Anti-Bullying Centre

Research & Resource Unit

School of Education

Trinity College,

Dublin

M.O’Moore & L.McGuire

Cyber-Bullying

CONTENTS

WHAT IS CYBER-BULLYING? 1 CYBER-BULLYING Vs. TRADITIONAL BULLYING 1 - 2 TYPES OF CYBER-BULLYING 3 - 4 WHO CYBER-BULLIES? 4 - 5 EFFECTS OF CYBER-BULLYING 5 SIGNS OF CYBER-BULLYING 6 TOP TIPS TO PREVENT CYBER-BULLYING 6 - 8 ADVICE FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE 9 - 10 SCHOOLS & CYBER-BULLYING 10 WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO ABOUT CYBER-BULLYING 11 - 12 LEGISLATION PERTAINING TO CYBER-BULLYING 12 A.B.C - IT’S HISTORY & AIMS 13 A.B.C - SERVICES PROVIDED 14 THE A.B.C. TEAM 15 USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ON CYBER-BULLYING 16 USEFUL MOBILE PHONE INFORMATION 17 PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCES 18 - 19

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What is Cyber-Bullying?

Cyber-bullying occurs when a person or group makes use of electronic communication devices, commonly mobile phones or the internet, to deliberately harass, intimidate or humiliate another individual. Cyber-bullying can consist of threats, insults, embarrassing or humiliat-ing messages, pictures or video clips, defamation or impersonation. Insults can be prejudice-based, expressing racist, sexist or homophobic sentiments. In Ireland almost one in five children and teenagers are involved in cyber-bullying either as victims, bullies or both. Over 57% of incidents originate from the use of mobile phones, with text-messaging being the most common form of cyber-bullying both in and out of school.

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Differences between cyber-bullying &

Traditional bullying

Cyber-bullying is distinct form of bullying; however, it is just as damaging as traditional bullying. Unlike traditional forms it can involve a once-off event. This is because a single malicious posting of a comment or image online can be seen by multiple viewers instantly so the victim’s experi-ence of being bullied is repetitive. Even if this comment or image is removed it may still have been viewed by literally thousands of viewers leading to even greater embarrassment for the victim.

The cyber-bully has the capacity to reach their victim at anytime and anywhere so there is no safe haven, meaning the bullying can be relentless. The fact that the internet has a much wider audience only adds to the victim’s feelings of humiliation and despair.

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Cyber-space is virtually free from adult supervision, which means that they often have no idea that their child is being cyber-bullied, this is compounded by the fact that children and young people’s knowledge of technology is often far more advanced than that of their parents or teachers. Recent research has shown, like traditional bullying, victims of cyber-bullying do not tell an adult; instead, they are far more likely to send an angry message back or talk to a friend about it. Another facet of cyber-bullying is that it is anonymous. Sometimes the victim does not know who their bully is; online a bully can assume a fake identity, make abusive, nasty comments and never have to fear being held accountable. This causes even greater anxiety, insecurity and mistrust for the victim who wonders who is responsible for the bullying. The bully may not even live on the same continent as the individual being bullied, such are the advances in technology. Recent research also suggests that girls are over-represented in certain types of cyber-bullying, such as abusive texts, calls from mobile phones, nasty things posted about someone online and nasty, aggressive emails. Parents and teachers of girls need to be particularly vigilant about involvement in these kind of behaviours.

