Monday, April 16, 2012

Adults can't be cyberbullies?

So I was reading about what cyberbulling is at http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html. It says that when adults are involved it is not called cyberbullying, rather it is called cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. I don't really agree that adults can't be involved in cyberbullying. This may just be semantics, but I think cyber-harassment and cyberstalking should be (are) categories of cyberbullying. Does anyone else feel this way?
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7 comments:

  1. H. LacksApril 17, 2012 at 8:01 PM

    I think adults can be labeled as cyberbullies, too. Why is that label only attached to minors? A document put out by The National Conference of State Legislature discusses all three in terms of minors. This document is located here: http://ssl.csg.org/dockets/2012cycle/32B/32Bdocmins/Cyberstalking,%20Cyberharassment%20and%20Cyberbullying%20Laws.pdf.

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    1. TABApril 18, 2012 at 1:34 PM

      I am not so sure as to why the label only applies to minors but I do have an inkling. Perhaps the difference in terminology may have something to do with the law. Maybe cyberbulling (minor on minor) is not punishable by law whereas (adult on adult) and (adult on minor) is. Either way, adults can be cyber bullies in my eyes.

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    2. KTG3579April 21, 2012 at 6:34 AM

      i think this is also how i see the distinction. when students fight on a playground its not called aggravated assault, and charges usually aren't filed. i think cyberbullying is seen, for good or for bad, as more juvenile and less of a serious crime than when it is perpetrated by adults.

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    3. KarstApril 21, 2012 at 3:22 PM

      I would agree: "...adults can be labeled as cyberbullies".

      Just imagine two 18-year olds involved in a case of bullying online.

      For varying legal purposes, an individual can be considered an adult at varying ages. Often 18 is used as a legal age to get married, join the military, etc. But for many other uses, other ages can come into play, especially in areas regarding criminal conduct. The laws vary considerably between the states.

      I think the definition at stopcyberbullying.org is over-reaching. In any case, there are likely to be a bunch of slightly different definitions enshrined in laws, since all the states now have some sort of applicable law.

      The definitions used and codified in law may not be the same as those promolgated by state educational agencies, by school districts, or individual schools. And certainly the explanations of cyberbullying given to children are going to vary, depending on age.

      The definitions used in the scholarly literature are likely evolving. The original post prompted me to take a quick look for some scholarly literature for definitions. I found articles on cyberbullying and online social networks in such journals as:

      1. Journal of Adolescent Health
      2. American Educational Research Journal
      3. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
      4. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling

      to name just four.

      Here is a definition used in Agatston, Patricia W. et al. 2007, Students' perspectives on cyber bullying, Journal of Adolescent Health 41 59-60:

      "Cyberbullying was defined for the students as "using the Internet or other digital technologies such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants to be intentionally mean or to harass others."

      This study attempted to ascertain middle and high school students perspectives on cyberbullying in a Georgia school district. Students (especially females) viewed it as a problem, one that was rarely discussed at school. Instances of bullying mostly occurred outside of school.

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    4. TABApril 25, 2012 at 8:53 AM

      It is unfortunate, but I think that KTG3579 is correct. It is a shame cyberbullying isn't recognized as severe when adults are the perpetrators.

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  2. H. LacksApril 20, 2012 at 2:12 PM

    In Nancy Willard's article, Educator’s Guide to Cyberbullying, Cyberthreats & Sexting, she identifies 8 forms of cyberbullying: flaming, harassment, denigration, impersonation, outing, trickery, exclusion, and cyberstalking. She also discusses the legal issues that surround cyberbulling. You can read the article here: http://www.csriu.org/cyberbully/documents/educatorsguide.pdf

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  3. TABApril 25, 2012 at 8:55 AM

    I also saw those forms of harasssment in a PowerPoint presentation on cyberbullying:

    http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyssca.org%2FCYBERBULLYING-pp-BT28th.ppt&ei=Wx6YT_qwF4e49QTbranpBQ&usg=AFQjCNHgSeOw8ev7KRr_YSQrahcN4I130Q

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