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                                                                        Ten percent of teens were victimized because someone
       oday's teens use technology more than ever. Most have            posted unflattering pictures of them online, without
       high-speed Internet access, which they use to send               permission.
instant messages to their friends, create blogs and online
videos, keep personal profiles on social networking websites,         Youth give many reasons for bullying; as adults, you can
share photos, and more. Many teens also have cell phones and      help stop cyberbullying by learning why youth cyberbully and
spend hours text-messaging friends. Technology, especially        by teaching youth how to interact positively in cyberspace. An
the Internet, allows all of us immediate access to information,
which can greatly benefit our lives. However, it has also pro-
vided some people with the means to exploit the innocent,
                                                                     Eighty-one percent of youth
commit crimes, and inflict injury on others. This technology         said that others cyberbully
has allowed some teens to take the bullying that thrives in
school hallways into cyberspace.                                     because they think it's funny.

                                                                  overwhelming majority of teens believe that youth cyberbully
   Forty-three percent of teens                                   because they think it's a joke, not realizing the negative impact
                                                                  it may have on the victim. Many teens also think that youth
   have been victims of                                           cyberbully because they are encouraged by friends or because
   cyberbullying in the last year.                                they believe that everyone else cyberbullies. Dealing with
                                                                  cyberbullying can be difficult, but there are steps parents, edu-
                                                                  cators, and other caregivers can take to prevent it.
   Cyberbullying is using the Internet, cell phones, video            Parents and caregivers have a responsibility to help keep
game systems, or other technology to send or post text or         youth safe online. In order to do this, parents have to be aware
images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.
Cyberbullies victimize teens in a variety of ways:
                                                                     Almost 80 percent of teens
      Nearly 20 percent of teens had a cyberbully pretend to
      be someone else in order to trick them online, getting         said that they either did not
      them to reveal personal information.
      Seventeen percent of teens were victimized by some-
                                                                     have parental rules about
      one lying about them online.                                   Internet use or found ways
      Thirteen percent of teens learned that a cyberbully was
      pretending to be them while communicating with                 around the rules.
      someone else.
of the types of activities youth are engaged in online and teach   this, cyberbullying can elicit a strong emotional response from
teens about cyber-ethics, responsibility, and Internet safety.     teens. Some teens change their daily online and offline behav-
    Parents can                                                    iors. Over 50 percent of teens felt angry after they were cyber-
                                                                   bullied. Roughly one-third of teens felt hurt, and almost 15
      Talk with teens about some of the risks and benefits
                                                                   percent of teens felt scared by cyberbullying experiences.
      posed by the Internet
      Share examples of inappropriate incidents that can
      happen online, which teens may view as harmless or
      normal (e.g., a stranger initiating a conversation with a       Nearly 30 percent of teens
      teen regarding pictures the teen has posted of him- or
      herself online)
                                                                      wanted to seek revenge on
      Learn what their teens are doing online and keep track          those who cyberbullied them.
      of their online behavior
      Visit websites that teens frequent (such as social net-
      working sites) to see what teens encounter online
                                                                      Teens currently use their own methods to counter cyber-
      Tell teens never to give out personal information
                                                                   bullying, and many teens respond with a variety of reactions:
      online (including their names, addresses, phone num-
      bers, school names, or credit card numbers)                        Thirty-six percent asked the bully to stop.
      Let teens know that they should never arrange a face-              Thirty-four percent blocked communication.
      to-face meeting with someone they meet online                      Thirty-four percent talked to friends about the bullying.
      Communicate online rules and responsibilities to teens             Twenty-nine percent did nothing about the bullying.
      and enforce rules with tangible consequences                       Twenty-eight percent signed offline.
      Keep computers in a highly trafficked room in the
      house where online activities are hard for teens to hide
      Teach youth about cyberbullying and let them know                Only 11 percent of teens
      that engaging in cyberbullying is unacceptable
      Explain that youth who cyberbully sometimes bully               talked to parents about inci-
      because they have a feeling of anonymity and a lack of
      accountability; however, cyberbullying is harmful and
                                                                      dents of cyberbullying.
      can have negative consequences
      Explain that youth who cyberbully aren't always
                                                                      Parents can help teens who are cyberbullied by teaching
      anonymous; they can be traced, located, and punished
                                                                   them methods that can prevent bullying.
      if the bullying becomes harassment
      Speak to teens about how to react if they are cyber-               Teach teens not to respond to cyberbullies. Show them
      bullied                                                            how to block the bully's messages or to delete messages
                                                                         without reading them. (Blocking and deleting mes-
                                                                         sages/contacts may be executed differently through
What if Teens Are Bullied?                                               websites, instant messengers, or email providers. For
Despite our collective efforts to teach teens about cybersafety,         help, contact the site/software administrators.)
they can still be victimized by youth who cyberbully.                    Tell teens that they should never try to seek revenge on
Moreover, cyberbullying can be an extension of bullying that             a bully or cyberbully.
teens are experiencing in school, and it may be more emotion-            Let teens know that they can report bullying inci-
ally destructive. Threats and taunts posted on websites are vis-         dents to Internet service providers (ISPs) and website
ible throughout the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.            moderators. These groups may be able to control
Youth who cyberbully often create websites that encourage                some of the bully's Internet capabilities. More than
friends and classmates to make disparaging comments about                half of the teens surveyed thought that moderators of
another youth. Thus, teens who are cyberbullied can face con-            online groups should be used to prevent cyberbullying
stant victimization and do not have a safe retreat. Because of           incidents.
