Addressing bullying behaviour is in everyone's best interest.
The more time we spend online and the more we rely on the technology, the more opportunity there is for the darker side of our society to take advantage. Nowhere is it more evident than the growing problem of cyber bullying.
A great place to begin is http://www.bullying.org. One of the oldest sites, Bullying.org was started in response to the Taber, Alberta tragedy, in which a young man, the victim of relentless bullying, went on a shooting rampage in 1999. The site is dedicated to education and prevention; it’s a terrific resource for both youth and adults.
The Youth in BC website, http://YouthInBC.com, is focused on kids at risk. Not just about bullying, it includes resources on abuse, eating disorders, sex advice, and self-harm and suicide. The Youth in BC site is fully interactive, with online chat and phone counsellors available 24 hours a day.
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Kids Help Phone is also a fantastic refuge for kids at risk. They now focus on cyber bullying as one of the main risks kids face.
1 800 668 6868
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Pink Shirt Day - February 23, 2011
Get ready for the Fourth Annual Pink Shirt Anti-Bullying Day on February 23, 2011. Wear something pink to show that you will not tolerate bullying.
Each of the sites mentioned above contain links to other resources; once you visit one site you are on the path to many other resources.
Additional resources:
More About Cyber Bullying:
One thing we all need to remember about cyber bullying is that the technology is not to blame; bullying occurs wherever opportunity occurs. But we do need to guard against giving bullies access to additional opportunities.
Social networking sites, like FaceBook and MySpace, represent new grounds for bullies to act. Understanding the limits of technology can help, and deciding on some good ground rules surrounding the use of technology can be a great defence against potential bullies.
Some tips:
- Face to face friends only – your kids should be able to identify each of their friends on FaceBook and in Chat. No “ second hand friends” allowed!
- Be very careful when adding new applications in FaceBook – Applications such as “Honesty Box”, where users can post anonymously on their friends’ walls, create opportunities bullies don't ignore.
- Learn Internet Etiquette – If you don't understand the “rules of the road” you can inadvertently offend someone, creating conflict and leading to a number of unpleasant results. An example is a kid who doesn't understand that using all caps is akin to shouting; their friends will soon take umbrage to being yelled at all the time and a conflict can then occur.
Watch the CyberSafe with Steve Dotto videos for more information about Cyber Safety.