The Daily Mail just published a story about a 13-year-old girl near Miami, FL who was arrested for making online threats against students and staff.

The police arrested the wrong girl.

It was later discovered after much digging, that a 12-year-old rival to the girl had used her rival's personal information to set up false emails and Instagram accounts under the accused girl's name.

According to the story, "The 12-year-old girl believed to be behind the threats has now been charged with written threats to kill or do bodily harm, falsifying a police report, penalty for disruption of an educational institution, and criminal use of personal information."

Now, if the adults at this school as well as the police understood that this was a cyberbullying tactic we have termed in our book Cyberslammed as an Imposter Profile, they would have had the knowledge to prevent the trauma to this young innocent girl.

The accused girl's lawyer, Marwan Porter, said in a statement Thursday (as reported by The Daily Mail): 'It is very clear that the Pembroke Pines Police Dept. and others involved, failed to conduct a basic investigation into the false allegations which resulted in the arrest and severe emotional damage to my client."

Get familiar with the Imposter Profile tactic by reading our past blogs on this issue.

Science Daily reports on new research that has just come out of The University of Georgia that shows increased screen time with male adolescents leads to potentially more cyberbullying behaviors.

According to the article, "Cyberbullying can take on many forms, including personal attacks, harassment or discriminatory behavior, spreading defamatory information, misrepresenting oneself online, spreading private information, social exclusion and cyberstalking."

With Cyberslammed, we already know that this results in the tactics of Digital Pile-ons (harassment or discriminatory behavior) and Imposter Profiles (misrepresenting oneself online) to name a few.

Anonymity is driver

A key finding to a cyberbully's motivation is all about evading consequences "Oftentimes, they are more aggressive or critical on social media because of the anonymity they have online and their ability to avoid retaliation," said Amanda Giordano, principal investigator of the study and associate professor in the UGA Mary Frances Early College of Education.

Social media addiction=dopamine hit

Like all addicitons, the little switch in the brain that turns on when there is a reward also fuels cyberbullying.

"Social networking sites are designed to give people a dopamine hit, Giordano added, and some people compulsively look for that hit. "It's feeding into that addictive behavior, and they may be using cyberbullying as a way to get likes, shares, comments and retweets," she said.

Read the full article here.

What is old is new again. When Cyberslammed came out in 2012, we already knew about facial technology and how that was going to contribute to cyberbullying in the future.

And now with the emergence of the seemingly harmless Deepfake apps such as Reface, which allow you to "swap" out your face into realistic videos and memes, more trouble is on the horizon.

A Cheerleader Mom, 50, used these deepfake apps to make her daughter's rivals appear "naked, drinking and smoking" in order to get them kicked off the team.

You just KNEW somebody with nefarious intent would misuse these apps, right?

In this case, the woman used the deepfake video as Videojacking tactic. In Cyberslammed, we categorize the Videojacking cyberbulling tactic as: "When someone videotapes a target without his knowledge/approval and uploads the video to a popular video-sharing websites.

In this case, she didn't even have to videotape anyone. Deepfake technology did all of the work for her. All she needed was a selfie of the students who were her daughters' rivals. And how hard is it to unearth a selfie of a teen these days?

According to The Daily Mail article: "The mom is then accused of anonymously sending the graphic pictures and videos to the coaches of the cheerleading team. She also purportedly sent the doctored images directly to the teenage girls, along with message to one of them urging her to 'kill herself'."

Hmm, where have we seen the "Go Kill Yourself" bullying tactic before? See  past blogs on how we've covered this loathsome and cowardly phrase. 

What this woman didn't know, (and it's astounding how many cyberbullies don't) is that she left a digital trail of her deeds and it didn't take long for a detective to uncover her IP address.

Parents and teachers, be very aware if your kids are using deepfake apps for "fun." Here's a list of most of the common ones out there.

Talk to your kids about how they can be dangerously misused. And if you have a kid who is the victim of such tactics, read more blogs on Videojacking or buy our book to know how to Understand, Prevent, Combat, and Transform this tactic.

When we published Cyberslammed in 2012, we knew that technology was going to change so much in the coming years and that the platforms we mentioned in the book (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) would not be the only tools cyberbullies would use in the future.

CBS Sacramento reports that cyberbullying is on the rise with remote, at-home learning. No surprise there. According to the story, for some students, bullying is taking place during the classroom Zoom calls. The story reports: “A student will change their name to [my daughter's name] and then say different slurs like ‘you’re ugly today.’ In particular, they told her to kill herself,” said one parent.

