Cyberbullying Becoming a Growing Problem

Forty-five percent of preteens and 30 percent of teens reported being cyberbullied while at school in 2006, according to an article in Principal Leadership by Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists, and Nicole Robey, a school psychology intern. Cyberbullying "involves send­ing or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet (e.g., instant messaging, emails, chat rooms, and social network­ing sites) or other digital communication devices, such as cell phones. It can involve stalking, threats, harassment, imperson­ation, humiliation, trickery, and exclusion."

Cyberbullying can cause serious emotional harm to victims. In some instances, it can lead to "severe dysfunction, external­ized violence, and suicide."

Cyberbullies share many common traits. They typically have weaker relationships with their parents or guardians than their peers. They may have been bullied in the past and often engage in "delinquent behavior and frequent substance abuse." They cite many reasons why they use technology to bully others, including achieving perceived power by bullying others, acting out as a result of boredom, or acting as vigilantes by paying back a perceived or real offense. They often use the Internet daily.

Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Robey offer the following tips to stu­dents who are experiencing cyberbullying:

• Avoid retaliating. This can cause the problem to escalate. Address the issue calmly with the cyberbully.

• Tell an adult about the problem-especially if the mes­sages are threatening.

• Make hard copies of any messages received; keep a journal that details cyberbullying incidents and when they occur.

• Save all offensive messages until they have been docu­mented by an adult.

• If possible, block any future messages from the individual.

• Limit discussion of personal business and activities on the Web and in texts or emails so that a cyberbully cannot access this information.

Teens Not Ethically Prepared for Work

"Bill," a 16-year-old from Scranton, Pennsylvania, feels confident in his ability to make ethical decisions in the workplace once he starts his summer internship; yet as a high school student he some­times lies to his parents and teachers and shows no remorse when doing so. Some people may think that Bill is just an isolated exam­ple of a misguided teen, but a recent poll by Junior Achievement and Deloitte has found that there are teens just like "Bill" throughout the United States who lack ethical readiness and could benefit from training in ethical decision-making.

Eighty-percent of teens polled felt capable of making ethical business decisions. However, their view of acceptable day-to-day behavior and actions did not match their perceived prepared­ness. For example, 38 percent felt breaking the rules was often necessary to achieve success; 61 percent had lied to their parents or teachers in the past year, and many who admitted to lying felt the act was acceptable. Their sense of accountability is also sus­pect-86 percent felt more accountable to themselves instead of their parents, teachers, or society in general Many teens did not have an adult role model to emulate, instead identifying their peers as role models.

Junior Achievement (JA) is offering a series of classes and workshops to better prepare students far the ethical challenges of the workplace and of life. Known as JA Business Ethics, the pro­gram encourages students in grades four-12 to examine their personal beliefs and compare them with major ethics theories, and learn the benefits of living within a code of ethics. For more information, contact Junior Achievement(http://studentcenter.ja.org/aspx/LearnEthics).

(Junior Achievement 2009)

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