Blog

I was talking to a colleague recently, and we were bemoaning the fact that all of these legislative actions (laws, prosecutions, suspensions of driver’s licenses) are only addressing the symptoms of cyberbullying and not its cause(s).  Moreover, Justin and I have been hearing from a variety of information technology companies working on software to combat cyberbullying with a symptomatic response.  This is all fine and well – there is a need for these laws and mandates and policies and technological solutions.  However, they do not make any headway in clarifying the underlying issues that have contributed to adolescent peer aggression over the last few decades (or since the beginning of time – whichever time frame you’d like to use!).  So exactly what should we be doing with our time and efforts – as the major plan of action to which everything else is supplementary?  Promoting education and awareness (among children, teenagers, parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, school nurses, law enforcement, and the general community).  And then formal evaluation to determine the measurable benefits of those specific education and awareness strategies.  And then refinement of those strategies, followed by re-implementation.  This has worked in the area of traditional bullying, and with traditional forms of delinquency among school-aged youth.  There is increasing anecdotal evidence that it will also work when dealing with cyberbullying.  We believe that our research will demonstrate a similar effectiveness as we continue to study this phenomenon over the next few years.

Perhaps you saw this article detailing how a school district in Oregon is proposing to work with the state’s Department of Transportation to suspend the driver’s license of a student who has been suspended or expelled at least twice for harassing, intimidating, or mistreating another student or employee using electronic means. Again, it is great to see that strategies for response are being increasingly proposed, but I question this policy’s effectiveness. First off, cyberbullying occurs frequently among middle-schoolers and those who still yet can’t drive – so the deterrent reach of this policy is narrow. Second, if perpetrators are no longer allowed to legally drive – what will they be doing with their time? They will be likely be online more, since they have no mobility. They will likely also be mad at the world (to some degree) since they have no mobility. They might also be even more upset or mad with their victim(s) for contributing to the crappy situation in which they find themselves. These negative emotions towards the victim might lead to more bullying or cyberbullying.

I will say that the bill they passed last year (HB2637) requiring school districts to ban and formally respond to cyberbullying – is well-conceived.