The ugliness is never-ending, but the tactics are the same.

We didn't know about the Zoom platform in 2012. What we do know is that what these kids are doing to this woman's daughter is a form of an Imposter Profile, a cyberbullying tactic in which the perpetrator(s) create a fake social media account in the name of the person they are targeting to get everybody to believe the account is owned and maintained by the target.

With an Imposter Profile there are ways to identify the perpetrator, combat the problem with the help of the school, and in some cases, the police, and transform the traumatic bullying.

Teachers and parents: here's how to report to Zoom if someone is misusing their platform.

As far as the "go kill yourself" comments, a tiresome and predictable product of an ugly mindset, we address that in a past blog: read here.

Get familiar with the Imposter Profile tactic by reading our past blogs on this issue.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and yet, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has put more stress on kids and adolescents during this time, accounting for a 70% increase in cyberbullying, according to Verywell Family

The best way to help your teen to prevent these kind of behaviors seeping into their digital devices and their lives is to know what to expect. Approve every app on your teen's phone and stay current on the latest apps, how they are used, and how they might be manipulated, such as Snapchat. Check out our blog posts on Anonymous Apps to see a list of the ones we've flagged as a concern for potential cyberbullying.

Available in both Kindle ($5.99) and Softcvoer ($9.99)

 Paul Bischoff, a tech writer and privacy expert, recently penned an article for Comparitech.com, which surveyed more than 1,000 parents of children over the age of five. See the stats on Facebook and Instagram below.

There are some very good graphics in this article which break down where and when cyberbullying happens. While kids and teens are still out of school this summer (with no guarantee that they will be returning in the fall) this is a necessary read to get an understanding what digital landscapes might be posing risks to a cyberbullied child. Click to read the full article.

Sameer Hinduja, PhD, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University and co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, said in a news release that kids are more at risk for cyberbullying during the Covid-19 crisis.

According to an article by www.healio.com, Hinduja went on to explain:

"This makes sense, of course, because there was now an almost limitless number of potential targets and aggressors,” he continued. “During this unprecedented time when [children] are all stuck at home, those same students will be using apps even more than they already do with them being forced to use online platforms for learning, regardless of their level of comfort or proficiency.”

According to a Dec. 19 story by News Center Maine, Maine ranks fifth in the nation for number of reported cyberbullying victims. This data comes from a study by Social Catfish that states the national average of cyberbullying victims per state is about 4,300 -- but Maine's number is nearly twice that with 9,402 reported victims.

Given that Cyberslammed originated in Maine just as the state enacted its first cyberbullying law, this news should not come as a surprise to the many teachers, administrators and parents who live in this state.

See our free resources or buy the book to know how to handle the tactics.

In Denver, school officials found out the hard way the lengths to which students will go to impersonate "official" Facebook pages of the Denver Public Schools (DPS), creating unsupervised places for teens to cyberbully each other.

These "fake Facebook profiles"  are in fact, Imposter Profiles, the term for one of the six cyberbullying tactics we discuss in Cyberslammed.

An Imposter Profile is set up to deliberately confuse and mislead the public to believe it is owned by someone else (usually the target of cyberbullying).

In this case, the teens set up the Imposter Profile to resemble an official DPS page in order to cyberbully unsuspecting students. Once the real DPS got wind of it, however, they shut it down.

Has your teen been a victim of the Imposter Profile tactic? Buy our book online to determine how to Understand, Prevent, Combat & Transform this tactic.

​Source: The Denver Channel.

Guest blog by Laura Pearson, Edutude.net

In today’s world of constant exposure to the news, cyberbullying, and the stress of everyday adolescence, being a young person is already fraught with anxiety. When there is an actual issue with their mental health, however, it can be difficult for a child or teen to come to their parents and talk about it, in part because they may not understand it or know how to name it. Yet anxiety--and all the things that can follow it, such as stress, depression, and isolation--can be especially harmful to young people and can affect the way they function at school or in everyday life.
 
That’s why it’s important to talk to your child if they are exhibiting symptoms of anxiety and learn the best ways to control and manage it. What works for one person may not work for another, so you and your loved one may need to try a few different methods to find something that fits. This could mean medication, therapy, coping mechanisms, or a combination of all three.
 
Your child may respond to anxiety in a variety of ways, depending on her age. Here are a few of the best ways to handle any situation, no matter how old your child is.
 
