Empower Bystanders to Improve School Climate post thumbnail

Empower Bystanders to Improve School Climate

As technology has allowed bullies to expand the reach and scope of their torment to an ever broader audience, it has also allowed for increasing numbers of others to see and potentially respond. Cruel posts on Facebook or humiliating pictures sent via a cell phone can be viewed by countless individuals, and the question becomes, […]

Words Wound: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral post thumbnail

Words Wound: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral

Many well-meaning researchers and experts have written a number of books for adults that detail the nature and extent of cyberbullying, and offer suggestions for parents, educators, and other adults to effectively respond to the problem. In fact, Dr. Patchin and Dr. Hinduja have written three books just like this! Words Wound is different. This […]

Ban School, Open Facebook post thumbnail

Ban School, Open Facebook

There is much consternation among parents and educators alike about the perceived criminogenic nature of social networking websites. Despite some evidence that its popularity among some teens is beginning to wane, Facebook is still the most prominent figure in this space. As such, it tends to receive the brunt of the blows, with fervent calls […]

Yik Yak post thumbnail

Yik Yak

UPDATE (04-2017): Yik Yak shut down. UPDATE (12-2014): Please see my December 2014 follow-up blog on Yik Yak here after reading this entry. There is a new cell phone application that is gaining notoriety at the speed of light among some groups of teens (as well as their teachers and parents). In essence, Yik Yak […]

Deterring Teen Bullying: Dos and Don’ts post thumbnail

Deterring Teen Bullying: Dos and Don’ts

There’s been a lot of interest lately in passing new bullying and cyberbullying laws. The pressure to pursue these provisions seems to come from the idea that the threat of harsher penalties will deter teens from bullying others. But will they? Deterrence theory is a very popular philosophy within the criminal justice system, and as […]

Bystander Intervention in Bullying Incidents: A Misguided Experiment post thumbnail

Bystander Intervention in Bullying Incidents: A Misguided Experiment

A video has been making its rounds lately showing two young men engaged in a social experiment of sorts. The video shows one hounding, harassing, pushing, punching, and threatening the other because the target apparently failed to do the “bully’s” homework. The two play out this interaction over and over again directly in front of […]

Teens: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral! post thumbnail

Teens: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral!

Next week, our newest book will be released. And we are seriously pumped! Like all of the others, this one is on the topic of cyberbullying.  But this book is not like all of the others. Rather, it is the first book on cyberbullying that we know of that was specifically and intentionally written for […]