There are all kinds of reasons why "bullying" and "cyberbullying" can't be applied to just any kind of mean behavior that happens in physical or digital spaces. Professor and author Justin Patchin goes into a bunch of them in his latest blog post, but parents may want to know why lack of definition is a problem for schools as well as for students. For example, Patchin writes, "recently-passed … [Read more...] about Why defining ‘bullying’ is important for schools
bullying
Powerful lessons for preventing bullying & cyberbullying
It's October already, so National Cyber Security Awareness Month (#NCSAM2014) and National Bullying Prevention Month have arrived – offering a good reminder that, in today's increasingly user-driven digital environments, digital safety and security depend on all Net users of all ages. Care and respect for each other's property, privacy, identity, emotional safety and digital security – just about … [Read more...] about Powerful lessons for preventing bullying & cyberbullying
What are we really seeing in the social media fishbowl?
As a society, we're getting closer to the heart of social media safety, which is largely, not entirely, a blend of emotional and social (psychosocial) safety. This thoughtful piece by Prof. Justin Patchin of the Cyberbullying Research Center – "Bullies or Best Friends? The Challenge of Interpreting Interpersonal Relationships" – raises some important questions for parents and school staff as well … [Read more...] about What are we really seeing in the social media fishbowl?
Dealing with the nasties online
Pondering positive ways to deal with online negativity seems to be a trend – maybe even a blooming social norm! Because, in response to social cruelty like the recent tragic trolling of Robin Williams's daughter Zelda Williams, other people sympathized, defended her and started thinking of ways to counteract cruelty like that. Negativity grabs our attention more than positivity, New York Times … [Read more...] about Dealing with the nasties online
Leadership in bullying prevention and so much more
We need to prevent and solve bullying. No question. But we also need to encourage and empower our children with the knowledge that most kids don't bully, that bullying is not normative – that, in fact, kindness is. As Dr. Marc Brackett at Yale University's Center for Emotional Intelligence said Friday at the federal government's Bullying Prevention Summit in Washington, "Children are wired for … [Read more...] about Leadership in bullying prevention and so much more