Help her practice self-care
 
Many emotional issues are easier to handle when we feel good in other ways, so help your child stick to a daily workout schedule and eat a well-balanced diet. Lots of good rest is always good, as well, so create a bedtime routine that will calm and soothe her for a good night’s sleep. Talk to her about the best ways to keep healthy habits, which will help her make good decisions down the road when it comes to using substances to numb the anxiety. For more tips on how to do this, read on here.
 
Talk it out
 
Allowing your child to have a voice when it comes to what makes her nervous or afraid is a big part of letting her learn to cope with it. Sometimes, talking about what comes next can be extremely helpful. Maybe she’s nervous about something related to school, or about a scary event she saw on the news. Refrain from telling her that “everything will be alright”, which diminishes her feelings. Instead, talk about a good plan of action to help her get through it.
 
Look for alternative forms of therapy
 
Sometimes, living with anxiety can be overwhelming. Many people seek the help of a professional who can assist them with getting through their feelings, and while this may be an option for your child, it’s a good idea to look for alternative methods, as well. These can include facing the fear rather than avoiding a possible trigger, keeping a journal to get overwhelming thoughts in order, and art therapy.
 
This is a particularly effective method for young people, as it allows them to express their feelings through creativity such as painting, drawing, acting, dancing, singing, or cooking. Channeling that energy into something tangible often has wonderful benefits and has been used to help victims of PTSD in the past.
 
Plan for “in the moment”
 
Long term methods for coping with anxiety are great to have, but it’s also important for your child to be able to handle those feelings in the moment. Talk to her about a plan of action that will help her face the negative emotions and get through them. This might include learning breathing exercises or focusing on a physical object that brings comfort or calm.
 
Adolescent anxiety can lead to all sorts of negative side effects, but with an early start on learning the best ways to manage it and cope with it, your child will have the tools she needs as she grows older. Start with a good plan and keep communication open in order to help your loved one get through this difficult time.

By Laura Pearson, Edutude.net

Cyberbullying occurs when children or teens use online communication to abuse or degrade a peer. “Unlike bullying, cyberbullying doesn’t require physical strength or a face-to-face meeting. Anyone with an Internet connection and a device can be a cyberbully,” says Norton. It can happen 24/7, and the bully can easily remain anonymous. Being the new kid at school can make a child an easy target for bullies, and being a target of cyberbullying can lead the victim to feel depressed, withdrawn, and, in some cases, suicidal. If your child is being cyberbullied, it’s extremely important to know the steps to take.
 
Talking with Your Child
 
Once you learn that your child is a victim of cyberbullying, the safety and well-being of your child is the top priority, so ensure he or she is not only physically safe, but that he or she feels safe. Communicate unconditional support for your child. Never blame your child, minimize the situation, or make excuses for the attacker. Make your child aware that you will do everything you can to stop the cyberbully.
 
Sit down to talk with your child and listen, and try to remain as calm as possible. Be engaged in the conversation and ask questions to get as much detail as possible without making your child feel overwhelmed. Never respond to a bully, but definitely collect the evidence. Print or take screenshots of conversations, messages, pictures, and any other proof that your child is being cyberbullied.
 
You should also take measures to prevent your child from becoming a victim of cyberbullying again. For example, set up privacy controls within each platform of social media to block the bully from contacting your child. Also, encourage your child to always report any new or recurring issues with any bullies, even seemingly small issues.
 
Contacting and Involving Others
 
If the bully attends the same school as your child, contact the school. “Your child has the right to feel safe at school, and educators are responsible to ensure this through an investigation and appropriate response,” says the Cyberbullying Research Center. You should also contact the content providers where the bullying occurred (websites, apps, Internet or cell companies), even if the bully isn’t identifiable. Cyberbullying violates the Terms of Service of all legitimate service providers. Never contact the parents of the bully.
 
If physical threats were made, contact the police. If your local department isn’t helpful, contact county or state law enforcement officials, who often have more resources and expertise in technology-related offenses. The U.S. Department of Education takes discrimination cases very seriously if children are limited in their ability to learn and thrive at school, so contact the Office of Civil Rights if the bullying is based on race, sex, or disability.
 
Stress-Free Home Environment
 
While all children need a stress-free home environment, those dealing with the emotional challenges of moving and a cyberbully especially need it. Help your child create a happy place in the home. Whether it’s a special chair or a nook in his or her room, your child needs a place to go where other family members will know not to disturb him or her in this zone.
 
Keeping the house clear of clutter can also minimize stress levels. Find a way to neatly organize items that are typically tossed on a table or countertop. Whether it’s a basket or a few hooks, create a place where your child can organize items he or she uses each day, such as sunglasses, keys, scarves, wallets, and similar items.
 
