What is REALLY going o n with teens, technology, & bullying

1. What is REALLY going on with teens, technology, & bullying

2. Pop Quiz! What kinds of “technology” are kids using on their phones & on the internet?

3. The basics are…. cell phone text messaging, BBM, internet, picture messages, games computer websites, gaming, chatrooms, instant messengers, blogs, video chat, social networking

4. Statistics A large majority of teens (71%) have established online profiles (including those on social network sites such as MySpace or Facebook) –onlinesafetysite.com Teens post personal info online. 64% post photos or videos of themselves, while 58% post info about where they live. Females are more likely to post personal photos or videos–onlinesafetysite.com Overall, 19% of teens report they have been harassed or bullied online, and the incidence of online harassment is higher (23%) among 16 and 17 year-olds. Girls are more likely to be harassed or bullied than boys (21% vs. 17%). .–onlinesafetysite.com

5. A Study completed in Cell Phones Key to Teens’ Social Lives, 47% Can Text with Eyes Closed, found that.. • A majority (57%) of teens view their cell phone as the key to their social life. • One-third of teens play games on their phone. Nearly half (47%) of US teens say their social life would end or be worsened without their cell phone, and nearly six in 10 (57%) credit their mobile device with improving their life, according to a national survey from CTIA and Harris Interactive.

7. A MAJOR use of all of this.. Bullying! Cyberbullying!

8. Bullying is.. when there is repeated exposure to negative acts by another person or people. Bullying implies an imbalance of strength or power so that the individual being bullied has a difficult time defending him/herself. (NJ Coalition for Bullying and Awareness, 2004) unfair and one-sided. It occurs when someone keeps hurting, frightening, or leaving someone out intentionally. It always involves an imbalance of power that is not based on physical size. –NJBARR Foundation

9. Bully Web

10. Cyberbullying is.. Cyberbullying is using the Internet, cell phones, videogame systems, or other technology to send or post texts or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. –ncpc.org Bullying Forms Direct bullying (verbal) Indirect bullying (spreading rumors) Physical bullying (Violence, hurting) -Olweus

11. Did you know? 81% percent of youth said that others cyberbully because they think it’s funny. 10% of teens were victimized because someone posted unflattering pictures of them online, without permission. 58% percent of teens have had someone say something mean or hurtful to them on-line, 42% while on-line 30% of teens would want to seek revenge on those who cyberbullied them 80% of teens said that they either did not have parental rules about Internet use or found ways around the rules. Only 11% of teens report cyberbullying to an adult 20% of teens have had a cyberbully pretend to be someone else in order to trick them online, getting them to reveal personal information. 17% of teens are victimized by someone lying about them 43% of kids admit to acting as the cyberbully, saying mean things online 42% of middle school students are involved in cyberbullying either as bully or victim –sccoe.org http://www.ncpc.org/resources/files/pdf/bullying/cyberbullying.pdf & isafe.org

12. Know WHO is involved Bully Victim Bystanders Who are these people?

13. Cell Phones Small objects, big usage! http://www.netsmartz.org/CellPhones Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month. -a survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates International The phenomenon is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists, who say it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation.

14. Well, what can teens possibly do on their cell phones? -send text messages to anyone they wish, or use blackberry messenger or iChat -play games -use AIM or another instant messenger -use the Internet or Social Networks -take pictures -send picture messages HOW CAN THIS RELATE TO BULLYING?

15. The UPS and DOWNS -can be impersonal if used for only communication, no face-to-face -distracting from the “real world” -takes away from social skill building -used in bullying & peer pressure -repeated or nasty text messages, forwarding messages to others -sexting/inappropriate picture msgs. -keep in touch with parents or friends to check in -emergency situations -to have the option of using a phone whenever needed -if used to make a phone call to a friend or family member -quick and easy

16. Imagine this.. You and your friend are having a bad argument. You decide it is time to let her know how you feel. You choose to express yourself via text message. After you have finished typing, you realize that the text is so large that it was split up into 4 different messages to her. Your friend receives it and writes back, and you go back and forth. The texts begin to get misconstrued and some are not even going through. -How effective is this conversation? -What might happen next?

17. Imagine this.. -What are the effects of all these scenarios? -How quickly can these spread? You really want to get that special person to like you. You think that if you send them a promiscuous picture of yourself, that the person will like you. You decide to take the picture and ask the person not to send it, and you think, “this kind of stuff where your picture gets sent all over school won’t happen to me! I trust this person and know that it will only make our relationship great!” There is a student at school that you think is weird and you always make fun of them. One day, the student is doing something completely silly in the cafeteria and you secretly take a picture of them. You quickly spread the picture through text messages and then onto facebook.

