New Teen Sexting Study post thumbnail

New Teen Sexting Study

There is a new study on teen sexting that has been published (online at least) in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine that is receiving tons of media attention. Most research that is published in academic journals is largely ignored by the media and the public, but for some reason this article has […]

Peer Influences and Social Norming post thumbnail

Peer Influences and Social Norming

We are working on a new paper that examines the influence of peers on cyberbullying behavior. We have long known that there is a strong correlation between a youth’s behaviors and those of his or her friends (see Mark Warr’s work, especially “Companions in Crime”). It should come as no surprise, then, that we are […]

Remarks to the Minnesota Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying post thumbnail

Remarks to the Minnesota Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to members of the Minnesota Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying.  Members were appointed by Governor Mark Dayton with the charge of recommending a course of action to the governor about how best to prevent and respond to bullying.  Below were my comments to the group. Remarks […]

Bullying Law Summary Fact Sheet Updated post thumbnail

Bullying Law Summary Fact Sheet Updated

We have just updated one of our most popular resources. You can find our latest bullying law fact sheet here. As you can see, all but 2 states now have bullying laws in place or scheduled to take effect in 2012. Most of these (35) include language about electronic forms of bullying while still relatively […]

Cyberbullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard post thumbnail

Cyberbullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard

For those of you who didn’t see, I recently wrote a blog for Huffington Post UK to correspond with the cyberbullying event in London that I was a part of.  Here it is: Teens have been bullying each other for generations. The latest generation, however, has been able to utilize technology to expand their reach […]

Law Enforcement Perspectives on Cyberbullying post thumbnail

Law Enforcement Perspectives on Cyberbullying

Much of our work to teach adults about what teens are doing online is directed toward educators or parents, but increasingly we are working with law enforcement officers – especially those assigned to a school setting (school resource or liaison officers). Like the others, police officers often find themselves in a difficult situation when confronted […]

Another Well-Meaning, but Unfunded Mandate to Address Bullying post thumbnail

Another Well-Meaning, but Unfunded Mandate to Address Bullying

New Jersey’s updated bullying law took effect today amid controversy and confusion.  The New York Times recently reported on the law and I have received numerous calls from folks interested in my take on certain provisions.  Bullying and cyberbullying legislation has been the topic of much discussion on this blog, and regular readers know that […]

Resources to Teach Your Students about Cyberbullying and Online Responsibility post thumbnail

Resources to Teach Your Students about Cyberbullying and Online Responsibility

Now is the time to start thinking about what *you* are going to do to educate your students about cyberbullying, digital citizenship, online responsibility, and overall safety. A key to any educational effort is consistent reinforcement of the messages you want students to incorporate into their daily lives. Convening an all-school assembly on these topics […]

How young is too young for Facebook? post thumbnail

How young is too young for Facebook?

This is a common question I receive from many parents: “At what age should I give my child a cell phone or allow them to be on Facebook?” Of course this is not an easy question to answer since every child is different and parents themselves are probably in the best position to determine the […]

Formal Rules for Students and their Devices at School post thumbnail

Formal Rules for Students and their Devices at School

As we continue to work with public and private schools around the nation, we see much variability in the formal policies in place related to student-owned electronic devices and their display and use on campuses. Some schools have simply elected to ban all netbooks, tablets and iPads, laptop computers, smartphones (e.g., iPhones, Blackberrys, Evos), Nintendo […]