What really causes cyberbullying?
by Carrie Rogers-Whitehead
Nearly 15 percent of students experience bullying over text, social media or other electronic means, according to a 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And while we know cyberbullying is an issue, we don’t fully understand its cause.
Cyberbullying is often a misunderstood problem. Society has been confronting traditional, physical bullying for all of human history. While preventing bullying is a complicated and pernicious problem, we have a better grasp of the reasons behind it.
But cyberbullying is still in its infancy — still growing and evolving. While there are similarities in the causes and impacts between the two types of bullying, there are also significant differences.
What are the motivations of cyberbullies?
We often say bullies are jealous, unhappy or just unkind people. While there is some truth to those perceptions, the reality is more nuanced. Cyberbullying, in fact, can come from more mundane feelings, like boredom. Access and opportunity can also lead students to bully others online.
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Facebook defends role in project to tackle online bullying
by Carl O’Brien
Facebook has defended its role in a new campaign to provide anti-bullying and online safety training in every secondary school in Ireland.
The social media firm has been at the centre of allegations that it is not doing enough to moderate harmful and illegal content.
A Channel 4 Dispatches programme earlier this year revealed that some content flagged as inappropriate was not being taken down and was actually being used for training purposes.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Facebook insisted it was not involved in writing the content of the new safety programme.
Niamh Sweeney, Facebook’s head of public policy, said it was designed by academics at DCU’s national anti-bullying research and resource centre.
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May vows ‘very serious’ response to Commons bullying report
– The Guardian
Theresa May has promised a “very serious” response to a report on workplace bullying in parliament after a Labour MP used prime minister’s questions to highlight the case of a constituent who complained of sexual harassment while working in the Commons.
Two days after a report by Dame Laura Cox disclosed the scale of bullying and harassment in parliament, the vast majority targeting female employees, Teresa Pearce raised a new example.
“My constituent came to see me earlier this year about being sexually harassed at work, by a co-worker,” the Erith and Thamesmead MP told the Commons.
“Despite many months of meetings with her HR and line management, she’s been treated like the problem rather than the victim. Could the prime minister advise what I can do to help my constituent return to work and feel safe – when her employer is this house?”
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