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Types of cyber-bullying

Text Message Bullying .. also known as SMS bullying, is the most common form of cyber-bullying. Studies have shown that text-message bullying is the type of cyber-bullying that is most frequently experienced. Text-message bullying may be considered to be as potentially psychologically danger-ous as any other form of bullying. These text messages can be abusive and threatening in nature. Phone call bullying via mobile phones .. is when individuals make threatening or abusive phone calls to other individuals for the purpose of bullying. Mobile phones can also be used to make silent phone-calls in order to intimidate the recipient. This can involve the theft and use of another’s phone in an attempt to make him or her appear culpable. Bullying by photographs or video clips via mobile phone cameras .. which involves either the taking, sending, or publication of photo-graphs or video clips via mobile phone cameras. One form of this is ‘happy slapping’ attacks, in which individuals may film themselves at-tacking others such as random people, or targeted individuals. These photographs or video-clips may be posted on websites such as YouTube or Facebook and cause great embarrassment and humiliation to the individual being bullied. Email bullying .. involves the sending of abusive emails and is another common form of cyber-bullying inside and outside of schools. Chat-room bullying .. includes sending and receiving threatening, or abusive messages in chat rooms and is a common form of cyber-bullying because the bullies may be able to remain anonymous. It also allows for the bullying to be witnessed by other individuals in the chat room.

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Trolling .. an internet troll is someone who posts inflammatory comments on internet sites sometimes with the intention of inciting others to abuse. Internet trolls are either looking for a target to be emotionally affected by their comments or attempting to stir others into a verbal firestorm. They usually remain anonymous. Bullying via websites .. this may include the use of defamatory blogs, personal websites, on-line personal polling sites, general polling sites and also the misuse of certain social networking sites, such as Facebook and YouTube, for the purposes of bullying. Website bullying may have the same impact as traditional bullying, and because of the more frequent use of social networking sites by teenagers, there is greater potential for increasing cyber-abuse.

WHO CYBER-BULLIES?

Power Hungry Bully (Proactive) .. is often someone who has little power or voice in real life. Bullies want to show their authority over others and show that they are powerful enough to control others, but since they do not have power in real life they hide behind the anonymity of the internet in order to exert their power over others. This type of bullying is usually done a one-on-one basis. Friends and family of this type of bully are typically not aware that they are bullying others.

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Vengeful (Reactive) .. this type of cyber-bully does not believe him/herself to be a bully. He/she believes the victim is at fault and that he/she is doing the right thing and protecting themselves or others. This is common when a victim of bullying becomes the bully themselves in retaliation to their experi-ence of being bullied.

‘Mean Girls’ (Proactive) .. usually occurs when the bully is bored or looking for entertainment. In this case, the bully is usually a female and it is usually done in groups. This kind of cyber-bullying typically involves an audience. The bully wants others to know they have the power to bully others and want themselves to be known.

‘Inadvertent’ Cyber-bully (Reactive) .. this type of cyber-bully does not believe themselves to be a bully at all. They usually do not act intentionally, but rather without thinking of the consequences of their actions. They typically act in response to some-thing that they have seen or heard that hurt or bothered them. They may have even been bullied themselves. These types of bullies common-ly do not understand the seriousness of their actions.

THE EFFECTS OF CYBER-BULLYING?

Some of the effects of cyber-bullying include: Stress Anxiety Anger Sleep problems Becoming withdrawn Anger Depression Thoughts of suicide Aggressive behaviour Loss of confidence & self-esteem Loss of a sense of security Lack of motivation & energy Alcohol, drug or substance abuse

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SIGNS OF CYBER-BULLYING

Some of the signs that a child is being cyber bullied include: Signs of emotional distress during or after using the internet Unexpectedly stops using the computer Withdrawal from friends and activities Avoidance of school or group gatherings Slipping grades and acting out in anger at home Changes in mood or behaviour Changes in sleep or appetite Lower confidence and self-esteem Visible signs of anxiety but refusal to say what is wrong Becoming isolated

TEN TOP TIPS TO DEAL WITH CYBER-BULLYING By Prof. Mona O’Moore in Association with Carphone Warehouse

1. Inform yourself about mobile phone and internet use and safety. Carefully read your child’s mobile phone manual and take note of how to contact the phone’s service provider should it be necessary to make a complaint.

