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Cyberbullying Cyberbullying or online bullying is repeated, unwanted or cruel behavior against someone through computers, cell phones, gaming consoles, or other Internet-based means. The Internet is always “on,” opening the door for 24-hour harassment. Cyberbullies can be anonymous. They never have to confront their victims, they don’t have to be physically stronger and cyberbullies may be virtually invisible to parents and adults.

Look for warning signs your child may be the victim of cyberbullying – depression, lack of interest in school and friends, drop in grades and subtle comments that something may be wrong. If your child is the victim of cyberbullying, take action. By filtering email, instant messages and text messages, you can cut off many of the ways the cyberbullies contact your child. By having your child avoid the sites and groups where the attacks occur, he/she can ignore the bully. If harassment continues, change your child’s email address, user names and Internet account. If these steps do not stop the cyberbullying, contact the parents of the child who is behind the bullying, contact the school, and if the situation is not resolved, involve the police. It’s important to compile copies of harassing emails and postings to have evidence for authorities or the school, so they can take action. Look for signs that your child may be the cyberbully themselves – if they sign onto the Internet under someone else’s name, if they use someone else’s password without their permission, if they posted rude or mean things about someone else online, if they use bad language online, or if they changed their profile or away message designed to embarrass or frighten someone. Talk to your kids about cyberbullying and why it’s wrong and hurtful.

Along with marketed content for the PlayStation Portable, Nicolakis said Playboy started a service called iBod. The service started in 2005 and allows users to download soft porn to their device. Wallpaper of nude photos and explicit ring tones are some of the other materials available through built-in Web browsers in portable devices like the iPhone, Nicolakis said, and parental safeguards are nonexistent or just now becoming available. He said another avenue for pornographic material is user-generated photos or videos sent from cell phone to cell phone. Teens are reportedly taking sexually explicit photos of themselves and sending them to friends, but the images can easily be sent without consent to others, Nicolakis said. "That's child pornography, and that's a felony," he said. "If you think you're immune to it here in Modesto, you're wrong. It's probably already happened, you just don't know yet.

Director of Special Programs for Paducah City Schools, Tom Ballowe, says the new law impacts reporting requirements and gives new directives to principals and schools on the reporting of the information.  He says the law also requires the state to send out reports each year on each district and each school in that district, so it’s a reporting issue as well as a policy and procedures issue. Ballowe says people should not be afraid to report bullying to school officials because you should report it and you’ll be protected from retaliation. The school district will then report the incident if it’s serious enough to law enforcement. 

A survey conducted by MSN United Kingdom found that 74% of teens as compared to 80% in this study did not go to anyone for advice when they were cyberbullied (www.msn.co.uk/cyberbullying, 2006). One reason some teenagers are reluctant to tell parents or adults is the fear of retaliation.

Many times parents don't get involved because they are afraid of invading their teen's privacy. Others may feel that as long as they have filtering software their teen is protected from negative material.

Parents need to be educated about cyberbullying- what it looks like, what the effects are and how to handle it. Rosalind Wiseman, educator and author of the best seller "Queen Bees & Wannabes", suggest parents consider the following: Use technology as an opportunity to reinforce your family values. Attach rules and consequences if inappropriate behavior occurs. Move the computer out of your child's bedroom and into the family room. Teach your child not to share passwords. Install monitoring and filtering software. Monitor your child's screen name(s) and Web sites for inappropriate content. If cyberbullying occurs, save and print out any evidence and decide whom you should contact for assistance.

what are the concerns students have regarding cyberbullying, why do they do it, and how comfortable are they in talking to others about cyberbullying.

The study found approximately 29 percent had been victims of cyberbullying and 24 percent had bullied someone online. Of those who had admitted to being cyberbullied, 59 percent admitted to bullying someone as well. In addition, approximately 80 percent of all of the students surveyed reported that they aware of instances of cyberbullying. When male and female experiences were considered separately, it was found that over 20 percent of males and over 34 percent of females had experienced cyberbullying. In addition, 29 percent of males and only 20 percent of females reported to have cyberbullied.