18. Let’s Pretend! Volunteer Take a picture of yourself or send a text message to someone in the room. Watch how quickly it spreads. What do you think?

19. The Internet For adults.. ..the internet means on-line shopping, work related e-mails, e-mails to friends or family, photo albums, or even some social networking. For teenagers.. ..the internet is like a second home. Teenagers use the internet for SO many things: social-networks, instant messengers, gaming, blogs, music, video chats, and more!

20. Instant Messengers & E-Mail In 2009, there were 2.5 billion active instant messenger accounts and 27 billion messages sent per day! Image now?!? AOL Insant Messenger – Create a screen name & begin to add people to your buddy list to chat: friends or strangers. Also can go into chatrooms. Meebo–username & chat either through instant messenger or Meebo chat rooms G-Mail & C-Chat– Create a username for your e-mail & chat either through e-mail or through their own chat program.

21. Well, what can teens do here to bully? -send hurtful or attacking instant messages or e-mails to others -can pose as someone else (a crush or other student) -print out “proof” of conversations

22. The UPS and DOWNS -it can be impersonal if used for only communication, no face-to-face -takes away from social skills -can be used as a means of problem-solving or argumentation -can be anonymous/act as someone else -can be unsafe (predators, stalkers, etc.) -can be used to spread rumors, gossip, & to attack others directly/indirectly online -talk to friends -make plans with friends or others -can create your own username -can talk with many friends in a chatroom

23. Let’s Pretend! Volunteer Two students do not get along in school. They stare at each other with dirty looks and talk behind one another’s backs. One day, one of the students decide to go on AIM and send the other an instant message. They do not know who it is, so they go along with it. The unknown person pretends to be the person that the individual has a crush on, so the excitement leads to a long conversation. At the end of the conversation, the other person admits it is their enemy. The next day at school, the student is nervous and thinks that the conversation will get around or that rumors will be spread. What do you think happens?

24. Let’s Imagine.. Your friend has been spreading rumors about you and saying terrible things to you. You are upset and angry, but do not want to reach out to the person to talk about it or to an adult for help. Instead, you think it would be funny to create a fake AIM screen name and harass her on-line. -What kind of communication is this? -What can happen as a result of this? -How do you think both people will feel after this?

25. Let’s Pretend.. Your have a crush on someone in school, but you are afraid to tell them. One day, you decide to go on AIM and start a conversation to express your feelings. You go on-line, start the conversation, and begin to tell the person how you feel. The person reacts negatively to it, so you pretend to be someone else now, just a friend who is asking. The next day, the person prints out the conversation and brings it to school to show everyone. -What can happen as a result of this? -How do you think both people will feel after this?

26. Blogging http://www.netsmartz.org/Blogging At least 8 million teens blog. –Intelliseek, article in USA today. Teens use blogs to complain about parents and homework, use inappropriate behavior, share daily dramas, post songs from the latest bands, to give opinions, display pictures of themselves, sometimes wearing next to nothing, or pictures of friends, drinking, social gathering, or engaging in poor choices. They complain about each other or offer support. But mostly they simply relay the details of their daily lives, using the blog as a diary. -article in USA today.

27. Let’s Explore! http://hello-hnewman87.blogspot.com/2011/03/hello.html -What can happen as a result of these blog posts? -How do you think the person creating them feels? -What are some issues teens may want to be heard about that they may post on-line? -What are other ways to communicate how you feel? -What are the safety issues? Be aware of.. Blogger.comlivejournal.comblogspot.com googleblog.commyspace/facebook blog yesorno.com Twitter …and many others!!

28. Video Chat Video chat websites, such as chatroulette, are just ways of meeting people online randomly, mainly for users with webcams. –Online Social Savvy Wait, webcams? Yep!

29. Know the facts! Websites, such as: Chatroulette, Oovoo & skype & teenychat, googletalk, and more, enable the use of a video camera and chatroom to connect you to either friends or strangers. -19% of Americans have tried video calls or video chat or teleconferencing online and on cell phones. The UPS and DOWNS -talk to friends and see their expressions, nonverbal, etc. -talk with family who lives far away -may come across a predator/dangerous person, safety issues -peer pressure to do inappropriate things, such as a pose with little clothing

30. Social Networking http://www.netsmartz.org/TeensTalkBack/SocialNetworking “Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. -what is social networking.com. It is similar to social groups connecting together in school, except these groups form on-line. On these sites, people can meet for the first time, friends can talk, and ideas and views can be shared openly and publicly.