2. Make sure your child or teen understands the importance of inter-net and mobile safety. Do not take it for granted that your child or teen knows how to avoid the pitfalls of electronic communication. Warn them of the pitfalls of putting photos of themselves on the internet or to indiscriminately share their name, address, phone number or other personal information online. Ask them are they happy to put the same information in a shop window as they pass around amongst their friends.

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3. Inform yourself about blocking devices which will help to block un-wanted and abusive calls. The vMad Bully Stop application allows your child and teenager to control who calls or sends them texts. It also ena-bles you and your child to view the content of any blocked text. 4. Encourage open and non-judgemental communication with your child or teenager. Talk to your child about their online friends and activ-ities in the same way you would their traditional friendships and activi-ties. Ask if they have seen abusive or hurtful texts or postings. Ask them what they would do if they did. If there is anything you do not under-stand about their mobile phone or internet activities ask them to show you. 5. Key advice for your child or teenager if targeted.

Do not feel ashamed. The shame lies with the bully. Do not reply to abusive or hurtful messages. Save the message. Report the threatening or offensive behaviour to a parent or

teacher and/or contact the service provider (through its Customer Care or Report Abuse facility). If the cyber-bullying is very threatening and serious contact your local Gardai. Block the sender.

6. Share evidence of cyber-bullying with the school. Most often the children who cyber-bully also engage in traditional face-to-face bullying so its important the school gets to know about it so that they can appre-hend the bullies. With cyber-bullying you will have the advantage of being able to show copies of the offensive messages, pictures or video clips used to humiliate or embarrass your child or teen. 7. Make sure your child or teenager understands that you disapprove of cyber-bullying. It is important that children and teens learn to respect each other and therefore they should be told to avoid engaging in cyber-bullying for whatever reason that might tempt them to be abusive and hurtful to others. Should you as a parent be informed of their inappropriate behaviour, impress upon them that one should not

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do onto others what one would not like done to oneself. It is vital also that you try to find the reason for their cyber-bullying behaviour. In that way you can help them overcome it. 8. Administer consequences for breaking the rules of cyber-safety. If necessary apply ‘the yellow card, red card’ philosophy and as a correc-tive measure reduce their allowance for mobile phone credit or the time spent on the computer. 9. Have your child or teen understand that cyber-bullying can lead to a criminal offence. Any text message or internet communication that is grossly threatening, offensive or harasses another person could be inves-tigated by the Gardai and result in prosecution. 10. Keep up to-date with the advances in electronic communication. Do not be afraid to show your ignorance. Remember we are all ignorant about certain things. Listen and learn from your child or teenager and together you can log onto websites to learn about the positive uses of electronic communication as well as the most effective strategies to prevent and tackle bullying and cyber-bullying.

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Advice for children & young people on how to handle cyber-bullying

and be cyber-safe

If you are being cyber-bullied, it is important to remember the following:

Do not ignore the bullying, tell someone you trust. Remember it’s not about you. Often people who bully others do so to make themselves feel better because they are unhappy. Do not blame yourself, it is not your fault. Do not delete the offensive text, email, phone-call, video-clip or image, this should instead be kept as evidence. Do not respond to unwanted texts, instead turn off your phone for a few days or change your number. If you are receiving unwanted calls, do not hang up straight away as this may feed the callers wish to scare you, instead walk away and hang up a few minutes later. Think about purchasing an application which would allow you to control who calls or sends you texts, such as vMad Bully Stop from Carphone Warehouse.

Some tips on staying cyber-safe: Facebook

Do not accept ‘friend invites’ from people you do not know; exercise the same caution you would with a stranger you meet on the street. Make sure your privacy settings are so that only your friends can view your personal information and photos. If your profile is set to ‘public’ anybody can view your photos and anything you or your friends write online.

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Be sensible about what personal information you include in your profile. Keep it general and exercise great caution in listing details of your home address, mobile number, email address, the school or sports club you attend. Do not assume just because your profile is ‘private’ that your conver-sations are too. If someone hacks into your friends profile, then they will also be able to view all your information. Make it a rule of thumb not to divulge anything online that you would not be happy to say out loud in a crowded room.

