Bullies on a Virtual Playground – Sticks and Stones No Longer Needed
March 25, 2010 by
Filed under Bullying, In the News, Just for Moms, New, Tween Parenting Advice
Hi Moms – have you been hearing more about cyberbullying – are you wondering just what it is and how you can protect your kids from it? Well GirlMogulMom.com has enlisted parenting expert Joe Bruzzese, M.A., author of the essential guide A Parent’s Guide to the Middle School Years to decode this troubling practice for us. Check out the first in our series on cyberbullying by Joe.
Cyberbullying – School Yard Taunts go Virtual – Part I -
Cyberbullying - the Newest Online Threat
Imagine arriving home to find your child beaten at the hands of a school yard bully. Cuts and bruises highlight the physical abuse inflicted just beyond the watchful eyes of school officials. Long before the bruises appeared, your child suffered a far more destructive form of abuse. Text messages, YouTube videos and a foray of abusive posts on MySpace broke your child’s confidence long before the bully’s sticks and stones ever did.
Once viewed as harmless teasing, cyberbullying (bullying through the use of electronic devices) now accounts for the majority of abusive behavior among teens. Taunts and threats formerly confined to written notes and conversations in the halls now flows freely from one cell phone to the next before finding their way online and into a chatroom or onto a MySpace page. Nationwide, two-thirds of teens have had “mean, threatening or embarrassing things said about them online,” according to a survey commissioned by Fight Crime; Invest in Kids, a national nonprofit organization of law enforcement, The survey results revealed another, equally startling finding. The majority of cyberbullying cases are never reported. When asked about their reluctance to report bullying, teens shared their fear of losing internet access or their cell phones as a possible consequence if their parents became aware of the abuse.
Joe Bruzzese - Middle School Parent Coach
Joe Bruzzese, MA, is a nationally recognized parent education speaker, university professor and author of A Parents’ Guide to the Middle School Years. Visit www.ThinkingForwardTV.com, to purchase the book, DVDS and to schedule parent education presentations at your school site.
