Bullying in cyberspace

“It's totally different than schoolyard bullying. What's happening, regardless of size, is kids are able to bully because it’s behind a computer,” says South Queens Junior High School Guidance Counsellor, Sonya Cook.

She says cyber-bullying through the Internet or text messaging on a cellular phone has become more commonplace than schoolyard bullying. It can also be much more vicious as well.

Cook also works at Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy, and she says cyber-bullying is starting at younger ages now.

She spent a lot of time during her first few years at the junior high dealing with fights over what was said on programs such as Microsoft Messenger, a chat program. “I spent my whole day investigating things that didn't even happen in the school.”

Her focus now is on education, and trying to get the message out to both students and parents. She doesn’t do it alone however, and works with local RCMP officers and their education program.

The RCMP with other police departments across the country launched an interactive website, www.internet101.ca. The site covers topics like cyber-bullying and luring, all with the goal of keeping children safe on the Internet.

The site also has video interviews of children their age who have experienced cyber-bullying and other issues.

One of the most popular social websites on the Internet has also had a spike in cyber-bullying.

Facebook is a website where users can create profiles to share information, photographs and messages with other people. While the program is pass worded for each individual user to make changes, anyone with a Facebook account can look at their profiles.

One of the most basic tips Cook offers for Facebook is keep the password a secret. While it may seem like an obvious solution, she has seen many children freely trade passwords with one another. “If you give it to your friend, your friend may not be your friend next week,” she says.

Once someone else has that password he or she can insult others or cause problems, all under that person’s name.

Cook says she has even experienced someone trying to access her Facebook account without her consent. She had deactivated her account some time ago to avoid problems like this, but someone tried to get in anyway. “I had a notice saying I was trying to access my Facebook and would I like to reactivate it. I hadn't been doing that, and no one in my family did. Who was trying to go in as me?” she says.

Cook says parents can take proactive steps by taking the computer out of the bedroom and putting it in a family room, in clear view of everyone. If the problem grows too much, the best solution she says is to just shut off the Internet completely.

She also adds schools can’t spend all day investigating what happens outside of the classroom. “If parents are having a problem with cyber-bullying, it’s not here. If the child feels threatened enough not to come to school, then it should go to the RCMP,” she says.

A tip that applies to everyone, not just children, is being careful what information is put on the Internet. “Even if you delete the information from one site, it can stay on other servers for people to access,” she says. “Kids will put pictures of parties up, and 10 years down the road when they go for a job interview, they can be googled.”

Cook holds education seminars at the school a couple of times a year for both children and parents. For more information, you can contact her at the junior high school.