TEACHER'S DESK | What Students Taught Me About Cyberbullying

by Patti Agatston, Ph.D.

In 2006, I had the opportunity to conduct focus group interviews with students on the topic of cyberbullying. I partnered with Dr. Robin Kowalski and Dr. Susan Limber, psychologists at Clemson University who had already conducted a national survey on cyberbullying with students in grades 6 through 8. To build on that knowledge, we interviewed 148 middle and high school students in public schools. We selected schools in part for their diverse socioeconomic status.

Here�s what we found.  (The full data from the focus groups appears in the December 2007 supplement to the Journal of Adolescent Health.)

Learning Point #1:  Cyberbullying is impacting the school.  Girls are particularly concerned about this issue.

We asked students if they thought that cyberbullying was a problem at their particular school.  The groups were separated by gender. I interviewed the female focus groups and a male colleague interviewed the male groups.  The majority of students in the female group agreed that it was a problem; however, the reaction was more mixed among male groups.  This fits with the research that suggests that females are more involved in cyberbullying as both perpetrators and targets (Kowalski, Limber and Agatston, 2007).  However, in each of our groups, students could give examples of how classmates or neighbors had been impacted by cyberbullying.

Learning Point #2:  Don�t believe that just because a site is blocked, kids won�t be able to access it.

The students were very tech savvy, particularly at the high school level.  We asked the groups if they were able to access blocked sites on our school district server, and both males and females were knowledgeable about using �proxy servers� to bypass the blocks.  We must do much more than rely upon blocks and filters to protect our children.  We need to have conversations with them about the issue.

Learning Point #3:  Few parents/guardians and educators are talking to students about cyberbullying.

We asked students in the focus groups whether their parents/guardians or teachers were talking to them about cyberbullying, and the majority of the students answered an emphatic �no.�   A few students did give examples of Internet safety messages that parents were discussing with them, but the messages did not include information about how people treat one another online.  

One school was implementing a bullying prevention program, and the girls in that focus group said that cyberbullying had been discussed in the classroom, but that was the one exception.  We need to weave cyberbullying into our messages about bullying in general.

Learning Point #4:  Students are reluctant to tell adults if they experience cyberbullying.  

While students could give some strategies for dealing with cyberbullying, such as ignore or block the sender of the message, they were reluctant to involve adults.  The most common reason was that they feared losing access to their technology.  As one girl said, �If I tell my mom that someone is sending me mean instant messages [IMs], she�ll say, �Well than you don�t need to IM.��  

In addition, they did not believe that adults at home or school would be particularly helpful in addressing the situation.  This was particularly true with adults at school.  As one boy said:  �What can they do?  It�s happening at home, not at school.�  

Adults need to avoid overreacting yet offer effective assistance in order to be viewed as legitimate and trustworthy resources by youth.

Learning Point #5:  Student bystanders who witness cyberbullying often do nothing to help, but when they do help, it makes a difference.

Many of the students in our focus groups shared stories of witnessing cyberbullying incidences online, but indicated that they did not do anything to alert adults or assist the targeted student.  They did share that they �felt sorry� for the person who was targeted.  This is consistent with Dan Olweus�s research (1993) on the bullying circle that demonstrates that the majority of students do not participate in bullying, but instead witness it, feel uncomfortable or distressed about it and are uncertain what to do to help.

This has obvious implications for prevention and intervention with cyberbullying.  We tell the story in our book, Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age (2007), of a middle school girl who was targeted with a profile that both threatened and made fun of her.  I interviewed the girl�s mother, and she shared that her daughter was able to deal with the abuse a little better because some of her friends went to the site and posted positive comments about her and messages of support for her.  

Such messages of support are so powerful for students who feel frightened, embarrassed, humiliated and alone.   

Conclusion

Our youth have much to teach us about how young people are interacting with technology today.  The benefits of technology far outweigh the negatives.  As parents/guardians and educators, we can assist young people in making the digital world a positive experience for everyone. Remember, without our guidance, they will make up the rules themselves!