General cyber-safety

Do not respond to ‘flames’ (unwanted emails) or open files from people you don’t know If you are using Instant Messaging, chat rooms or other social net-working sites, remember to never give out personal information or photos; instead use a nickname. Be cyber-savvy and bear in mind that the person you are com-municating with may not be who they say they are.

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Schools & Cyber-bullying

In Cyber-bullying cases, as in Traditional bullying cases, the School re-mains under the law ‘In Loco Parentis’, and carries with it the duty of Care that that implies. It therefore has a responsibility to both prevent and deal with any forms of cyber-bullying that occur during school hours and on school property. While a school may deal with incidents outside of the school and which occur outside school hours, and are permitted to do so, they are not legally obliged to do so. It is however, strongly recommended by ex-perts worldwide that all schools embrace the opportunity to deal with any and all cyber-bullying that pupils become involved in, whether on or off campus, due to the impact that such behaviour can have on the targeted pupils private and, ultimately, school life.

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What Schools can Do about bullying

Develop a Whole School Approach to bullying which incorporates cyber-bullying. School bullying is a complex problem and so a multi-level re-sponse is required. Every student, parents, school staff and community should be involved in the fight against bullying. Put in place peer sup-port measures such as peer-mediation/cyber-mentoring or traditional mentoring programmes. Develop an Acceptable Use Policy for your school, this policy would ad-dress all rights, privileges, responsibilities and sanctions associated with Internet usage in your school. This policy needs to be drawn up and implemented in consultation with the school staff, students, parents and Board of Management. Raise Awareness in your school about bullying and cyber-bullying:

Educate children and young people about the prevention and consequences of cyber-bullying. It is important for children and young people to learn how to not inadvertently become involved in cyber-bullying. Teach them there are consequences to all actions and if they write something in the heat of the moment, it stays in cyber-space forever. Advise them to think twice before sending on a hurtful email or mobile phone image. Teach children and young people about acting responsibly online. Teach them they are not only responsible for their own actions but they also have a responsibility to speak up if they see someone else being bullied, if they don’t they are tolerating the bullying behaviour. Teaching children and young people the impact of bullying and cyber-bullying on the individual will help them understand the hurt and pain bullying causes. Be creative with your students and come up with a way to report incidents of cyber-bullying anonymously. School staff and community groups can then receive these anonymous tips and take action quickly and decidedly to address the issue.

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Awareness raising for school staff All school teaching and non-teaching staff should be familiar with their roles and responsibilities in putting an anti-bullying policy in place. They should know what action to take if a student is being cyber-bullied and be able to teach students cyber-safety and online etiquette. Run a bullying awareness week for your students which incorpo-rates cyber-bullying. Actively involve the local community, Gardai and other support agencies in the fight against bullying and cyber-bullying. Involving the wider community means they will be more inclined to act if they witness or hear of any bullying incidents.

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Legislation pertaining to cyber-bullying

There is not, as yet, any laws pertaining directly to cyber-bullying. However, the following pieces of legislation can be applicable in many cases:

The making of nuisance and malicious calls is a criminal offense

under Section 13 (1) of The Post Office Amendment) Act 1951

Under The Criminal Damage Act 1991, it is an offense to damage

property (Section 2) make threats to damage property (Section 3),

and to gain unauthorised access of data (Section 5).

The Non-Fatal Offenses Against the Person Act 1997, Section 10,

deals with harassment: when a person’s acts intentionally or reck-

lessly, seriously interferes with the other's peace and privacy or caus-

es alarm, distress or harm to the other’

(Murray Smith, BL, 2011)

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A.B.C

It’s History & It’s Aims

The Anti-Bullying Research & Resource Centre was set up by Dr. Mona O’Moore in the Education Department of Trinity College Dublin and was opened officially in January, 1996. The Centre opened on the heels of work done by Dr. O’Moore and her team on the Nationwide Survey of Bullying at School in Ireland.