Place houseplants or flowers throughout your home. Studies have shown that the presence of plants improves the recovery of hospital patients and reduces blood pressure of office workers. Also, tending to plants has been shown to reduce stress. Remove televisions and computers out of the bedroom entirely, which can result in better sleep.
 
If you’ve recently moved across the country and you’ve found yourself in the dilemma of dealing with a cyberbully, knowing how to handle it can resolve the issue quicker and make your child feel more at ease. Remember to always be calm and supportive, and be sure to contact the appropriate authorities. While everything is being sorted out, it’s even more crucial that you maintain a stress-free home environment for your child. No matter the outcome, take steps to prevent your child from becoming a victim of future cyberbully attacks.

Ethel is now available in paperback! Unlike reality stars who have to post nude selfies to get attention, here's a plucky little heroine who has braved unwarranted cyberbullying and stood up for herself in the bravest way possible. Go Ethel! Here's a partial Goodreads review of the book.

"As soon as I started reading this book, I was intrigued. Ethel is no ordinary girl, and she seems to fit in well at school, even with her unusual style and vibrant personality. I liked her right away, and I couldn't stop reading to find out how things would turn out for her."

"I love the diversity in this book, not just of race, but also of culture, social status, and family structure. This book has it all!"

The grammar and writing style are very good. That's always a positive point for self-published novels, which, sadly, often contain numerous typos and grammar errors. Not this book, though. I can tell the author made extra effort in getting it perfect before publication (and chose a skilled editor)."
*** Read More

Here's another story this week about a 10-year-old girl from Canada who found herself targeted by a group of girls at school.

According to CBC News, the mother made a Facebook post stating "a group of girls her age (10 yrs old) created a profile under her name... and have been commenting on (friends) photos telling them to go and kill themselves."

Most parents still don't know what this is, so we'll tell you. It's called an Imposter Profile, a cyberbullying tactic, in which the perpetrator(s) create a fake social media account in the name of the person they are targeting to get everybody to believe the account is owned and maintained by the target.

The article doesn't offer much in the way of resolution to this common tactic, we have an entire chapter dedicated to how to prevent and handle it in Cyberslammed, including when to bring in the school, the police or even the law.

As far as the horrible comment of "Go kill yourself" we have seen that tactic over and over again in cyberbullying as a way for the perpetrator to emotionally destroy someone. In school presentations I've done, I've told kids time and again to mentally prepare themselves for that phrase and to come up with self-talk ahead of time to protect themselves against it.

Here's hoping that little girl will be able to find strength and resilence and that her school will have a cyberbullying policy in place (also included in our book!).

Buy Cyberslammed online or contact me for a signed softcover copy.

Funstagram is the latest free anonymous app available on iTunes that allows you to take a photo of someone without their knowledge or consent and add a ridiculing comment to it.

It's always amazing to me that these apps' designers don't want to believe that people won't misuse their app. (Or they choose not to care.)

In any case, the official description says: "Funstagram! is a hilarious new camera app that lets you bust out some AWESOME FUNNY SOUNDS, take priceless funny photos of your friends, then add the PERFECT CAPTION and SHARE ONLINE! Humiliate your friends (or that random victim across the room) – turn your photos from *yawn* to *GENIUS* - join the PARTY!"

Yet, from an ABC 6 News article, a reporter investigated how it's really being used by teenagers. "Things like, “you look like a pig”, “come out of the closet” and “takes the disabled bus to school” are some of the captions," according to the article.

Parents and educators be aware that Funstagram is yet one more way for a cyberbully to intentionally inflict harm on a target despite what its designers says.

Let's call out this anonymous cyberbullying app out for what it is and start 2017 on a better note.

At the tail end of 2016, Twitter released a statement that said: “The amount of abuse, bullying, and harassment we’ve seen across the Internet has risen sharply over the past few years."

And now they are planning to implement some new functions intended to curb cyberbullying.

Twitter is adding a “mute” function, which will enable people to block accounts they don’t want to see tweets from as well as keywords, phrases and conversations they don’t want to get notifications about.

Said Del Harvey, Twitter’s vice president of trust and safety.“We don’t expect these announcements to suddenly remove abusive conduct from Twitter. No single action by us would do that. Instead, we commit to rapidly improving Twitter based on everything we observe and learn.”

Basically it's the same function as Facebook's function which allows you to block someone's content without officially unfollowing him or her.

