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Cyberbullying – A Deadly Epidemic

John Stephens, Senior Vice President, Keenan

What do Ryan, Megan, Seth, Phoebe and Tyler have in common? These are teenagers who committed

suicide due to cyber-bullying. These deaths have put the spotlight on the growing problem of

cyberbullying and sparked more calls for tougher action. This issue has received so much attention that

President Barack Obama held a White House conference on bullying earlier this month and

subsequently launched StopBullying.gov, a website to help prevent and stop bullying.

Cyberbullying has become an epidemic in this country. The new generation of kids are growing up on

the web and defining their own cultural rules. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reported

that kids ages 8 to 18 now spend an average of seven and a half hours a day “plugged-in”—online, on

the phone, or in the thrall of TV or some other electronic device. And in a random survey conducted by

the Cyberbullying Research Center, 20% of middle-school students reported that they seriously

contemplated attempting suicide. There is an upward suicide trend in the 10 to 19 year-old age group

and the correlating factor is bullying and cyberbullying. The death rate is climbing and many are

questioning whether or not the digital age has made the younger generation callous.

The effects of cyberbullying can be more severe than those of “traditional” bullying because a child who

is targeted may see no escape and no place to hide. When bullying hits the internet, it morphs out of

control. There are far more witnesses to cyberbullying and the reality now is that cyberbullies never

sleep.

United States Department Education Secretary Arne Duncan is calling bullying a “silent epidemic” and

that bullying involving race, religion or sexual orientation may be a federal offense. This issue has

become global and as cyberbullying gains more media attention, lawsuits are increasing. Headlines such

as “Families seeking $35 million in bullying lawsuits” and “Court awards bullied student $800,000” have

become common weekly news. Another widely publicized lawsuit was a boy who sued the fathers of

three former classmates for $350,000 after they obtained a copy of a video the boy made for a class

project and posted it on the internet. The video depicted the boy using a golf club as a light saber; he

was dubbed the “Starwars Kid” and received world-wide ridicule. The suit settled out of court.

The Internet is incredibly powerful and has transformed this generation. However, it’s hard to imagine

that such a vast resource could be used for such terrible deeds. Social media has an enormous effect on

the lives of young people who often share pieces of their life with their social networking friends that

they normally would not bring up during face to face conversations. Internet safety expert and privacy

lawyer Parry Aftab said types of bullying amounts to torture for some kids. "The schoolyard bullies beat

you up and then go home," she said. "The cyberbullies beat you up at home, at grandma's house or

wherever you're connected to technology."

Personally, I don't believe kids post derogatory comments with catastrophic intent. However, it’s

becoming more and more evident that some kids do not understand the consequences of their actions.

The prosecution of the nine kids in Phoebe Prince's suicide, or the Tyler Clementi’s of Rutgers University

death, clearly reminds us of the growing dangers of social media.

Ending this Tragic Epidemic

Social media risks such as cyberbullying and sexting are growing problems facing children, families and

schools. As these risks become more prevalent, many are wondering how to police these behaviors.

Should a school get involved when young kids bully each other online? They certainly would if the

bullying occurred at school and in some cases the school will become involved with bullying outside of

school as well. Schools are in a precarious position because we now see many examples in the media

where schools have been sued because they took action against a student when they shouldn’t have or

they failed to take action when they were supposed to.

In the 21st Century, the Internet plays an important part of kid’s lives, though the boundaries between

real life and virtual life are blurry. It’s important to teach kids proactively about the serious risks of

social media and the long term consequences of their online behaviors. This requires a coordinated

effort of schools, parents and communities to talk about the inherent dangers of cyber bullying, sexting

and other social media risks.

We are in the infancy stages of the social media dangers epidemic. Gone are the days when the

schoolyard bullies beat you up and went home. Gone are the days when kids teased one another and it

ended with giggles and at worst, a few tears. We are living in a world where bullies can reach you

anywhere and anytime and where humiliation is shared at the click a mouse to a widespread audience.

The 21st Century affords incredible opportunities, but it’s also brought us social media dangers and far

too many young tragedies. It’s time to stop this epidemic.

John Stephens is a Senior Vice President for Keenan & Associates and works with 600+ California public

school districts providing tools, resources and programs to keep children safe while educating them on

the risk of cyberbullying. Please contact me at (949) 940-1760 ext. 5161 (jstephens@keenan.com).