The Anti-Bullying Centre was set up initially as an independent research body targeting the area of bullying, a course it continues to follow. The Re-source side of our work, including our counselling and “victim support” as-pects, evolved as a result of our research.

As researchers began to contact the centre about our work, a resource library was set up to aid them in their work. Word of our Centre spread, and the support line evolved, due to the demand of school, organisations and individuals searching for information and options in regard to bullying. These organisations and individuals contacted us because they had a prob-lem and, quite simply, had nowhere else to go.

In endeavouring to assist them, and though we remain unfunded in our work, we have built together a team of highly trained individuals to help us with this work. Our aims in regard to school bullying remain:

To conduct research into the multi-level and multi-factorial nature of bullying behaviour The creation of greater awareness and understanding of bullying behaviour The promotion of ways and means by which bullying behaviour may be prevented or reduced The provision of advice, guidance, counselling and resource materials for researchers parents, schools and organisations seeking to counter bullying behaviour

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Our aims in regard to school bullying remain:

To conduct research into the multi-level and multi-factorial nature of bullying behaviour The creation of greater awareness and understanding of bullying behaviour The promotion of ways and means by which bullying behaviour may be prevented or reduced

The provision of advice, guidance, counselling and resource materials for researchers parents, schools and organisations seeking to counter bully-ing behaviour.

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A.B.C

Services Provided

A resource reference library

Advice & guidance, by phone or in person for

-Researchers

- Parents

-Teachers

-Schools

-Organisations

Research advice and survey assistance for individuals, schools, and

organisations examining the extent and nature of bullying.

Counselling services for both the victim and the bully.

In service and staff development days for schools and organisations

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The A.B.C Team

Administration & Research:

Lian McGuire, B.A, Dip.Med.; M.Ed. (Aggression Studies)

Murray Smith, M.A., B.L.

Claire Healy B.A. M.Ed. (Aggression Studies)

Psychologists/Counsellors:

Garret O'Moore, M.Sc. (Occupational Health Psychologist)

Anne Frey, M.I.A.C.P. , M.A. (Supervision)

Workshop Co-ordinators:

Garret O’Moore M.Sc. (Occupational Health Psychologist)

Ann Frey, M.I.A.C.P. , M.A. (Supervision)

Occupational/Art Therapist:

Marja Wilmer, S.R.O.T., A.T. Dip.

Mona O’Moore, Ph.D., F.T.C.D Founder & Co-Ordinator

Prof. Mona O’Moore is the Founder and Director of the Anti-Bullying Research Centre in the School of Education in Trinity College Dublin, the first of its kind in Ireland. She is Professor of Education and a graduate and fellow of Trinity College, with a MA in Child and Educational Psychology from the University of Nottingham and a PhD in Psychology from the Uni-versity of Edinburgh. Prof. O’Moore also served as Head of the School of Education in Trinity College. She has written widely on the subject of bully-ing, including Understanding School Bullying : A Guide for Parents & Teachers (Veritas, 2010) Dealing with Bullying in Schools: A Training Manual for Teachers, Parents and Other Professionals (Sage Publications Ltd, 2004) and Inclusion or Illusion?: Educational Provision for Primary School Children

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Useful website addresses

Websites for parents & schools: www.webwise.ie www.cyberangels.org www.abc.tcd.ie www.thinkuknow.co.uk www.childnet-int.org www.netfamilynews.org www.safekids.com http://cyberbullying.us www.eukidsonline.net

Advice & support for schools: www.ncte.ie www.scoilnet.ie

Websites for children & young people: www.chatdanger.com www.yahooligans.com www.childnet-int.org www.reachout.com www.spunout.ie

Information on cyber-bullying: www.stopcyberbullying.org www.netbullies.org Advice on social networking: www.watchyourspace.ie www.blogsafety.com http://www.ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/safetytips/ index_en.htm

