A study of online bullying suggests 23 per cent of Canadian students have said or done something mean or cruel to someone online. 37 per cent say someone has done something mean or cruel to them online that made them feel bad. Of the total, 10 per cent say that cyberbullying is a serious problem for them. The study was done by MediaSmarts, a non-profit group dedicated to media literacy.
The study indicates most of the online bullying behaviour involves name calling. In descending order of prevalence, students say they have harassed someone in an online game, have spread rumours, have posted an embarrassing image of someone, or have made fun of someone’s race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
Boys more likely to be mean online
Girls are generally believed to be the worst perpetrators, but this study contradicts that showing that boys are more likely than girls to be mean or cruel on line. They are more likely to make fun of someone’s personal traits, while girls are more likely to post images. There is no significant difference between boys and girls when it comes to spreading rumours.
‘More harm than good’
Since the widely-reported suicides of young Canadians, authorities have made efforts to stop cyberbullying. But this study suggests zero tolerance policies some have adopted may do more harm than good, says Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts. “Students fear that teachers’ hands will be tied by zero tolerance policies which force them to refer all bullying reports to the administration and are seen as likely to escalate the situation and take it out of their hands.”
Students turn to parents
When faced with cyberbullying, students are most likely either tell their parents, ignore the situation or try to show it does not bother them. If that fails, they then turn to parents, friends, or another trusted adult. They may attempt to settle the matter face-to-face with the perpetrator. It is only if all these strategies don’t work that they may go to the teacher or police.
Policies may punish victims
“I think it tells us that these one-size-fits-all, zero tolerance policies that are adopted in many schools and are increasingly being put into law in different jurisdictions are not helpful, and in fact, in many cases can be harmful because they may punish people who have been victimized as much as they have engaged in bullying,” says Johnson. Victims often trade insults online to try to defend themselves from attacks.
Parents should make rules
Instead Johnson thinks parents need to understand that creating rules about treating people with respect on line has a great effect on how children behave. “It’s really important that parents talk to their kids about these issues and make clear their expectations for what they consider to be appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.”
As for schools, Johnson thinks they should abandon zero-tolerance policies, but give teachers the training to recognize and respond appropriately to different cyberbullying situations when they are reported.
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