See more about Twitter's mute function here.

Kay is a national player on the forefront of research about internet safety, and her presentation was a chilling reminder that ALL of us are vulnerable to online predators, not just teenagers.  We encourage you to go to the Cyberslammed website and read a little about the risks, so you know how to help your kids--and you--stay safe online.  She maintains a blog on the website that keeps track of the latest cases and risks in online safety.  Kay's book Cyberslammed is also available at both the GSB and Skidompha Libraries for check out.

Kay's presentation outlined six ways predators take advantage or bully their victims: digital pile-ons, rating websites, impostor profiles, haters clubs, sexting, and videojacking.  She defined each one and gave tips for how to avoid becoming a victim.  These are also detailed in her book and website.

We learned MANY things we did not know, and found a couple of ideas particularly chilling:

• Photos and videos posted innocently can go viral even when the person posting them has been discreet, simply by one person in the "friend" circle dragging and dropping them onto a website, for instance a rating website like "Hot or Not."
• Once an embarrassing viral photo or video is out there online, it is legally almost impossible to reel those images back in.  The are OUT THERE from now on for future educators, employers, or friends to see.  Every Google search on a name will call up these images, especially since facial recognition software means your image can be easily tied to your identity.  
• There are "Internet Trolls" online looking for ways to stir up trouble.  They are experts at finding conflict, for instance, inviting relatively "private" cruel conversations and bullying situations into public chat rooms where other people can pile on to the victim.
• Photos do not have to be explicit or provocative to go viral!  Even silly photos can be taken out of context and used to embarrass people online.
• For minors, sending an explicit picture--even of yourself!--over the Internet or cell phone text is considered trafficking in pornography.  If the person in the photo is underage this is considered child porn.  Kay showed terrifying photos of young kids in orange jumpsuits: locked up for texting nude selfies.
  

Please educate yourselves, so you can help your children make good choices!

Racism and xenophobia has been on the rise for years under the Obama administration. With Donald Trump's racist rhetoric and now the Brexit vote, kids are watching how adults behave. And they emulate what adults do and think. But one woman is using a household item to let people know they take to stand up against xenophobic or racist abuse in the wake of the Brexit referendum. It's a safety pin- a literal symbol that says to people: you can sit next to me on the bus. You can come to me for help.

Imagine if student allies of the bullied and cyberbullied all across the world adopted this trend? On the first day back to school, it would be such a relief to see someone wearing a pin and know you could sit next to them on the bus or you could sit next to them at lunch, talk to them in the hallway. A symbol of safety.

See the video here. Tweet and share #safetypin

A San Antonio father spoke to News4sa.com about the horrendous treatment his 17-year-old son received via a fake Twitter and Instagram accounts this month. The accounts were a version of what we call an Imposter Profile (a cyberbullying tactic that sets up an anonymous account to dupe the viewer in believing it is owned by the target).

According to News4sa.com, Leo Vasquez said:
"When I saw the Twitter accounts and really the content of the attacks and how vile and malicious and disgusting they were, that's what really upset me."


The bully created fake, anonymous Twitter and Instagram accounts to try and terrorize Vasquez's son, Matt, who'd been battling lymphoma for the last two years.

Compounding Vasquez' frustration, law enforcement provided little help and they couldn't determine how to unmask the cyberbully, who would just recreate a new account after the old one was deleted.

The only way to cut through this red tape, as we outline in our award-winning book Cyberslammed, is to work with an attorney to obtain a subpeona.

As Texas happens to have a cyberbullying law that outlaws cyber-impersonation, this subpeona could be used to unmask the perpetrator electronically so that they could move forward with criminal charges.

Learn how to protect yourself and what your state laws are. You are not helpless to fight this!

Get all of the tactics in one book and prepare your child to recognize and defuse certain types of cyberbullying.  Buy The Book

We've got a "wake up call" resource for you. Can a school be sued if  the victim is bullied/cyberbullied? Yes, it can. If you are a counselor or IT Coordinator of a school in and you're not sure if your school has a bullying/cyberbullying policy or you're a parent whose child has been a victim, this is a MUST READ.

An organization called Injury Claim Coach recently asked us to reprint this resource on our page. It will get you up to speed on what constitutes cyberbullying/bullying as well as what your school's liability is. Any school who has to comply with state law on bullying/cyberbullying needs to pay close attention. I'm not an attorney, but if your school is mandated to provide a policy, training and reporting of bullying/cyberbullying and has not done so, it is a breach of legal duty and constitutes negligence.


