PTA COFFEE BREAK: Keep kids safe from cyber-bullies

Christine Fazio taught parents about cyber-bullying Wednesday at the May PTA Coffee Break.

Compared to traditional bullying, which is done in person using physical or verbal threats in small groups or one-on-one, cyber-bullying involves tormenting or harassing another child online or through text messaging.

The topic has become a dinner table conversation in the past week, as Missouri became the first state to pass a bill calling for a penalties on cyber stalking and harassment.

The bill was signed in the wake of the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier in 2006, apparently due to the malicious bullying of what authorities believe is the 49-year-old mother of the girl’s classmate.

The woman is alleged to have created a fake MySpace account, on which she posed as a teenage boy named Josh, who began by romancing Megan but then began taunting, threatening and devastating the girl, who subsequently hanged herself.

There was no law Missouri could use to charge the woman with cyber-bullying, so the case was brought to MySpace’s home state, California, where she was charged with conspiracy and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Cyber-bullying can range from sexual harassment to taunts to rumors to death threats, Fazio said.

People are more likely to cyber-bully because of the degree of anonymity involved. Online, an individual can create any persona they want.

The act can be especially devastating when the message or picture is instantly blasted out to dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people.

In past cases, students have created malicious websites that are geared at making fun of or threatening a classmate.

In other situations, compromising pictures have been widely disseminated by jealous boyfriends or enemies.

Kids commonly log into each other’s e-mail accounts and social networking profiles, as passwords are often shared; those with unpleasant intentions can send out hateful messages under their friend’s name, sign them up for pornography or spam, or put illicit comments and pictures on their websites.

Fazio recommends parents teach kids to avoid sharing any passwords or personal data with their friends.

Kids often cyber-bully out of anger, frustration, revenge or a need for power. Even “popular” students can be victims, as many perpetrators are envious and value the anonymity of such actions.

Schools are not allowed to discipline a student for something they do off campus, as they could be sued for exceeding authority and violating free speech.

Fazio recommended districts develop a contractual policy that reserves the right to discipline a student for actions that adversely affect the well-being of a student while they’re at school.

She encouraged parents to keep computers out of bedrooms; to run a search on their and their children’s names, to see what malicious content may exist online; to know their children’s passwords and check their buddy list, MySpace and Facebook pages (if not outlawing them outright); to discuss cyber-bullying and “netiquette” with their children; and to print and save any negative content their kids receive, rather than let them retaliate.

Police should be informed if kids are threatened with bodily harm, or the use of weapons or bombs.

For more information, visit stopbullying.org.