“When the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-bullying – cite_note-1

Is this really any different than what some of us experienced in school? Answer this: how many people knew about you being bullied? Yeah, as much as it may have felt like the “whole world” it really wasn’t. A cyber bully can reach a lot more people with a single mouse click than the old fashioned bully could have even with the help of his/her friends. Does it make one less traumatizing than the other? I don’t think so; both are scary at any age.

So how is cyber bullying accomplished? I wasn’t sure, so I started seeking some input from the World Wide Web and this is what I learned:
• A child is bombarded by anonymous, threatening emails with no direct harassment at school; victim has no idea who is sending the emails and starts to feel that everyone is against them. – This child is being bullied
• Vicious rumors are spread about a student via posts on a school’s electronic bulletin board; the rumors aren’t true but other students see and believe them. This student is a victim of a cyberbully.
• A fake profile is created on a social networking site, complete with a student’s real picture, name and contact information. This child starts receiving unsolicited and truly “bizarre” emails. This student is a victim of a cyberbully

Cyberbullying Statistics (Source: www.makeadifferenceforkids.org)
• 43% of teens have experienced online harassment
• Most prevalent among 15-16 year olds
• Girls are twice as likely to be bullied
• Teens sharing information on sites like Facebook and MySpace show they’ve been bullied online 39% of the time (of those who report using those sites, 22% report having been harassed)

Why do kids cyberbully? (Source: www.makeadifferenceforkids.org)
• 22% motivated by revenge
• 18.7% said the victim deserved it
• 10.6% say they did it for fun
• 3.9% hated the victim
• 3.5% pressured by peers

The number one thing you can do to help is to talk to your child before they become a victim. Sound familiar? I thought so; it’s the same advice we’ve been heard about so many other critical areas of parenting. I have been told by people I trust, “if you hear something over and over, there just might be something to it!”

Watch for additional blogs about Cyberbullying and what WE can all do about it.