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.

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 […]

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 […]

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

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

In a recent New York Times article, reporter Jan Hoffman aptly and comprehensively articulated the challenges associated with responding to cyberbullying incidents.  Schools don’t want to overstep their legal authority by responding to off-campus behaviors that don’t directly impact the school; law enforcement officers aren’t going to get involved unless there is a clear violation […]

Activities to Use When Teaching Children About Cyberbullying post thumbnail

Activities to Use When Teaching Children About Cyberbullying

As we work with youth-serving organizations across the nation, we often hear about how the resources we post on our web site are used. I was in New Hampshire last week, and heard that schools there makes laminated copies of our activities for kids (such as our crossword puzzle, word find, and word scramble), and […]

Humor Limits and Cyberbullying post thumbnail

Humor Limits and Cyberbullying

I have recently been chatting with Dr. Linda Young – whose work I greatly respect – about the topic of “humor limits.” In our trainings to youth-serving professionals, Justin and I discuss how teaching adolescents when comments made cross over a line and no longer are “funny” but are “abusive” and harmful. For example, the […]

The Current State of Cyberbullying Research: A Brief Summary post thumbnail

The Current State of Cyberbullying Research: A Brief Summary

The Committee on Education and Labor’s Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities heard testimony today about how teens are using and misusing technology, with a specific focus on cyberbullying and social networking. A full web cast of the testimony can be found here. The witnesses included a health care provider, an Internet safety advocate, a […]

Stop Girl Bullying Conference, San Antonio, June 25-27 post thumbnail

Stop Girl Bullying Conference, San Antonio, June 25-27

I hardly ever blog about my upcoming presentations, but I am particularly excited about my next one and so I thought I would let you know about it.  I am giving a keynote at the annual Stop Girl Bullying Conference this Sunday in San Antonio, Texas, and hope that you can come if you are […]