Cyberbullying is definitely not a new trend when it comes to our increasing digital age.  I think what struck me first, when doing the readings for this week, was in Jon Ronson’s interview video for “Wrath” on The Seven Digital Sins website when he spoke about how people who engage in cyberbullying feel offended when the person they are degrading actually responds to their post, and the entire idea is, “I have had no voice so I’m using the internet to speak out against you now.  How dare you talk back to me.”  This resonated quite a bit with how it appears in our digital age.  As if there is a freedom that is mandatory in being able to criticize anyone, and those we criticize should never be allowed to respond.

The Faucher et al (2015) article, also illustrated how the bullying progresses from K – 12 to Higher Education until it moves into the workplace.  Yet, I will hazard to say that this type of insidious behavior has been occurring for a very long time.  What is necessary is to demonstrate to our students that we live in a connected world where our behavior is on view for everyone to see.  It is our responsibility to act with respect in every aspect of our lives whether they be in person or online because what we do matters.

I had a colleague who would conduct a Social Media seminar for high school seniors, and would talk them through what happens when they make certain posts online.  Colleges and universities will look at a student’s online presence, and that can weigh in on whether or not that student is accepted into that school, for certain scholarships, and sororities/ fraternities.  How we present ourselves matters.

I think having our students participate in a program like the, Digital Citizenship Project (Orech, 2012) would be a boon because it illustrates to our students how everyone can be connected in our digital age.  I especially like the example of the high school mentor, Matt, when speaking to Alex and Kathy about the situation and their responses.  It’s funny to see how we can be justified in our anger at injustices (Kathy’s response to Alex’s story of cyberbullying), but also still be part of the problem of instigating negative behavior.  I think Matt did a good job of pointing that out to both students, and it’s not often we point out how those reactions we have to the bully and bullying can be just as harmful as the original incident.

I think our key response to teaching about bullying and cyberbullying is to offer the resources available from sites like Shippenburg Univeristy Ezra Lehman Memorial Library Special Topics on Bullying and Cyberbullying , and work on building up safe space networks  and programs in our building like the CDC mentions on their website about Bullying research.  This ties in to having our libraries be safe spaces for our students:  both the bully and the bullied so that our spaces can be neutral territory where perhaps constructive conversations can begin.  This is also how the Social Empathy curriculum can help gain traction and shift the narrative.  Common Sense Media has a great area with a wide-range of lessons on Digital Citizenship that would provide great resources for us to utilize in our classrooms, and help engage with our teachers and students during professional development days or collaborative learning environment times.

Sources

Bradshaw CP. Translating research to practice in bullying prevention. American Psychologist. 2015; 70(4): 322-32.

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), 111-125.

Gladden RM, Vivolo-Kantor AM, Hamburger ME, Lumpkin CD. Bullying Surveillance Among Youths: Uniform Definitions for Public Health and Recommended Data Elements, Version 1.0. Atlanta, GA; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of Education; 2013.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2016. Available from http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BCYF/Science_on_Bullying/index.htm.

Orech, J. (2012). How it’s done: Incorporating digital citizenship into your everyday curriculum. Tech & Learning, 33(1), 16-18.

Weinstein, Emily C.; Selman, Robert L.; Thomas, Sara; Kim, Jung-Eun; White, Allison E.; Dinakar, Karthik. “How to Cope With Digital Stress: The Recommendations Adolescents Offer Their Peers Online.” Journal of Adolescent Research June 18, 2015. doi: 10.1177/0743558415587326.