Guide to Protecting Your Child From Bullying and Violence at School
(Reprinted with permission) by Judge Anthony P. Calisi (ret.)
Bullying is an increasingly prevalent problem, with more than 750,000 reported acts of school violence each year.[1][2] Bullying and school violence can occur on and off school property, and involve perpetrators, victims, and witnesses.
Five Forms of Bullying

1. Physical bullying consists of the use physical aggression, such as pushing and punching. Many schools have a zero tolerance policy to physical bullying. Physical bullying can involve one or more perpetrators.[3][4]


2. Verbal bullying consists of the use of language to assail another student, such as teasing, mocking, or name-calling. Verbal bullying often occurs in view of witnesses.[5]


3. Reactive bullying consists of one student falsely presenting themselves as a victim when they themselves are the bully. Reactive bullies persistently taunt, tease, push, or strike their victims until the victim strikes out.[6]


4. Cyberbullying consists of the use of social media to willfully, viciously and maliciously harass a student, whether by posting unflattering and compromising photographs, making derogatory, demeaning, or hurtful remarks, or to otherwise abuse, belittle, or harass another student.[7]


5. Vandalism and theft are forms of bullying that consist of damaging or stealing a student's property, such as their clothing, money, or electronic devices. Feelings of powerlessness, despair, anger, or fear related to social status and school experiences can lead students to vandalize school property.[8]

Go to this link to read more and to learn what a school's liability is.

Recently The Bangor Daily News ran an article "Racism in Maine schools or 'kids just being kids?' which revealed the results of school compliance over the last three years when Maine's anti-bullying law was enacted in 2012.

You should read the whole thing because I'm going to read between the lines.

As the article explained: "Maine’s anti-bullying law requires school administrators to annually report instances of bullying, cyberbullying, hazing or bias-based harassment motivated by race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender, or any of a long list of characteristics or perceived characteristics.

The Education Department also developed a model policy for schools and required all Maine schools to develop similar policies to deal with bullying, harassment and sexual harassment."

So how did schools do over the last three years?

From the first infograph below, it appears that the majority of schools may not have seriously complied with the law and reporting requirements until 2015--at least that's what the notes suggest. And just 87 of Maine’s 620 public schools reported at least one instance of bullying, hazing or harassment to the state. Not counting Maine's private schools, that means less than 10% of schools have reported a cyberbullying incident.

Look, we know that cyberbullying happens in every single school, so these incidents of under-reporting are troubling at the very least.

The BDN reporter spoke to Rep. Terry Morrison, D-South Portland, who sponsored Maine’s anti-bullying legislation. In the article Morrison said he’s disappointed with the lack of follow-through on the responsibilities outlined in the law.

“We left it up to the department to manage themselves,” said Morrison in the article. “Before we jump the gun and blame them for not caring, we should figure out what … is behind it, and then ask, ‘How can I help you get the tools to succeed?’”

When reporting a cyberbullying incident, the form doesn't ask for race, religion or gender.  Further, Maine does not analyze the bullying reports, according to Anne Gabbianelli, director of communications for the Education Department  who was interviewed by the BDN.

What an astounding missed opportunity this is and exactly what would have been needed, as Morrison stated for schools  "to get the tools you need to succeed." In order to get to the root of bullying and cyberbullying, you need to understand what tactics are being used.

Schools are supposed to report all bullying and cyberbullying incidents, but the law leaves it up to the schools to interpret what constitutes bullying or cyberbullying.  What if the administration don't know what cyberbullying actually is?  Most of the schools I visited in 2012-2013 in Maine to do cyberbullying presentations had a very rudimentary understanding of the nuances of cyberbullying. (I actually learned of one Maine middle school that tried to punish a child for using her friend's password classifying it as "cyberbullying"--which it clearly wasn't.)

While some of the schools I visited are firmly on board with a policy, reporting and training, I can safely say with the majority of schools, there is still a lack of awareness on this issue.

This is the state that led the nation with our 1:1 laptop movement for all middle and high school students. I've spoken to so many parents, teachers, counselors and school nurses who deal with this every day and they are frustrated. A school cannot fix its cyberbullying problem if it doesn't even use the tools it's required to implement.

Let's see what 2016 holds. If you need me to come to your school and deliver a presentation to the administration and a working plan to address cyberbullying, I will bring your administration up to speed on what they need to have in place and then I'll leave you with the right tools (and presentations for kids) that will allow you to take control of this issue in a strategic way.

Click here for more information.