When students began attending middle school a decade ago, they faced physical bullying from older students who saw themselves as superior. This grave issue caught the attention of school counselors, who intervened to halt this form of mistreatment towards new students. At that time, communication among students occurred face-to-face. However, advancements in technology have completely altered the landscape. Presently, students engage with one another via internet-based social media platforms.
Using snapshot, Face book Twitter, and Instagram, students are able to connect and share ideas that can benefit their well-being. However, some students misuse these social media platforms and emotionally harm others. While traditional forms of student brutality have decreased, the internet has led to the emergence of cyber bullying among first-year students. Additionally, other students may face cyber bullying from individuals outside of the school community. Before d
...iscussing the role of School Counselors in addressing cyber bullying, it is important to define what it entails. Cyber bullying refers to the intentional use of electronic technologies to harass individuals or groups (Langos, 2012).
Cyber bullying involves the sending of threatening messages as well as harmful graphic content to individuals or groups. Typically, these cruel messages are sent to public platforms frequented by the person targeted. In addition to targeting individuals, cyber bullies also aim to damage the reputation of those whose pictures and messages are shared publicly. Slonje, Smith, & FriseN (2013) note that teenagers aged 12-17 often use smartphones to explore adolescent life, potentially getting involved in cyber bullying without realizing it. To combat cyber bullying, school counselors should consider the traditional forms of bullying.
Traditional bullying has been categorized into direct and indirect forms. Direct bullying
encompasses physical actions such as hitting or verbally threatening, whereas indirect bullying involves social exclusion or being ostracized by a group. Cyber bullying shares similarities with indirect traditional bullying in that it is repetitive, intentional, and emotionally harmful. However, cyber bullying is more severe than traditional bullying because it can occur beyond the confines of school. Due to the detrimental effects of cyber bullying, school counselors play a critical role in preventing its impact on students.
According to Hinduja and Patchin (2013), the school counselor has multiple roles. One of these is raising awareness among students about the negative impact of online chat, instant messaging, and social media networks. It is important for the school management to inform students, parents, and teachers about the potential dangers associated with these platforms as they are primary avenues for cyberbullying. Additionally, the school counselor should educate staff on signs of cyberbullying in order to identify and support victims who may be hesitant to report incidents.
Another responsibility of the school counselor is creating policies that discourage cyberbullying. Since a large portion of cyberbullying takes place online, it is vital for the school counselor to establish policies that prohibit students from accessing the internet on their smartphones while at school.
It is important for schools that provide computer packages to restrict student access to social platform pages
Frequent Surveys for Identifying Cyber Bullying Victims
School counselors can use available studies, like the cyber bullying Quiz, to evaluate if a student has experienced cyber bullying. The Quiz assesses behaviors such as online teasing, impersonation, and non-consensual posting of pictures. By utilizing this tool, counselors can identify victims of cyber bullying and create a plan to
address reported cases. Implementing these strategies will effectively prevent incidents of cyber bullying within schools.
In the event that efforts to address cyber bullying are unsuccessful and it infiltrates a school setting, school counselors should adhere to the following guidelines to effectively combat this issue (Slonje, Smith, & FriseN, A. (2013).
Ignoring the Cyber Bully
Recognizing that the bully's intentions are aimed at eliciting a reaction from you, they will feel discouraged if you choose not to respond to their message.
Saving the Threatening Message Sent to You
Although cyber bullying represents a severe violation of an individual's right to privacy by exposing their private life, the reassuring aspect is that messages sent to a victim can be saved. By saving these messages, victims can use them as evidence when filing a case against the sender.
Making use of Reporting Tool
If bullying occurs on social media platforms, victims have the option to use the reporting tool to report any negative messages they receive.
In addition, the targeted individual has the option to block the malicious user using reporting tools. According to Slonje, Smith, & FriseN (2013), there are other steps that can be taken to halt cyberbullying such as displaying polite behavior, ceasing to engage in bullying, and seeking assistance. A morally sound method for stopping cyberbullying involves being a friend instead of a bystander, implying that bullies should acknowledge the wrongness of their actions.
Reference
- Doane, A. N., Kelley, M. L., & Pearson, M. R. (2016). Reducing cyber bullying: A theory of reasoned action-based video prevention program for college students.
Aggressive Behavior, 42(2), 136-146.
youth and adolescence, 42(5), 711-722.
The following text consists of two citations related to cyber bullying. The first citation is from the article "Cyber bullying: The challenge to define" in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. The second citation is from the article "The nature of cyber bullying, and strategies for prevention" in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
- Cybercrime essays
- Abortion essays
- Abuse essays
- Animal Rights essays
- Animal Testing essays
- Assault essays
- Bullying essays
- Controversial Issue essays
- Crash essays
- Cyber Bullying essays
- Feminism essays
- Human Rights essays
- Immigration essays
- Inequality essays
- Poverty essays
- Prejudice essays
- Racism essays
- Torture essays
- Violence essays