HAVE A ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY TOWARD CYBERBULLYING.
PROSECUTE ABUSERS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW
Cyberbullying is the use of digital technologies to inflict emotional pain, and/or shame, embarrass, demean or humiliate others online. Cyberbullying also includes impersonating others online, digitally stalking someone, making threats, sexting or posting obscene material, and sending illicit photos/videos or requesting them.
This harassment can be facilitated through social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and cell phones, and the offending behavior is often repeated. Thankfully, cyberbullying leaves a digital footprint that provides evidence — so many of the actions can be tracked and the abusers can held accountable.
Cyberbullying causes extreme mental distress to its victims. It is a major factor in the increase of major depressive episodes and anxiety that we are seeing in our kids.
read more about our mental health challenges here
Two great reports from the Pew Research Center found the following:
A majority of Americans (62%) consider harassment and bullying online to be a major problem. Certain groups of Americans tend to view online harassment as a more serious problem than others, with young women among the most prominent. Fully 83% of women ages 18 to 29 describe online harassment as a major problem, a substantially larger share than either men in the same age group (55%), women 30 and older (66%) or men 30 and older (53%).
59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it's a major problem for people their age. At the same time, teens mostly think teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at addressing this issue.
The most common type of harassment youth encounter online is name-calling. Some 42% of teens say they have been called offensive names online or via their cellphone. Additionally, about a third (32%) of teens say someone has spread false rumors about them on the internet, while smaller shares have had someone other than a parent constantly ask where they are, who they’re with or what they’re doing (21%) or have been the target of physical threats online (16%).
While texting and digital messaging are a central way teens build and maintain relationships, this level of connectivity may lead to potentially troubling and nonconsensual exchanges. One-quarter of teens say they have been sent explicit images they didn’t ask for, while 7% say someone has shared explicit images of them without their consent. These experiences are particularly concerning to parents. Fully 57% of parents of teens say they worry about their teen receiving or sending explicit images, including about one-quarter who say this worries them a lot.
The vast majority of teens (90% in this case) believe online harassment is a problem that affects people their age, and 63% say this is a major problem. But majorities of young people think key groups, such as teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at tackling this issue. By contrast, teens have a more positive assessment of the way parents are addressing cyberbullying.
Evidence:
Monica Anderson. "A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying." Pew Research Center. 27 Sept 2018
Maeve Duggan . "Online Harassment 2017." Pew Research Center. 11 July 2017