31. What Social Network sites exist? Facebook MySpace AOL Instant Messenger BeboChatroomssecondlife.com Chatroulette video chat formspring.com ..and more! • The average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook– 2010 Social Networking Stats 2010 • If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia (note that Facebook is now creeping up – recently announced 300 million users) –socialnomics.net • What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook • -socialnomics.net

32. What Can Be Done Here? • Connect to one another after during/school hours • Create posts/statuses about their thoughts/information • Reconnect with old friends • Join Causes (add profile pages to their likes/interests) • Write to one another (walls, comments, statuses, “likes”, blogs) – can lead to inappropriate comments/bullying/teasing • Write how they feel/what they think of themselves and others • Put “too much” about themselves (pictures, info, etc.) • Cyberbully (posts, comments, pictures, posing as someone)

33. The UPS and DOWNS -it can be impersonal, no face-to face -distracting from the real world -takes away from social skill building -used in bullying & peer pressure -safety issues -inappropriate messages/comments/ pictures -ability to share “too much”, things can spread “quickly’ -keep in touch with new friends and old friends -create your own websites -play games, join causes -meet new friends at different school (college) -entertaining

34. Let’s Pretend.. You and a friend do not like this one student. One day, you are on facebook, and you think it would be funny to post a comment about the student. The comment says “_____ is the worst person ever!” You are convinced the student will not find out because you are not friends on facebook. Well, you receive about 25 comments from other students. The next day, you see this student very upset and in the counselor’s office. -What can happen as a result of posting comments about others? -How do you think the student will feel? -What do you think will happen next in school? to the student? -What are the legal issues?

35. What about this? You go onto facebook one day and receive a message from someone of the opposite sex. You find them extremely attractive and want to accept their request. You accept it and begin to chat. After talking for a few days, the person asks you to meet them and for your information. -What can happen as a result of accepting this person? -What can happen if you give your information and meet them?

36. ..and this? One day, you post a promiscuous picture of yourself on facebook/myspace/other site. You think only your friends will see it and that no one will have anything negative to say. The next day, your picture has over 35 comments and your parents, friends, principal, and teachers all have a copy on their desks! -What can happen as a result of posting this picture? -How did all of these people see it and get a copy? -What would happen is a job employer saw this? -What type of reputation will you get?

37. What about anonymous websites? Kids set up websites to mock others, whether purposely or anonymously! Imagine this.. Everyone seems to pick on and be mean to Erik. One day, a few students think it would be funny to set up an anonymous website, named ErikOStinks.com, where people can post things about him! Later in the day that the website is created, it has 5200 hits and 300 comments. Erik finds out about this. What happens??

38. Here is how it ALL comes together! What can kids do when…? ..they are angry with a friend? ..they want to talk to the opposite sex and get their attention? ..they want people to hear them? ..they want to meet new people? ..they want to post a picture? Here is an example! A video of Isabel is taken at a party. She is kissing a boy that she really likes. Next thing you know, it is posted on facebook, has over 50 comments, her parents have seen it, there are blog posts and comments about how gross she is, and the video gets spread through text message. Look at all that technology!

39. Let’s Discuss! Food for thought How quickly can things spread using technology? How does cyberbullying affect the victim? the bully? the bystanders? How does what you post on–line affect your life? well-being? future? What are the legal aspects? How can we spread the importance of respect and safety on-line?

40. Laws in schools on BULLYING According to the New Jersey Department of Education, each school district K-12 must create/apply their own Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying Policy. This includes a definition of harassment, intimidation, and bullying, a description of the type of behavior students are expected to display, and consequences. The DOE created a sample of one, and each district must have created one and turned it into the Superintendent of their district by September 1, 2003. What is our policy here in Point Pleasant Beach? http://ptbeach.schoolwires.net/166910424104844930/lib/166910424104844930/Harassment,_Intimidation_and_Bullying.pdf New bullying laws are in the works! Also, what happens on-line is now brought into school!

41. What can happen with all of this use? -Too much information can be revealed on the computer http://www.netsmartz.org/RevealingTooMuch -Stalkers/predators/child molesters -anonymous communication/interactions -Things can be spread (rumors, pictures, etc.) -Kids will lack social skills and basic communication/interaction skills -Academic loss -Job/college penalties -Cyberbullying

42. What can WE do? STAY INFORMED & UP TO DATE ON CURRENT TRENDS! TALK to our kids (parents, teachers, etc.) Set some fair rules about computer use & privacy settings! Supervise the computer use/ know what is going on Give kids a safe place to talk about bullying/incidents! “open door policy” & know the appropriate steps to take! Talk about safety on-line & taking the proper steps to resolve issues Talk to them about respect for themselves & others on the computer!!! DO NOT indulge in bullying on-line!

43. Thank You!! Any questions!? Take some handouts!! Tips for teens, parents & staff