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Cyber Bullying: US vs. UK        If you would not say it to someone’s face, why say it online? Targeting someone through interactive

technologies such as the Internet, e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, interactive games, etc., is

considered cyber bullying. This type of bullying is often thought to be more dangerous than traditional

bullying because cyber bullying allows the bully to remain anonymous if he or she so chooses. Although it

does not usually pose physical harm, the emotional and psychological damages can cut pretty deep (Hinduja).

In both the U.S. and the UK, at least one third of teens between the ages of 12 and 15 have faced

some kind of cyber bullying at least once. Each year in the UK, between10-14 suicides in youth are directly

caused by bullying. Bullied children are six times more likely to consider suicide than those who are not

bullied. About 1 in 12, or about 9% of, children in the UK are bullied so badly that it negatively affects

their education, relationships, and even their likelihood of getting a job later in life. The majority of

bullies are known to the child. In the US, over 40% of children who are bullied do not tell anyone about

it. If not dealt with, cyber bullying can result in violence, suicide, and severe emotional and/or

psychological effects (Hinduja, CRIN).

Because kids do spent a lot of time online these days, a school district in Florida has recently

added cyber bullying to their code of conduct, which means that any child caught bullying online during

school hours will be punished. The school district realizes that they cannot keep the bullying from

happening in the home, but want to keep it out of the schools and are inclined to notify the child’s parents

if it occurs in school. As far as the UK, London police have begun visiting schools to teach children, as

well as their parents, about the dangers that exist in cyberspace (McFadden).

The School Board in a Florida school district has recently added cyber bullying to the school’s code

of conduct. This means that a student will receive punishment if he or she participates in cyber bullying

during school hours. Even if the school cannot control what happens outside of school and in the home, they

can wipe out cyber bullying from inside the school (Diaz). This type of intervention is starting to sweep

across the country into numerous school districts.

The United Kingdom’s schools are also taking action against students who are bullying other children

and teachers via internet or mobile phones. According to a government study, over one third of teenagers,

ages 12-15, admit that they have been cyber bullied at least once. The incidence of cyber bullying has risen

along with technological advances and society revolutions. Bullying is not just in the playgrounds anymore

and schools need to become more familiar with this new kind of bullying. Cyber bullying occurs in the form

of threats, intimidation, harassment, impersonation, and/or unauthorized publication of private information

or images. This kind of bullying is often against homosexuals, and action against this particular type of

bullying has also been taken. School authorities are to view “homophobic insults as seriously as racism”.

Ed Balls, a school secretary in London commented, “The vast majority of schools are safe environments

to learn in. However, we know that behavior, particularly bullying, is a key concern for parents and

bullying of any kind is unacceptable. Cyber bullying is a particularly insidious type of bullying as it can

follow young people wherever they go and the anonymity that it seemingly affords to the perpetrator can make

it even more stressful for the victim. One message that I want to get across to young people is that

bystanders can inadvertently become perpetrators – simply by passing on videos or images, they are playing a

part in bullying” (CRIN).

Cooperation from teachers and other groups within the community have really helped the school

districts to use an advanced approach for dealing with cyber bullying. Such an advanced approach is needed

because unlike regular bullying, cyber bullying attacks children at home and in their own person space. The

new dealings were created in collaboration with anti-bullying experts, mobile phones companies and websites

including Bebo, MySpace and YouTube. Parents, teachers, and other authorities have been trained to remove

malicious material from websites and definitely reserve the right to confiscate mobile phones and/or other

pieces of technology being used for bullying (CRIN).

Teaching unions say children are not the only victims of cyber bullying and that school staff are

increasingly falling victim to it. The general of NASUWT teachers’ union in the United Kingdom, Chris

Keates, stated that teachers are pleased that ministers have acknowledged the problem, as well. “Mobile

phones capture videos and pictures of teachers at work,” she said. “The often distorted images are

transferred to the phones of other pupils within the class, across the school, or uploaded onto the

internet. E-mails are used to abuse, harass, and insult. “Misuse of internet sites can destroy teachers’

confidence and professional reputation and provide yet another vehicle for false allegations against staff”

(CRIN).

The teaching union would also like to see mobile phones banned during the school day because they are

considered as potential weapons. General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), Mick

Brookes, said that in general, bullying is a negative factor in all societies and that it needs to be taken

care of. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He recommends that student council and other student

organizations take a stand; they can spread the word more effectively because they are more closely connected

to the lives of their peers” (CRIN).

The need for action against homophobic bullying is also a concern because

70% of teachers have heard their students using homophobic language while bullying other

students. Anti-gay bullying does occur in the United States, but proves to be more prevalent in

the UK (CRIN).

New software for the computers is currently being used in London schools in order to

bring down cyber bullying. All internet activity, including e-mail, and instant messaging is being

monitored and any inappropriate activity that is found becomes stored inside the program to be

reviewed (CRIN).

Some tips to avoid cyber bullying include ignoring malicious texts or emails, saving evidence,

reporting it, keeping passwords safe, and not giving out personal information online. This includes being

very careful about what you put in your Facebook or MySpace profiles. Even setting your profiles to private

so that only friends can see, might not be enough because remember that the majority of bullies are known to

the victim, so it’s definitely possible to be bullied by someone you think is your friend. Also we all need

to be careful not to say anything to someone online or through a text message that we wouldn’t say to their

face. Like mentioned earlier, it’s a lot easier to be spiteful to someone while using an interactive

technology even if you wouldn’t normally confront the person face to face (CRIN).

We all use interactive technologies and even though teenagers seem to be the most popular target for

cyber bullying, we could all be affected. Let’s use interactive technology the right way and avoid harm to

ourselves and to others. Works Cited

CRIN: Child Rights Information Network. 2005. BBC. 24 Sept. 2007.

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Diaz, Aixa. “Schools Take Steps To Curb Cyberstalking.” WESH.COM. 2008.

. Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. Cyberbullying.us. 2008. 1 May 2008.

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McFadden, Tina. New Media Journalism. 2006-2007.

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