“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. The phrase most of us grew up with now has a new twist that does hurt. This twist stems from the one thing that generally helps us, not hurts us; technology. This twist, referred to as cyberbullying, has become more of an issue as technology usage increases. What once used to be a face-to-face on the playground or bus bullying situation has now expanded into instant messaging, chat rooms, texting, blogs, email, facebook, MySpace and many other technology related applications. Little do some students realize, cyberbullying can lead to depression, self-esteem issues, suicides and even murder.
As educators, it is extremely important to educate ALL of our students on what cyberbullying is, what effects it can have on our students and how to stand up against cyberbullying and get the appropriate people involved if it occurs. I was surprised when I read that schools who try to get involved by disciplining students for cyberbullying outside of the classroom can be sued for exceeding authority. With such a serious issue on hand, I was also surprised to see that Michigan had tried to pass House and Senate bills regarding cyberbullying and they never passed.
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