What is “Cyberbullying”? Cyberbullying is willfull and repeated harm (i.e., harassing, humiliating, or threatening text or images) inflicted through the Internet, interactive technologies, or mobile phones.
Cyberbullying Tactics: Gossip: posting or sending cruel gossip to damage a person’s reputation and relationships with friends, family, and acquaintances Exclusion: Deliberately excluding someone from an online group Impersonation: Breaking into someone’s e-mail or other online account and sending messages that will cause embarrassment or damage to the person’s reputation and affect his or her relationship with others Harassment: Repeatedly posting or sending offensive, rude and insulting messages Cyberstalking: Posting or sending unwanted or intimidating messages, which may include threats Flaming: Online fights where scornful and offensive messages are posted on websites, forums, or blogs Outing and Trickery: Tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information, which is then shared online Cyberthreats: Remarks on the Internet threatening or implying violent behavior, displaying suicidal tendencies
Public profiles put kids at a much greater risk to: -receive a message from a stranger -meet with a stranger -be harassed by peers
Other concerns of social networking sites: -lack of age-verification mechanisms -posting provocative pictures and videos -easy access for predators and cyberbullies -excessive or addictive access -access to unhealthy “groups”
One of the best rules you can have is that if your child is going to be on a social networking site- YOU THE PARENT should know their site logon and password information and/or you need to also be a member of the site and be friends with your child. You should have regular access to their information, and check it at least once a day to ensure they are being responsible users.
How to be Safe on Social Sites: Teach your child to: -Be as anonymous as possible -use privacy settings -think before they post -avoid in-person meetings -be honest about their age -remember social networking sites are public spaces -avoid posting anything that could embarrass them later or expose them to danger -remember social networking sites are public spaces -avoid posting anything that could embarrass them later or expose them to danger -remember that people aren’t always who they say they are -check comments regularly -avoid inappropriate content and behavior, and, if encountered, report it to the social networking site
Parents should search social networking sites their teens visit to see what information they are posting. Make sure you are added to your teen’s “friend list” so you can view their information and verify that their profiles are set to private (as they should be!). If you’re uncertain whether your child has a profile, do a simple online search by typing your child’s name into a search engine like Google, or into the search option of the site in question.
How to Report Abuse on a Social Networking Site: -Learn what constitutes abuse according to the social networking site’s Terms and Conditions page. Click the report abuse link and type a description of the abuse in the text field labeled “message”. Be sure to include a detailed description of the nature of the abuse you are reporting. Also, try to include the name or profile name of the person whom you are reporting, and submit it to the Social Networking Site. -If you feel you and/or someone you know are in danger, contact law enforcement immediately. -Do not respond to messages from the individual and be sure to keep copies of messages or correspondences from the individual. -Block the individual from contacting you and remove the individual from your “friend list”. -Delete any comments the individual has left on your profile page "One of the most important questions to ask that teens really understand is: 'Are you willing to share this information in front of your school assembly? Have a discussion with them about what's appropriate and what's not. Look at their images and see if you think there's something that shouldn't be on the profile and then have them either remove it or let us know you're concerned and then we'll work with you." — Hemanshu Nigam, Chief Security Officer, Fox Interactive Media and MySpace