities such as the Digital Citizenship Project in order to stress the importance of being a good citizen online and in person.
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I think you hit the nail on the head when you stated we need to model and enforce our expectations. As I said in my blog post, we cannot just play a video or check off a box and expect our students to understand cyberbullying, how not to engage in it, and how to report it. We need to give them examples, model what to do, state our expectations, and enforce them. Bullying/Cyberbullying is such a serious matter. We need to make sure our students understand the seriousness of it.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Sulton