Attended a Workshop on Cyberbullying- WOW

[Bearvet]

A high school girl in our area recently committed suicide due to cyberbullying. I work in an elementary school and this is trickling down into 5th and 6th grade, so our school union had a workshop on this yesterday. It turns out MA is one of the last states to enact anti-bullying laws.

The presenter was a female police officer who works in the criminal justice dept with juveniles. She was intimately involved with the case I mentioned above. It is so scary to learn about this, yet all parents really need to be aware of it.

She also focused on a person's digital image - every time you go online, text, IM, post on Facebook and Myspace, etc. that is all archived and can be held against you. I came right home and had my teenagers google their name, usernames, emails adresses, etc. to see what pops up. College admission officers, scholarship committees, intern selection committees and propective employers are doing this and what they find can affect your opportunities. Photos do not go away either.

I have not visited these websites yet, but one she directed us to is www.cyberbullying.us. Parents - please inform yourself about this issue - it's more widespread than you may realize. It really opened my eyes.

I'll get off my soapbox now.....

 

[Michelle2]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

The sad thing is, it is not limited to kids. Many adults engage in it too. There was a really famous case a few years back in which the mother of a girl posed as boy and messed with another teenage girl who daughter did not get along with. Apparently the girl had a known history of depression and at one point the mom (under the guise of a boy) made a comment along the lines of "the world would be better off without you." That girl committed suicide.

I know they charged the mom with something, but I don't remember what the outcome of that case was. That's just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of adults engage in cyber bullying. Look at sites like the people of walmart or people of the park website- that's essentially cyber bullying.