Adolescent girls tend to participate in more indirect, less visible forms of bullying, including psychological and emotional harassment (e.g., rumor spreading and other forms of relational aggression). Given the fact that the vast majority of cyberbullying behaviors involve these indirect forms of harassment, it makes sense that most research suggests that girls appear equally as…
This presentation is designed for educators and other youth-serving professionals who want to help adolescents make wise choices when participating on various social media. First, a foundation of the many positives and benefits of online social networking is laid while also exploring the developmental, emotional, and psychological reasons why teens have gravitated towards these environments.…
Sexting is “the sending or receiving of sexually-explicit or sexually-suggestive images or video via a cell phone.” Most commonly, the term has been used to describe incidents where teenagers take nude or semi-nude (e.g., topless) pictures of themselves and distribute those pictures to others using their cell phones. The images are often initially sent to…
We can help you use any of our books to educate staff in your district. Each includes numerous supplemental staff development and discussion questions at the end of each chapter. You might convene a book discussion group where staff meet weekly or bi-weekly to discuss each section. This is often done in conjunction with an…
Our comprehensive training for educators to help them prevent and respond to cyberbullying, sexting, digital dating abuse, and other issues.
Our introductory training for educators to help them prevent and respond to cyberbullying, sexting, digital dating abuse, and other issues.
In this keynote, we share updated best practices for improving your school climate to prevent bullying and cyberbullying.
Teens are the primary producers of web content, and continue to publish their ideas, experiences, stories, observations, and opinions on blogs, web journals, or personal profile pages (e.g., on Facebook). Additionally, they publish the pictures they take, the music and videos they produce, and many other forms of artistic, creative, intellectual, and social expression. While…
Our presentations are filled with practical take-home strategies that adult-serving youth can immediately implement to help their kids make wise decisions online.
Since our book School Climate 2.0: Preventing Cyberbullying and Sexting One Classroom at a Time was published last year, the response has been amazing. Many educators have come up to us at events around the country to tell us how much they really appreciate the research-based information and strategies that they can put to use…
When individuals are online, they are assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address by their Internet service provider (e.g., Earthlink, AOL, Qwest, Comcast, their school) or cell phone service provider (e.g., Sprint, AT&T, Verizon). This IP address is unique and is bound to a person’s current online session—whether it is via a computer, cell phone, or…
Explains how to report cyberbullying, abuse, and threats on Instagram. Recently, we’ve discussed general safety tips for teens related to Instagram, and also fleshed out in detail how individuals are cyberbullied on Instagram. Today, I thought I’d summarize the ways in which teens (and adults) should use Instagram and how to report cyberbullying on it…
Last time, I shared my viewpoints on Instagram safety in a general way. Today, I’m going to talk about cyberbullying that occurs on Instagram. As I mentioned, Instagram is minimalistic and intentionally doesn’t provide a lot of features that you might find on Facebook. This also means that various forms of victimization – identity theft,…
Instagram is great. I use it and like it very much, for a number of reasons. Even though I have to view it through the lens of “online safety” given my work and professional passion, I still completely support (and am excited about) its widespread and growing adoption by teens (and adults). Similar to other…
Pep rallies for our middle and high school athletic teams have been going on for decades, and are always great ways to get fired up about the sports season, or the next big game. They serve multiple purposes, all of which are quite important. For one, it really heightens school spirit – and if I…
Quite often when you investigate a cyberbullying or sexting incident, you will come to learn that the “offending” parties didn’t fully understand the consequences of their actions or how what they did could have ever resulted in the trouble that they are now facing. Maybe they didn’t think that what they were doing was that…
We are always interested in sharing cool ideas that schools are doing to promote positive climates and reduce peer conflict and bullying. One idea that has worked very well in some communities is the creation and performance of a school play with social norming messages interwoven in the fabric of its storyline. It can include…
I was recently asked to write a guest blog directed towards teen girls and related to issues of harassment and bullying online and offline…and so I wanted to share it with our readers. It has a very conversational tone, and reflects what I want to convey to this population as they navigate the difficult waters…
I have been thinking about the concept of “social exclusion” as it relates to cyberbullying, and really wanted to hear some thoughts from our readers. People are by nature social. The second worst punishment that we can dream up in this country is solitary confinement. We know it hurts, we know it drives people crazy,…
Cyberbullying is a problem affecting a meaningful proportion of youth as they embrace online communication and interaction. Research has identified a number of real-world negative ramifications for both the targets and those who bully. During adolescence, many behavioral choices are influenced and conditioned by the role of major socializing agents, including friends, family, and adults…
Our latest book School Climate 2.0: Preventing Cyberbullying and Sexting One Class at a Time argues that one promising way to prevent cyberbullying and other problematic online behaviors from occurring is to develop a positive climate at school where students feel safe and cared about. There is ample evidence to affirm the power of a…
Computers have long been a fixture in many American schools. Indeed, we had computers in our middle schools back in the day. And when we visit schools today — large and small, rural and urban — they (of course) all have computers. Many schools have computer labs or general-access machines in libraries or other common…
With the beginning of the school year upon us again, I thought it might be valuable to review a very important topic. One of the most important steps a district can take to help protect their students and protect themselves from legal liability is to have a clear and comprehensive policy regarding bullying and harassment,…
While bullying historically has occurred within or in close proximity to the school, advances in communication technologies have allowed would-be bullies to extend their reach. Cyberbullying – as it is termed – has become a significant concern among adolescents and adults alike. As a result, parents, school professionals, law enforcement, and youth themselves are looking…