Last week, two Florida girls, ages 12 & 14, were arrested on felony charges of taunting and bullying after a 12 year old Florida girls committed suicide. This is a sad realty in our world today. Bullying is no longer happening face to face. It is happening everywhere we have access to the internet and at all hours of the day. For a victim it is difficult to escape or find refuge when the attacks are happening even when you should be in the safety of your own home.
Rebecca Sedwick committed suicide by jumping from an abandoned cement factory tower in Lakeland, FL on September 9
th. She had been a victim of bullying by at least 15 other girls utilizing
on-line social networking sites such as Ask.fm, Instagram, Kik, and Voxer.
For parents, schools and students this is a difficult evolution. According to a 2016 study, 26% of teens state they are the subject of regular cyberbullying, while 40% admit to be on one side or the other over the past year. It is difficult for parents to keep up with the latest trends in social networking. It seems many of us just figured out Facebook only to have to new application such as Instagram or Ask.fm become the application of choice.
The situation is even more complicated by other trends evident especially today. Whether it be the election or immigration or Colin Kaepernick, it is so easy to find hate filled speech tearing everyone apart for their ideas. The action modeled by adults is not consistent with the message to stop cyberbullying with our children and students.
We are living in a digital age and the responsibilities of parents, schools, and children have changed. We have to educate our children about the proper etiquette for using social networking. As parents we have to be open and honest with our children and have to be willing to learn about new technology and be willing to check on our kids. It is fine line between protecting our children and respecting their privacy.
In addition to parents having more responsibilities, so do you students. Here are some tips on how to prevent and stop cyberbullying:
· Make sure if you are members of social networking sites, protect yourself by using the security features (for example, make your profile private if you are on Instagram)
· Never accept a “friendship” request unless you know the person
· Refuse to pass on cyberbullying messages
· Tell friends or others to stop
· Block communication with cyberbullies, delete messages without reading them
· Never post or share personal information online including full name, parents’ names, address
· Never share internet passwords with anyone
· Never put anything online you wouldn’t want your classmates to see
· Do not send messages when you are angry or upset
· Always be as polite online as if you were in person
If you are a victim of cyberbullying or become aware of cyberbullying, you need to ask for help. Find a
teacher or trusted adult and ask for assistance.
How many different social networking sites do you belong to? Have you ever witnessed acts of cyberbullying? Besides the suggestions I provided, what are steps you believe would be helpful to stopping this behavior?
One of the most interesting segments comes at the end when Mr. Lipton asks them a series of questions which require them to give the audience a glimpse of their true selves. I like the questions so much, I thought I would ask you some of them to share with everyone. 
