Read the latest news and brand new pieces on youth, social media, and emerging technologies! We focus on preventing harm and promoting positive online behaviors.

A Student Guide to Personal Publishing post thumbnail

A Student Guide to Personal Publishing

Sameer and I recently wrote a concise “Student Guide to Personal Publishing” which was published by Jostens (the class ring and yearbook company).  They contacted us looking for information they could provide to students, parents, and educators about being safe and responsible when publishing material both online and off.  While we regularly discuss these issues […]

Cyberbullying and School Climate post thumbnail

Cyberbullying and School Climate

There has been a lot of talk about improving school climate recently, in line with the U. S. Department of Education’s new focus for public schools across the nation (and their Safe and Supportive Schools initiative). I have recently discussed it in January at a NCPC summit, and covered it briefly two weeks ago while […]

Offline and Online Cultural Messaging about Girls and Sexuality post thumbnail

Offline and Online Cultural Messaging about Girls and Sexuality

I was recently walking around with a friend and saw a girl (who looked to be around nine years of age) wearing a shirt that proclaimed “Born to be SEXY” – which caught me off guard.  Not to be a prude, but it bothers me that cultural messaging strategies continue to induce girls to think […]

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Patterson v. Hudson Overturned

Back in March I wrote about this case, where a federal jury had ordered the Hudson Area School District in Michigan to pay $800,000 in damages to a student who was repeatedly harassed by classmates (and allegedly staff) for a period of several years.  A federal district court had been reviewing the facts of the […]

My talk at the US Department of Education Bullying Summit – on CSPAN post thumbnail

My talk at the US Department of Education Bullying Summit – on CSPAN

My presentation entitled “Cyberbullying: What We Know, What We Can Do” at the US Department of Education Bullying Summit on August 11, 2010 was broadcast on CSPAN.  You can view the event in its entirety here or fast-forward to 14:28 to watch my segment.  Do let me know if you have any questions!

US Department of Education Bullying Summit this week post thumbnail

US Department of Education Bullying Summit this week

I will be in DC this week at the US Department of Education’s “Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit.” You can check out an agenda here, a participants list here, and additional reading materials here. My slides are included in the latter PDF as well. I have been asked to speak on the “Current State […]

The Current State of Cyberbullying Laws post thumbnail

The Current State of Cyberbullying Laws

It is imperative that everyone who works with youth, but especially law enforcement officers, stay up-to-date on the ever-evolving state and local laws concerning online behaviors, and equip themselves with the skills and knowledge to intervene as necessary. In recent survey of approximately 500 school resource officers from around the United States, we found that […]

New Book Review of “Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard” post thumbnail

New Book Review of “Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard”

Dr. Steve Taffee, Director of Strategic Projects at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California, has recently posted a very detailed, honest, and helpful review about our cyberbullying book.  He has given me permission to share it with our blog readers, and so I have included it below: With Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding […]

New Details Emerge in the Phoebe Prince Tragedy post thumbnail

New Details Emerge in the Phoebe Prince Tragedy

We’ve discussed different elements of the Phoebe Prince case a number of times on this blog. Recall that Phoebe was the 15-year-old girl who committed suicide in January after being bullied and cyberbullied. She moved to South Hadley, Massachusetts, from Ireland at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. Being the new girl, she had […]

Parent’s Response to Cyberbullying: What to do when your Child is the Bully post thumbnail

Parent’s Response to Cyberbullying: What to do when your Child is the Bully

What should you do if your child bullies others online? Elizabeth Englander, our colleague at the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, provided an excellent response to this question in her answer to a parent who commented on the recent New York Times article. First of all, parents need to approach this problem like any other: with […]