IT & Internet advice: www.iab.ie www.makeitsecure.ie www.netsecure.ie Internet safety:

www.hotline.ie www.internetsafety.ie Child safety websites: www.barnardos.ie www.childline.ie www.kidscape.org

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Useful mobile phone information

Carphone Warehouse http://www.carphonewarehouse.ie/content/THE-CARPHONE-WAREHOUSE-LAUNCHES-10-POINT-CAMPAIGN-TO-HIGHLIGHT-CYBERBULLYING-/611 10 Point Campaign to highlight cyber-bullying Meteor http://www.meteor.ie/do_more/number_blocker/tsandcs/ Meteor's Anti-bullying Service ("the Service"). Number Blocker 02 http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/About+O2/Child+Protection/Prevent+bullying How you can block bullying messages on your mobile phone. What to do if your child is affected by bullying. Advice for children worried about text bullying. Advice for children worried about abusive phone calls. Vodafone http://www.vodafone.ie/aboutus/code/carepolicies/bullying/ What are malicious communications? What can Vodafone do? Useful advice & Tips 3 http://www.three.ie/about3/corporate_responsibility/bullying_and_malicious_communications.htm What you should do; 3 KidsSafe Application

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Publications & resources

Books: Understanding School Bullying: A Guide for Parents & Teachers, O'Moore,

M., 1st, Dublin, Veritas, 2010

Cyber-bullying: The Irish Experience in, editor(s)Columbus, A.M. , Advances in Psychology Research, Volume 71, Hauppauge, NY , Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2010, *O’ Moore, A.M. & Minton, S.J.+ Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress by Nancy E. Willard and Karen Steiner Teen Cyberbullying Investigated: Where Do Your Rights End and Conse-quences Begin by Thomas A. Jacobs Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyber-bullying by Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin Cyberbullying: Activities to Help Children and Teens to Stay Safe in a Tex-ting, Twittering, Social Networking World (Scm Theological Commentary on) by Vanessa Rogers Confronting Cyber-Bullying: What Schools Need to Know to Control Mis-conduct and Avoid Legal Consequences by Shaheen Shariff Cyberbullying: What Counselors Need to Know by Sheri Bauman Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age by Robin M. Kowalski PhD, Su-san P. Limber PhD and Patricia W. Agatston PhD Cyberbullying: Deal with it and Ctrl Alt Delete it (Deal With It series) by Robyn MacEachern and Geraldine Charette Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn To Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly by Nancy E. Willard

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Cyber-Bullying: Issues and Solutions for the School, the Classroom and the Home by Shaheen Shariff Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies by Samuel C. McQuade III, James P. Colt and Nancy Meyer Responding to Cyber Bullying: An Action Tool for School Leaders by Jill J. (Joline) Myers, Professor Donna S. (Sue) McCaw and Leaunda S. Hemphill Cyberstalking and Cyberbullying (Cybersafety) by Samuel Mcquade and Marcus K., Ph.d. Rogers

Cyberbullying Prevention and Response: Expert Perspectives by Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Mean Behind the Screen: What You Need to Know About Cyberbullying (What's the Issue?) by Toney Allman 99 Things Parents Wish They Knew Before Cyberbullying Victimized Their Children by Alexis A. Moore, Jody Ortiz and Ginger Marks

(The above books are all available on Amazon)

Articles: Li, Q. (2006). Cyberbullying in schools: A research of gender differences. School Psychology International, 27, 157-170. Minton, S. J. (2008). Cyber-bullying amongst young people in Ireland – what we can and should know and do. Child links, 2008 – Issue 1. Smith, P. K., Mahdavi, J., Carvalho, M., & Tippett, N. (2006). An investigation into cyberbullying, its forms, awareness and impact, and the relationship between age and gender in cyberbullying. Walsh, G. (2008). Internet safety and life skills. Child Links, 2008 – Issue1

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Anti-Bullying Centre

Research & Resource Unit

School of Education

Trinity College,

Dublin