Friday, May 28, 2010

Cyberbullying in the Workplace

What is really interesting is that whenever we hear or see the word cyberbullying in reminds us children harassment via computer and other electronic devices but here we can see that this event is happen in the workplace for elder for elders.

Nobody is immune to cyberbullying but there are steps you can take and support you can go to if you feel you have become a victim of cyberbullying at work.


Cyber Bullying at Work
A range of different examples of bullying at work using electronic means would include:

Offensive e-mail – sending offensive e-mail to a colleague even if it’s supposed to be a joke in which a person might be offended by the content of the message or any photographs which are attached to it and continuing to do send similar messages having been asked to stop
E-mail threats – this can also include relatively inoffensive messages in terms of content but the implied meaning behind the message can constitute a form of bullying. An example of this might be where a superior is bombarding you with far more work than you can handle whilst other members of the team are not being treated in the same way
Posting blogs and comments left on social networking sites – quite often a person may not experience any direct form of cyberbullying but instead the bullies are leaving nasty or offensive comments about them on blogs and social networking sites which can often be viewed by others. This intimidation would also fall under the umbrella of cyberbullying
Spreading Lies And Malicious Gossip - social networking sites and blogs are usually the most common ways in which people become victim of another person's cyberbullying
CyberBullying SMS/Text Messages It doesn’t need to even be your e-mail at work, any threats or offensive comments you make about somebody to their mobile phone is still a form of cyberbullying

Cyber Bullying Harassment - electronic cyber bullying, or ‘e-bullying’ as it is often referred to, can also result in instances where the person may not even intend to harm you. For example, you may experience an admirer at work who would like to establish a closer friendship or relationship with you and they’ll sometimes use e-mail to ‘test the waters’ first as the fear of rejection is often far less if an approach is made that way. However, people have been rightfully prosecuted for harassment where persistent e-mails follow, especially if they have been rejected. This has even led to cases of stalking outside work
Sharing A Person’s Private Data Online - cyberbullying can take on a much more sinister meaning when people post up personal details about you which are available to the general public and which you wouldn’t normally want to share with complete strangers. This can include leaving home addresses and phone numbers for all to see.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cyberbullying State Laws and Policies


Recently, a number of states have passed strong cyberbullying laws that are designed to protect children from being harassed, threatened and humiliated online. These laws represent a crucial step towards National anti-cyberbullying laws which will protect children of all ages around the world.

Here is a state-by-state look at some of these laws:

Arkansas
In 2007, the Arkansas legislation passed a law allowing school officials to take action against cyber bullies even if the bullying did not originate or take place on school property. The law gave school administrators much more freedom to punish those individuals who sought to harass their fellow students.

Idaho
2006 saw Idaho lawmakers pass a law that allowed school officials to suspend students if they bullied or harassed other students using a telephone or computer.

Iowa
Iowa has passed several laws that force schools to create anti-cyber bullying policies which cover bullying “in schools, on school property or at any school function or school-sponsored activity.”

Help prevent cyber bullying in schools by using your own Cyber Bully Prevention Software.New Jersey
The Garden State of New Jersey has always maintained tough laws about bullying, but it wasn’t until 2007 that the laws were amended to include bullying via “electronic communication.” These laws give additional power to the school system to enforce bullying-related punishment for actions that may not take place while on school grounds.

Oregon
The progressive state of Oregon really delves into the details of cyber bullying. The laws passed in recent years in Oregon expand the boundaries of what constitutes cyber bullying to include those actions which “substantially interfere” with the education of the young person.

Missouri
The suicide of a 13-year old girl Megan Meier who was the victim of an internet hoax greatly raised the awareness of cyber bullying and its consequences in the state of Missouri. Governor Matt Blunt went so far as to create a task force whose sole purpose was to study and create laws regarding cyber bullying. As a result the Internet Harassment Task Force now stands as a shining example for other states around the country. Missouri has also toughened their laws on the matter, upgrading cyber-harassment from a misdemeanor to a Class D felony.

New York
New York created a system to investigate claims of cyber bullying that would help police and school officials better ascertain the circumstances of each occurrence and prosecute or punish the culprits to the fullest extent of the law.

Rhode Island
The governor of Rhode Island is currently trying to pass a bill that would force repeat cyber bullying offenders to appear in family court, where they would be charged as delinquents under the terms of the state’s laws for young offenders.

Vermont
Vermont has added a $500 fine for cyber bullying offenses to their already stringent laws on the matter. There is currently a bill being discussed that would increase the reach of the school’s powers regarding cyber bullying when the action puts the individual’s ability to learn (or health and safety) at risk.

http://www.cyberbullyalert.com/blog/tag/cyberbullying-law/

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Cyberbullying Cases

Here there are two cases of cyberbullying victims that they lost their life
Ryan Patrick Halligan & Megan Taylor Meier


"It's one thing when you get made fun of at school, but to be bullied in your own home via your computer is a disgusting thing for someone to do and I think anyone who gets kicks out of it is disgusting. It makes me feel badly about myself. It makes me wonder how people can be so rude and disrespectful of others and makes me lose faith in the human race. It decreases my self esteem and I often wonder what I did to make someone treat me that way." (16 year-old girl from Alabama)






Ryan Patrick Halligan (December 18, 1989 – October 7, 2003) was an American teenager from Essex Junction, Vermont who died by suicide at the age of 13 after bullying from his classmates in real life and cyber-bullying online. According to the Associated Press, Halligan was repeatedly sent instant messages from middle school classmates accusing him of being gay, and was "threatened, taunted and insulted incessantly".




Megan Taylor Meier (November 6, 1992 – October 17, 2006) was a North American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri who committed suicide by hanging three weeks before her 14th birthday. A year later, Meier's parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the social networking website MySpace. The mother of a friend of Meier, Lori Drew was later indicted on the matter in 2008, but in 2009, Drew was acquitted.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Popular Websites Used for Cyber Bullying

Most of the young people around the world are victims of cyberbullying by using electronic devices, mostly by internet-connected computers. But where is all of this online cyberbullying taking place? The following list provides insight into the sites most commonly being used for cyberbullying as well as why and how this problem is occurring.
( The Source: http://www.cyberbullyalert.com/blog/2008/10/popular-websites-used-for-cyber-bullying/ )


MySpace Cyberbullying


MySpace is the number one social networking site for high school age students and younger.Most kids use MySpace to set up profiles and share information about themselves, their favorite music, Hollywood stars and other interests with kids in their school or neighborhood. For most of them, MySpace represents a fun form of self-expression that utilizes the latest online technology.


But a small percentage of kids use MySpace for cyber bullying. This can be accomplished in several different ways, including:

» Posting hateful information on another person’s MySpace page.

» Posting hateful information about another person on your own MySpace page

» Creating a new MySpace profile for the sole purpose of bullying another individual.


Facebook Cyberbullying

Facebook is similar to MySpace except that it is geared towards a slightly older audience (the music and customization functionality is a lot less robust than found on MySpace) but is still being used by cyber bullies to harass their classmates and ex-friends. The rules of engagement are similar to those found in MySpace: people will either use their own profile to harass others, or create fake identities and build profiles to harass other people or dupe them into thinking another person is interested in them (romantically or as a friend).


Twitter Cyberbullying

One of the fastest growing social media enterprises, Twitter allows people to “follow” one another by posting regular updates about their activities. Twitter is seeing a growing number of cyberbullying incidents as more and more kids figure out how to post hateful, harassing information about their friends and deliver it “via Tweet” to as many followers of the site as they can.