Bullying (both face-to-face and “cyberbullying”) has become such a serious problem in the lives of our children and teens that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now considers it a significant threat. The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What It Means For Schools outlines this threat in detail, and offers specific guidelines for what school personnel can do.
Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication (usually via Facebook or texts) to bully a person, typically by sending humiliating, intimidating, or threatening messages. While much of cyberbullying takes place outside school hours, especially on weekends, the resulting problems often spill over into the classroom. That makes cyberbullying an issue that teachers and administrators can’t afford to ignore. As Sameer Hinduja1 reminds us, “Schools believe the Internet and computers are part of kids’ lives when honestly, it is their life.”
In addition to the information from the CDC (above), the Cyberbullying Research Center provides a wealth of information on this topic. Another useful site is Addiction and Bullying. While this site has a decidedly Christian bent (including the founder’s personal story), it offers several helpful ideas for dealing with the problem, and shows the clear connection between bullying and substance abuse. It also contains useful descriptions of bullying tactics, plus statistics about the extent of this troubling issue and a list of bullying support hotlines.
Since bullying (both face-to-face and cyber) can have devastating and often life-long consequences, please consider this a call to action. (Note: Principals should consider sharing this link with teachers and bookmarking it for quick reference.)
UPDATE (February 2023)
Unfortunately, many studies on bullying suggest that this problem has gotten worse post-pandemic. Here are some additional tips:
One of the best ways to counter bullying is to teach students how to appropriately intervene in instances of bullying, and how to support one another with strategies that play to their individual strengths. We discuss that in depth in my Physical Environment of Schools course … but there are also several great videos on bullying mitigation on the StopBullying.gov site.
In addition, this Antidote to Bullying article (EL magazine, 02/01/23), by education professors Fisher and Frey, shares the latest research on this topic. It also includes a “show and tell” video of an anti-bullying exercise.
Learning how to respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior can change your school culture. And over time, that can greatly reduce the incidence of bullying.
1Cyberbullying: What teachers and schools can do. Scholastic (n.d.). https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/cyberbullying-what-teachers-and-schools-can-do/