Cyber-Bullying

Cyber-Bullying Essay

Cyberbullying is a difficult and relatively new issue concerning educators today. One of the reasons for the difficulty inherent in addressing this problem is the anonymous nature of the internet itself, which can – in some situations – make bullies difficult to catch ‘red-handed’ so to speak. In the specific case presented to us concerning ‘James’ who has been harassed through a Yahoo.com e-mail account in reference to his alleged sexual orientation, there is – thankfully – something that can be done to help protect James. First of all, according to an article entitled ** Responding to Cyberbullying: Top Ten Tips for Educators ** by Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin web service provider such as Facebook and MySpace are by now used to dealing with cases of cyberbullying, and can be contacted directly when assistance is needed. In the case of James, Yahoo.com’s e-mail web administrator could be contacted to track and/or shut down the offending account. Shutting down the offending account would be an effective, albeit short-term, solution to the problem as there is no opportunity to hold the student(s) responsible for the harassment responsible, and there is no guarantee the activity would not resume with a different account. If the web administrator tracks the account’s activity, the offending student could be identified by cross-referencing sign-in/sign-out logs in school computer labs, and with the assistance of screen-shots/print-outs of the e-mails themselves, disciplinary measures could be administered.

**Reflection** - This assignment proved to be a valuable introduction to a topic with which I have very limited experience. During my time in the primary and secondary grades, internet use and the availability of social media platforms was not as pervasive as it is today. As such, I never had to confront cyber-bullying on a personal level in the manner that many contemporary students must. It is a troubling issue that has a profound effect on many students, and I am appreciative that - through doing this assignment - I have become more aware of how to recognize cyber-bullying, and what steps I can take to prevent/adress the issue in my own classroom.