Cyber Bullying Podcast Script

Cyber Bullying Podcast Script By Karen Grann

When "Chad," a 7th grader, found out his old girlfriend was dissing his new flame, he wasted no time. Chad headed straight for the computer, and sent Instant Messages threatening to kill his old girlfriend to an extensive buddy list.

Several "buddies" freaked and told their parents, who called the school, which contacted the police. Ultimately, Chad was banished to another middle school and went to juvenile court, where a judge sentenced him to 25 hours of community service. Unfortunately, about the only unusual thing about this story is that Chad got caught and was held legally responsible.

Bullies used to be big kids who picked on smaller ones. But instant messages, cell phones and the Internet have changed that. Today, young people are using technology against each other: It’s called cyberbullying, and it can be as frightening as face-to-face aggression. While most parents worry that their child will fall victim to a sexual predator online, cyberbullying often slips under the radar. I-Safe America, an organization promoting Web safety, surveyed 1500 students in 4th through 8th grade, and found that 42 percent have been bullied online. And 53 percent admitted to saying something mean or hurtful to someone else online.

As the number of households with Internet access approaches saturation and cell phone ownership expands to the 100 million mark, so do the ways kids bully each other. Cyber-bullying in the form of text messages, emails, photos, website postings can go school- wide in minutes and global in days. Slanderous information sent out into cyberspace is difficult, if not impossible, to expunge. Cyber-bullying often takes the form of cyber gossip, where damaging content is based on whim; not facts, and is posted on social networking sites such as MySpace and FaceBook.

Approximately half of U.S. students are impacted by traditional bullying each school day. It happens on buses, in the cafeteria, gym, hallways, playground, and in classrooms. The most frequent form bullying takes is words (teasing, taunting, ridiculing, name-calling, and gossip - not blows). This type of bullying happens in the “physical” world and that world has time and space limits. Cyber-bullying is making school days even more painful for many children and some school staff. Bullying in cyberspace is not bound by school hours, school days, or facing the intended bully victim.

Currently, the most common virtual locations for cyberbullying are chat rooms, social networking web sites, email and instant message systems. Of the technologies above, chat rooms are currently where the most cyber bullying occurs, with various sources finding anywhere between 45% - 57% of all incidents originating there. Social networking sites such as Face book and MySpace are growing fast, and so are the cyber bullying incidents originating from them. Experts believe that they will soon overtake chat rooms as the top source of cyber bullying problems worldwide.

According to a recent study, 58% of 4th through 8th graders reported having mean or cruel things said to them online. 53% said that they have said mean or hurtful things to others while online. 42% of those studied said that they had been “bullied online”, but almost 60% have never told their parents about the incident.

Cell phone cameras and digital cameras are a growing problem in the cyber bullying world. A recent survey found that 10% of 770 young people surveyed were made to feel “threatened, embarrassed or uncomfortable” by a photo taken of them using a cell-phone camera.

According to extensive research on middle school age students and teenagers online, the fastest growing problems within the world of cyber bullying are:

 Stealing an individual’s name and password to a social networking site, then using their profile to post rumors, gossip or other damaging information.  Altering photographs using Photoshop or other photo editing software in order to humiliate the individual.  Recording conversations without the individual’s knowledge or consent, then posting the call online.  Creating confrontational and mean-spirited online polls about the individual and posting them on different web sites.  Using web sites and blogs to post hurtful, embarrassing information about another individual.

What makes cyber bullying so easy—and tempting—is the mask of anonymity the Web provides, along with a potentially huge audience. Because children can be anonymous, there’s no fear of detection. Even if you identify yourself, you don’t see people’s reactions and realize you have gone too far.

Principals, teachers and other school officials are well aware of the ongoing of cyber bullying and traditional bullying on the playground. Some ways that schools can help to eliminate cyber bullying are: 1. Encourage your school district to develop a clear, comprehensive policy on acceptable computer use, both on and off school property. The policy should spell out what constitutes cyber bullying, and list consequences. 2. Establish a relationship with the local police department, perhaps inviting "cyber cops" to your school to speak to parents and kids on proper Internet use. 3. Build a school team for cyber bullying prevention. 4. Make sure ethics is included in any computer instruction given at your school. 5. Work hand in hand with parents. Let them know what your district’s "acceptable use" policy is and highlight changes from year to year. 6. Train all school officials: Not only teachers, but also sport coaches, after school supervisors and even bus drivers should be aware of bullying or listen out for cyber bullying events.

The difficulty that schools have in responding to cyber bullying is that much of this activity is occurring outside school. What's necessary is a comprehensive school- led/community based approach. Bullying is nothing new to school or youth culture. Cyberbullying is a growing problem in the United States and throughout the world. It needs to stop!

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