      Remind your teens to keep their passwords a secret               Let parents know that they should establish Internet
      from everyone except you.                                        use rules for their kids, which should include tangible
      Tell your teens that it's not their fault if they become         consequences
      victims of cyberbullying, but it is important for them
                                                                     Law enforcement officers can
      to tell you if they are victimized. Assure them that you
      will not revoke their Internet privileges if they are            Stay up-to-date on cybersafety issues and laws
      cyberbullied. Some teens don't disclose cyberbullying            Learn about the technology teens use and the social
      incidents to parents because they fear that their                networking sites that they frequent
      Internet privileges will be taken from them. Speak               Find out the protocol to follow in order to contact
      openly with your teens about cyberbullying.                      social networking sites to have cyberbullying site pro-
      Help teen victims keep a record of bullying incidents.           files removed
      This will be helpful if the actions escalate and law             Speak with students, parents, and educators about
      enforcement needs to intervene. If the cyberbullying             some of the dangers that are present on the Internet,
      involves threats and harassment or frequent cyber-               and promote cybersafety
      attacks, call the police to ensure your teen's safety.           Talk to school officials about creating an enforceable
      Remember that cyberbullying incidents sometimes end              anti-cyberbullying policy on school grounds
      violently. If you are unable to prevent cyberbullying, it      Community leaders can
      is important to stop it as soon as possible.
                                                                       Organize a cybersafety forum or community discus-
                                                                       sion that involves students, parents, educators, local
   Over 70 percent of teens                                            law enforcement officers, city and school officials, and
                                                                       local technology companies
   said that being able to block                                       Sponsor an Internet safety awareness day for kids to
                                                                       learn about safe Internet use
   cyberbullies was the most                                           Provide information to parents, educators, and law
                                                                       enforcement officers about how teens use the Internet,
   effective method of                                                 what websites teens frequent, how to contact site
   prevention.                                                         moderators and ISPs if teens are cyberbullied, and
                                                                       when to contact law enforcement regarding a cyber-
                                                                       bullying situation
                                                                       Work with school technology departments to make
                                                                       sure that teens are being cybersafe
Taking Community Action
                                                                     Everyone in your community can help raise awareness
Cybersafety is an important, but difficult, topic to address      about cyberbullying and take preventive action against this
because people have the right to privacy and freedom of speech.   ever-growing problem.
Community members such as educators, law enforcement offi-
cers, and community leaders can help prevent cyberbullying
and promote safe and responsible Internet use throughout their
                                                                  For More Information About
communities by implementing the following tips.
                                                                  Preventing Cyberbullying and
    Educators can
                                                                  Promoting Cybersafety
                                                                  Keeping teens safe in cyberspace becomes even more impor-
      Request that children and youth sign an Internet safety
                                                                  tant as new technology develops. Cyberbullying can be pre-
      pledge promising that they will not cyberbully or share
                                                                  vented. Talk to your teens about recognizing and preventing
      their personal information
                                                                  cyberbullying. For more information about cyberbullying,
      Establish acceptable Internet use and anti-cyberbully-
                                                                  check out the following resources:
      ing policies in school; 92 percent of teens who were
      cyberbullied knew their victimizers--half of those               National Crime Prevention Council, Cyberbullying
      teens knew the cyberbullies from school                          Research Report: This research study surveyed 824
teens on aspects of cyberbullying such as reasons for     downloadable translator for cyber-lingo and acronyms
bullying, reactions to bullying, and effective ways to    used by teens.
prevent bullying. The teens were middle and high          www.stopcyberbullying.org: Provides relevant cyber-
school students, ages 13 to 17.                           bullying prevention and Internet safety information
National Crime Prevention Council website,                for parents, teachers, and police officers, as well as chil-
www.ncpc.org: This site contains cyberbullying and        dren and youth.
Internet safety information for parents.                  www.stopbullyingnow.org: Includes information for
www.wiredsafety.org: Wired Safety provides Internet       adults regarding cyberbullying and face-to-face bully-
safety information for children, teens, and adults. The   ing. The site also offers information for children ages
website also has an important resource for parents--a     10 to 12 regarding bullying.