Cyberbullying and Strain
One of the more popular criminological theories floating around these days suggests that individuals engage in deviance as a response to experiencing stressful life events or strain. For example, youth who are abused at home or who break up with a serious significant other, or who move to a new town, are more at risk […]
The Cyberbully Next Door
I was recently talking to a colleague (who is an economist at my University) and he told me of an experience that recently happened with his daughter. She was at a get-together at a hotel in our city where alcohol was being served. Somehow the police found out about the party and busted all of […]
Teachers and students “friending” on MySpace
CNN posted an interesting story about teachers setting up MySpace pages and “friending” their students…and about a Missouri legislator sponsoring a bill banning elementary school teachers from doing so. I was talking to Justin about this, and we both agree that a state bill banning this activity is completely overboard (another example of how politicians […]
Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying
Focusing on how technology can facilitate or magnify traditional forms of peer harassment, “Bullying beyond the Schoolyard” paints a vivid picture of online aggression among adolescents by recounting the stories of victims, summarizing current research, and reviewing recent legal rulings. This groundbreaking book also provides proactive prevention and intervention strategies to equip parents, educators, counselors, […]
8-12 year-olds and online social interaction
A new report was released last week that zeroed in on online social interaction among youth between the ages of 8 and 12. The “Tween Internet Safety Survey” found that at least half lie about their age online (in keeping with our own findings from discussions with kids around the nation). They also found that […]
Why Do Youth Engage in Cyberbullying?
This is another one of those questions that we get all of the time. Of course, there is not one easy answer to this question. Moreover, what causes one adolescent to cyberbully may not influence another to engage in similar behaviors. So, while we have a number of theories or hypotheses, what do you think? […]
What could Web sites do to make their site safer for kids?
This is one of many questions we have received via email over the last several weeks.The answer is a bit more complicated than many adults realize.If there were a quick fix, Web site administrators would have implemented the changes by now.I don’t think it is so much a problem with Web sites.Clearly, Web sites need […]
Bebo suicide stemming from cyberbullying
I am not sure if you all saw this, but another youth has hung himself after being cyberbullied on Bebo – which is very popular in the U.K. Apparently, one of the threats the 13-year-old boy received through that social networking site read “If you don’t kill yourself then we will do it for you.” […]
Book Update
We are happy to report that our cyberbullying book is now expected to be in print on August 5th, 2008. We are very excited to have the book in our hands (and perhaps even more excited to have it in YOUR hands!). It represents the culmination of over five years of research and we worked […]
Jeff’s Law
Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist has just signed into law the “Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act.” This is due mostly to the efforts of our friend Debbie Johnston from Cape Coral, Florida, a first-grade schoolteacher whose son Jeffrey took his life after being bullied and cyberbullied. This law: – requires districts to adopt […]
