PBIS: Cyberbullying

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: What is Cyberbullying?

Stop us if you've heard this one. Your friend, Potanga, just posted a picture of her new Doctor Who foot tattoo on her social media website of choice. Almost immediately, some total randos feel the need to comment on it, and they say things like…

• "What a horrible and tacky tattoo idea."
• "Dude, your feet are gross."
• "I bet you don't even like Doctor Who."
• "Looks like a really weird birthmark."
• "What kind of name is Potanga?"

Suddenly, Potanga's excitement over her new tattoo went from a ten to a negative five. Whether the commenters on that thread knew it or not, they were cyberbullying Potanga. Social media involves a lot of mindless scrolling and snap judgments, and it's usually not personal.

To the bully, that is. It's always personal to the person getting bullied.

Oh, and this hypothetical situation with your friend? It's an example of tame cyberbullying. Sometimes cyberbullies make death threats or publicly humiliate people, and sometimes it gets so bad that victims are forced to delete their accounts. And, as you know, deleting an account is often the best-case scenario.

Cyberbullying might look innocent or harmless at first, and the bullies might tell you to lighten up and that they were just having a bit of fun. But, uh, were they? People rely a lot on tone when communicating, which is something written text on the internet completely lacks. Thank goodness for emojis.

This unit will discuss the different types of cyberbullying. If you know what it is, it'll be easier to deal with it, avoid it, and not perpetuate it.

Don't worry, we'll try not to sound like the 1997 Kids' Guide to the Internet.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01: What is Cyberbullying?

You know what cyberbullying is, but that doesn't mean you can sit back and forget about it.

Quick recap: cyberbullying is bullying via the internet or other electronic communication (texts, we're looking at you). Essentially, it's any kind of bullying that isn't done face-to-face. That's great news for wedgie victims, but bad news for…well, everyone. Especially since bullying someone online is way easier than in person—you've got a screen to hide behind, after all.

So cyberbullying is being emotionally abusive to someone online. Broad, much? After all, loads of things can be hurtful on the internet. To clear things up, let's take a look at some more specific examples.

From the Classroom to the Chatroom

A lot of cyberbullying is an extension of bullying at school, but the victim may or may not know that their bully is someone they know in real life…especially if the bully is anonymous. Anonymous bullies are the worst kind of bullies. They're all the jerk of a normal bully, but with the added bonus of being a total coward. With their identity protected, anonymous cyberbullies have less incentive to be decent human beings.

Too bad IP addresses are actually very traceable. Oops.

If someone you know in real life is bullying you online, there's usually something you can do about it. You know where they live, so you can probably set their laptop on fire.

Just kidding. Don't do that.

If you know the person in real life, they need to grow up. Or maybe you also did something wrong and you both need to grow up. Either way, work it out. If you feel legitimately threatened by the person, you won't want to take matters into your own hands, but if it's a friend, you can start by confronting them.

And for the bullies out there, just so you can't plead ignorance, here are some common misunderstandings about what is considered cyberbullying:

1. "Just being honest" is still cyberbullying if it's meant to offend.
2. Purposely posting someone else's private pictures is cyberbullying.
3. Publicly humiliating someone online is cyberbullying.
4. Bullying a bully doesn't make you a warrior for justice. It makes you a bully.

If you don't know you're doing it, now you do, so stop.

Total Randos

Sometimes it's not personal—for the bully, at least. Sometimes someone just wants to vent their rage at a complete stranger. Which is especially weird because that hardly ever happens in real life (unless you're on the highway in L.A.). Cyberbullies who are strangers may also just want to stir the pot for fun. It's pretty sadistic, actually.

Oh, and there's a term for it: trolling. Trolls don't want to have a reasonable discussion; they just want to get you to react or to become upset or angry. They do that by provoking you. Why? Who knows. Just don't interact with them. Don't give them the satisfaction.

Another type of bullying on the internet is doxxing, which is the public release of personal information online without the permission of the information's owner. So if your address, phone number, bank details, or other personal information get out on the internet, it's doxxing.

Please note, Shmoopers: doxxing is always messed up. It doesn't matter if you think they deserve it. Doxxing a bully still makes you a bully. Let it end with you. Take the higher road. Be better than they are.

Don't. Be. A. Jerk.

Emotional Turmoil: The Common Thread

All of these varieties of cyberbullying have something in common: they're deliberately hurtful. Even if it's just embarrassing or annoying someone, bullies always want their victims to feel bad about themselves. Or maybe they just don't care.

Over the internet, it's difficult to tell how big that negative reaction is: the bully might just want the victim to be a little bit sad for a few minutes, but to the victim, the action might be really offensive or upsetting and stick with them.

Because they're not face-to-face, there's no way for the bully to know that. It's also much easier to be hurtful on the internet when you can be anonymous, because even if the victim is really hurt, it's harder to trace the blame back to the bully.

Or so you might think. Bad luck, bullies: it's not that simple after all.

In the Real World

Take a peek (and listen) at what some people think about the line between cyberbullying and free speech.

• "Free Speech or Cyberbullying?: The John McAdams Debate"

Sample Lesson - Activity