At Sancta Maria College we are well aware that we are not immune from the abuse that happens via the internet and electronic devices such as cellphones. It is important to get students talking about this problem as their tendency is to hide it from adults because they are afraid their access will be taken away. It is amazing what they are prepared to put up with.
They are the experts on this modern on-line world. The “commonsense” approach we think they should follow might not be relevant to their way of thinking. We might say, “Why don’t they just shut down the site, close their account, avoid reading any messages from a hostile source”. It is not so easy. They feel drawn to know what it is that people are saying about them. And then they tend to take these unfair slanders seriously instead of just laughing them off.
They are the experts on this modern on-line world. The “commonsense” approach we think they should nfollow might not be relevant to their way of thinking. We might say, “Why don’t they just shut down the site, close their account, avoid reading any messages from a hostile source”. It is not so easy. They feel drawn to know what it is that people are saying about them. And then they tend to take these unfair slanders seriously instead of just laughing them off.
A good way to work with the issue is to get students presenting to other students about what cyber-bullying is and how to handle it.
