Cyberbullying and Internet Safety

Gone are the days when online dangers consisted of porn and unknown older predators. The biggest threat to teens online today comes from their own peers.

A simple sext (naked picture, generally distributed via text message) can spread to thousands of students in minutes. A taunt online can quickly become a “game” that drives the target to the brink of suicide.

Tyler Clementi, a talented violinist Freshman at Rutger’s University, was one of seven young people who killed themselves in 2010 after bearing the brunt of vicious cyberbullying. Clementi was gay, and his roommate video-taped him on a date in their dorm room. This video circulated online, and three days later Clementi jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge. The roommate, like so many cyberbullies, thought it was fun and did not intend to “kill.”

While LGBTQI students are especially vulnerable to cyberbullying, any student can become a target. Because cyberbullying happens in isolation (such as the victim is at his or her computer or receiving messages on his or her phone), abuse can escalate exponentially without adult or law enforcement intervention. This stands in contrast to in-person bullying, where several factors contribute to a quicker end: the bully sees the victim’s response, making the effect of abuse harder to ignore; a parent, teacher or other adult may see and intervene; peers may step in to end abuse; bystanders are more likely to take action when they see physical harm.

Online, it is far too easy for bullies to frame abuse as “joking” – and for bystanders to pretend the same thing. Ryan Halligan was just 13 when he killed himself in 2003 as a result of cyberbullying. His tormenters, in typical tormentor fashion, were shocked and surprised that their “teasing” had such an ill effect. As far as anyone knows, Halligan was straight, but the cyberbullies targeted him as gay. Clearly, mainstream homophobic culture makes schools unsafe for young people of all orientation