One study done by I-Safe America found that 42 percent of students in fourth through eighth grade admitted to being bullied online. Cyberbullying is becoming such a serious issue on the Internet that several states including Washington, Oregon and Rhode Island are proposing legislation regarding Internet bullying.

Cyberbullying is an intentional act of aggression toward another person via the Internet.

Cyberbullying includes:

• Sending cruel or threatening emails or text messages
• Making nasty or false comments about another person
• Creating websites to ridicule other people
• Sending questionnaires or polls to classmates about the physical traits of another student.
• Sending sensitive, private information from emails or instant message conversations to others.
• Posting images of others with the intent to embarrass them.
• Any other type of bullying behavior that is done with a computer or electronic device.

Internet bullying is most often done by children. But many adults also resort to online bullying. When adults bully online, it’s considered “cyberharassment”.

There are four main types of Internet bullies:

• The Vengeful Angel-This type do not consider themselves bullies at all. They use cyberbullying tactics to right perceived wrongs, or protect others from the “bad guy” they are now victimizing.

• The Power Hungry-These bullies use harassment as a way to exert authority over others and show that they are powerful. They like to have a small audience of friends to share their bullying tactics with and often brag about their activities and actions. Many times the “Power Hungry” bully is a real life victim of real bullying, but utilizes their online skills to frighten and embarrass others anonymously.

• Mean Girls-This type of cyberbullying is usually done, or planned, in a group in a room or virtually together. It is done for entertainment and these types of bullies want people to know who they are and that they have to power to cyberbully others. This kind of cyberbullying feeds off of cliques, and group admiration. It will die out quickly if they don’t get the entertainment they are seeking.

• The Inadvertent Cyberbully-These types don’t really consider themselves cyberbullies at all. They might just be pretending to be tough online, role-playing or reacting to hurtful messages or communication they themselves have received.

So what can children and parents do to protect against the threat of cyberbullies?

Children:

• Never give out any personal information online.
• Never give out your passwords to anyone, except parents.
• If someone sends a threatening message, do not respond. Save the message and print it out to show to an adult.
• Never open emails from sources you don’t know or from known bullies.
• Don’t post anything online you wouldn’t want people at school to see, even in emails.
• Never send messages when you yourself are angry.
• Help other kids who are being bullied online by not joining in and showing the bullying messages to adults.

Parents:

• If bullying is severe, contact your childrens’ school, your Internet Service Provider or the local police.
• Discuss cyberbullying with your children and ask if they’ve ever experienced it.
• Ask your children about the people on their “buddy list”.
• Keep your computer in a busy area of the home.
• Let your children know you won’t blame them or take away privileges if they are cyberbullied.
• Watch for warning signs like reluctance or sadness when using the computer or a fear of going to school.
• Make sure you know all of your children’s computer screen names and passwords.