The rise in technology has led to many positive outcomes, but negative ones exist too. A major one, especially for today’s students, is cyberbullying. This particularly harmful form of bullying takes place on digital devices like cell phones and computers and occurs through social media, text messaging, email, and other online forums.
While it can happen in any age group, children and teenagers are especially vulnerable to cyberbullying. This is because nearly all of them use the Internet and social media, with some saying they are online almost constantly.
While parents shouldÌýdo their part to helpÌýrecognize the signsÌýofÌýcyberbullying and take steps to prevent it from escalating, students spend a large amount of their waking hours at school. During this time, faculty and staff are the ones responsible for the safety and well-being of their students. With the brunt of harassment happening through a screen, though, how can schools help combat cyberbullying? Various members of your school community can do their part when it comes to preventing cyberbullying. Ìý
School Counselors
CounselorsÌýand school psychologists play a vital part in preventing and recognizing cyberbullying in schools. They can schedule one-on-one time with students to establish trust and build relationships. This not only allows counselors to know their students betterÌý—Ìýenabling themÌýtoÌýbetterÌýidentify signs of cyberbullyingÌý—Ìýit can alsoÌýhelp students feel more comfortableÌýreporting if they experience or witnessÌýcyberbullying.
What’s more, counselors can use their expertise to educate school officialsÌýand staffÌýon ways to develop and implement prevention plans, monitor the execution of these plans,Ìýand assess theirÌýeffectiveness.
Counselors can leverage powerful screening tools such as ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ’s Student Well-Being Library to understand the specific support students need at all levels of risk.
Educators
Educators who interact with students every day may be more likely to notice the signs of cyberbullying. It’s crucial for school staff with student-facing roles to receive training on how to notice the warning signs. Educators can take additional steps to combat cyberbullying, including:
- EstablishingÌýfirm technology policiesÌý
- TeachingÌýdigital citizenship through methods like Social-Emotional Learning courses
- InvolvingÌýparents when necessaryÌý
- CommunicatingÌýopenly with studentsÌý
- StayingÌýup to dateÌýwith changes in technologyÌý
AdministratorsÌý
Administrators can help mitigate cyberbullying by establishing clear policies and plans. School administration should implement and enforce an anti-bullying policy that everyone — staff and students included — is trained on regularly. Rules can be established regarding technology use.
While the initial thought may be to limit technology as much as possible, this may make the problem worse. Instead, schools should allow technology use while teaching students how to be responsible digital citizens. Administrators should also take reports of cyberbullying seriously and investigate them immediately. If the harassment occurs through the school district’s Internet system, .Ìý
Administrators can equip their staff and student body with solutions such asÌýand Anonymous Reporting System to identify and report students of concern.
School Resource Officers (SROs)
SROs are responsible for working with school administrators and security teams to develop safety plans and ensure schools are safe places for students to learn. SROs are typically full-time law enforcement officers with sworn law enforcement authority. If cyberbullying among students involves threats of violence, extortion, or stalking, .ÌýThese officers should alsoÌýremain updated onÌýstate and federalÌýcyberbullying laws.ÌýÌý
Information Technology (IT)Ìý
Traditional bullyingÌýthat occursÌýin school hallways can be seen and/or heard by faculty and staff. Cyberbullying, on the other hand, is harder to catch because it’s happening online.ÌýSchool IT professionals can take certain measuresÌýtoÌýidentify concerning or threatening student behavior online.Ìý
ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ Digital Threat Detection provides the most ethical approach to social media and email scanning technologies. This intuitive platform can scan social media, emails, and other digital content using 2,000,000,000 syntax-based permutations while searching only for harm-related language or threats. Alerts are only delivered when potentially harmful content is matched across multiple points, helping protect the privacy of students, faculty, and staff. Ìý
WithÌýÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ Digital Threat Detection, schools can identify and combat cyberbullying, get ahead of harassment, and create a safer environment for their students. If a threat is detected or identified, a case can be created and managed in the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓƵ Behavioral Case Manager platform, which uses research-driven technology for threat detection and prevention. Ìý
To learn more about implementing these and other school violence prevention technologies, read on here.
