The quietest voice can finally be heard.
The quietest voice can finally be heard. This is reason I teach, I love and I advocate for the use of technology in my school district. Students that are silent in a round table discussion, or never speak up in around the world math facts, or get picked last at PE because they have made themselves as small as possible. This voice can still be heard loud and clear with a few clicks of the keyboard, sometimes anonymous or with a pseudonymous screen names. Technology gives a voice to all. Unfortunately “the all” includes the good and the bad. The pathway that lets that small voice be heard also lets cyberbullies be heard. The very time that makes technology a great human connection also brings out the worst in human emotions.
Cyberbullying takes place in the digital world, the world that a teenager or preteen rarely lets a parent or guardian in. This policy is not the best way to keep a child safe. Parents will stand up to any physical threat that a person brings against their child and would do the same for any digital threat. The problem is that very few children share with their parents that there is a problem. Only 1 in 10 cyberbullying victims will tell a parent. In fact only 15% of any cyberbullying victims will admit that they have been bullied. (Hinduja & Patchin 2015). This type of bullying does not have to face to face and it seems like the perfect crime.
How can we fix this? I have no idea. Until students, parents, adults choose empathy as a way of life the cycle will continue. Some ways to help, maybe character education in schools, and constant reminders for adults and students about making good choices. It will also have to be the choice of the human.
Even though I don’t think cyberbullying will ever end because of basic human nature, I think a few things should be reminded as much as possible.
Promote awareness - we know it goes on so help us help you stop it
Open up the lines of communication - help that person find the one person they feel safe in talking to
Learn their names - build a relationship
Develop stakeholder relationships - help set up working relationships with parents, community and law enforcement
Set up anonymous reporting - create a safe and private way to report
Instill hope - cultivate a strong sense of hope and positivity
Build positive social norming campaigns - change the mentalities - it is not ok to bully
Enlist the help of students - develop a peer group
Collect data - regular assessments of what is happening in the area
Never stop learning - technology is always changing and the adults need to stay on top of it.
(Hinduja & Patchin 2018)
Following and implementing these step will demonstrate to our students that there is someone who cares and will listen and hopefully with this knowledge the cyberbully will think twice and the victims will have the power to break free to the chains that bind them. And maybe that quietest voice will not be scared to be heard!
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-4993-0
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. (2018). Developing a Positive School Climate Top Ten Tips to Prevent Bullying and Cyberbullying [Pdf]. Cyberbullying Research Center.
