Cyberbullying Research Center

Out of all the discussions we have been having in class I found cyberbullying to be one of the most interesting because of how it relates to so many people I know, including myself. I never really heard the term “cyberbullying” until this class and after reading about it and talking about it in class I decided to look more into the topic. To my surprise, I found an official Cyberbullying Research Center website filled with a variety of information about cyberbullying ranging from how to identify, prevent and respond to cyberbullying, to reports of actual experiences, resources, publications and even a blog! On their home page they state that they are “dedicated to providing up-to-date information about the nature, extent, causes, and consequences of cyberbullying among adolescents.” They define cyberbullying as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices."

This is such a vast problem that it is affecting schools all over the nation and even in other industrialized countries such as the U.K and New Zealand. I read an article that came out today on cyberbullying crackdown in schools across America. They explain that county council officers are working diligently with schools to attack the cyberbullying problem because it can cause devastating effects especially in teenagers. They state that “nationally, an alarming 22% of secondary school pupils say they have suffered cyber bullying. While 33% of 9-19 year-olds using the internet once a week receive unwanted or nasty comments from someone they don't know.” What do you guys think about this? Do you think the amount of cyberbullying in this age group will increase in the next few years? Can schools actually help with this internet problem?

Another interesting article I read was about a radio station in New Zealand reporting that a phone company known as Vodafone is trying to combat the cyberbullying problem too. Vodafone told the radio station that they receive complains of “up to 6, 000 calls about text-bullying every year”! Their technique to get rid of cyberbullying starts with allowing customers to block messages and pictures from up to 20 different numbers for free. Do you think this will work? Should we start using a technique like this in the U.S? What other techniques can you think of that may help control this issue?

If you guys would like to look more into it, the website is http://www.cyberbullying.us/

The articles can be found by scrolling down the page to “latest cyberbullying headlines” or click here http://www.fleetwoodtoday.co.uk/news/cyber_bullying_crackdown_in_schools_1_2737413

And

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/61347/cyber-safety-organisaton-advoctes-text-blocking