 How mean can teenage girls be? A recent episode of the ABC news magazine Primetime set out to answer that question
in a special hour-long program titled, “Cruel Intentions.” The program focused on the potential dangers of cyber bullying.
i-SAFE President and CEO Teri Schroeder provided host Diane Sawyer with Internet safety expertise, and she assisted in
the development of a unique role-play experiment that helped expose bullying among groups of teens using cell phones,
instant messaging, and personal Web sites.
During the experiment, different groups of high school students quickly developed rivalries —mercilessly putting down
other individuals and groups —in the hopes of being accepted by a popular group of boys. What made being mean so easy?
It was the anonymity of the Internet. We learned from the program that the teenagers who participated in the experiment
later admitted that the anonymity encouraged them to bully one another, behaving online differently than the way they act
in person.
To avoid cyber bullying remember “The 4 Rs”:
RECOGNIZE “flaming” and cyber-bullying techniques, noting the bully’s screen name or address.
REFUSE to open or read any message from a cyber bully.
RESPOND assertively by leaving the chat room without responding.
REPORT cyber bullying to the ISP, the school, or law enforcement and request they help stop it immediately.
(From iEducator, Oct. 2006 sponsored by www.iSafe.org) |
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