CYBERBULLYING
AND PRIMARY
SCHOOL
STUDENTS:
WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
Dr Stephen James Minton CPsychol AFBPsS
National Parents’ Council (Primary) – Cork West
Oriel House, Ballincollig, Co. Cork
5th February, 2013
About the Presenter
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Chartered Psychologist with, and Associate Fellow of, the British
Psychological Society.
Full-time lecturer in the Psychology of Education at the School of
Education, Trinity College Dublin.
Graduate of the University of Glasgow (B.Sc. (Hons.) (1995)) and
Trinity College Dublin (M.Sc. (Couns. Psychol.) (1997), Ph.D.
(2007)).
Author of Using Psychology in the Classroom (Sage, 2012).
Co-author of Dealing with Bullying in Schools: A Training Manual for
Teachers, Parents and Other Professionals (Sage, 2004), and
Cyber-Bullying: The Irish Experience (Nova Science, 2011).
Authored and co-authored over sixty scholarly articles on the
subjects of cyber-bullying, school bullying and school violence.
Twelve years’ experience of designing, implementing and evaluating
school and school community anti-bullying programmes at local,
regional, national and international levels.
Regularly called upon to provide training and presentations to
various groups within schools and the broader community.
Topics of Discussion
1 – What is Cyber-Bullying?
 2 – Bullying via Mobile Telephones
 3 – Cyber-Bullying in Ireland
 4 – What Can and Should be Done
 5 – Cyber-Safety and Parents
 6 – Cyber-Safety Resources for Parents
 7 - Conclusions
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1A – What is Cyber-Bullying? (I)
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‘Cyber-bullying is an aggressive, intentional act
carried out by a group or individual, using
electronic forms of contact, repeatedly over time
against a victim who cannot easily defend himor herself’ (Smith et al., 2006)
Often previously known as ‘E-bullying’ (e.g., O’
Moore & Minton, 2004)
Seven categories (Smith et al., 2005, 2006) (I)
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(a) Text message bullying
(b) Picture / video-clip bullying via mobile phone
cameras
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May involve ‘happy slapping’ attacks
1B – What is Cyber-Bullying? (II)
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Seven categories (Smith et al., 2005, 2006) (II)
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(c) Phone call bullying via mobiles
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Can involve the theft and use of another’s phone
(d) E-mail bullying
(e) Chat-room bullying
(f) Bullying through Instant Messaging (IM)
(g) Bullying via Websites
Includes use of defamatory blogs, personal web-sites
and on-line personal polling sites, general polling sites
(e.g., ‘rate my teachers’)
 Also includes some use of social networking and fileshare sites (e.g., ‘Facebook’, ‘You Tube’, ‘AskFM’)
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To which we now have to add other devices,
including games systems
1C – What is Cyber-Bullying? (III)
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Games and Gaming (from Keating, 2012)
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It is reasonable to be concerned about the impact of violent games
on some children and adolescents.
Today’s games are very different from those of the late 1970s to
early 1990s - more realistic, more graphic violence, options of
personalising the images of characters.
Computer game rating systems
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Often parents are unaware of and disregard these (the third-person
effect – i.e., bad things happen to other people).
Not a perfect system, anyway, as:
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Inconsistency (although age-suitability-based PEGI system is used across
Europe;
‘Ratings creep’;
Lack of content-based information;
Incongruence with scientific research about harm (see slide 1D);
Lack of agreement with parent ratings;
Lack of publicity and clarity of ratings; and
‘Forbidden fruit’ hypothesis.
1D – What is Cyber-Bullying? (IV)
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Effects of computer games on behaviour (from Keating, 2012)
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When individuals are exposed to violent behaviour, be it on television, in
the cinema or through playing computer games, they are more likely to:
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Short-term effects
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think about violence;
interpret ambiguous behaviour in a hostile manner; and,
to act more aggressively.
Cueing, priming and excitation transfer
Long-term effects
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Observational learning of behaviours, attitudes and beliefs;
Desensitization;
Cognitive justification;
Technology blurring the distinction between the actual and the virtual –
i.e., fact and fantasy;
Risk-prone behaviour; and
Negative physical health implications (sleep problems, obesity,
circulatory problems).
2A –Bullying via Mobile Telephones (I)
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The most common form of cyber-bullying?
 Self-identified bullies preferred it 2:1 over e-mail,
web-sites, IMs in a small-scale Sacramento, CA
study (Toppo, 2006)
 The most common form in surveys in Ireland and the
UK
Potentially Psychologically Dangerous
 Bramwell & Mussen (2003) reported a sixteen yearold male bullycide due to SMS bullying in New
Zealand
 Fleming (2004) reported a fourteen year-old female
bullycide due to SMS bullying in Liverpool
 Implicated in the suicide of Leanne Wolfe (2007)
2B – Bullying via Mobile Telephones (II)
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Primary School Evidence in Ireland
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Post-Primary School Evidence in Ireland
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Minton (2006): Survey of bullying behaviour amongst 2, 354
primary school students (3rd – 6th class), from 38 schools
Q: ‘Other pupils have sent nasty text messages to me, or used
mobile phones to get at me’
Around one in ten - 8.7% of girls, and 10.8% of boys – indicated
yes, this had happened to them at least once in the last 3
months.
2, 794 students from eight post-primary schools (the entire
student body of the first, second, third and fourth years) were
involved.
16.5 per cent of students reported having received an abusive
text outside of school in the past couple of months, and 10.7 per
cent having sent such a message.
N.B. Due to increasing mobile phone ownership, these
are likely to be underestimations of today’s figures
2C – Bullying via Mobile Telephones (III)
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The Response from Network Operators
From 2008, there were meetings between the Dáil Éireann
Joint Commitee on Communications, Energy and Natural
Resources and the Irish Cellular Industry Association.
O2 – application called ‘Block It’, and the ‘Firefly’ telephone
3 - developed an application called ‘KidSafe’.
Meteor - financially support Rehab’s ‘Heads Up’ service.
Vodafone – developed (in 2009) and re-launched ‘Safety
Net’ / ‘Guardian’ in March 2012.
All the above are available as free downloads.
Similar apps come pre-installed on new mobile phones.
Also:
In December 2009, a Dublin-based technological company
called VMAD, released ‘Bully Stop’, which cost €20.
2D – Bullying via Mobile Telephones
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Bullying via mobile telephones may be deemed to be illegal
in the Republic of Ireland, according to provisions made
under the Post Office (Amendment) Act of 1951.
Section 13 (Offences in Connection with Telephones),
Section 1 of this Act deems it an offence if any person: (a)
‘sends any message by telephone which is grossly
offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing
character;
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(b) ‘sends any message by telephone which he knows to be false,
for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, or needless
anxiety to any other person; [or]
(c) ‘persistently makes telephone calls without reasonable cause
and for any such purpose as aforesaid. (Office of the Attorney
General, 2009; italics mine).
Hence, for persistent / serious cases, a report to the Gardai
should be considered.
3A – Cyber-Bullying in Ireland (I)
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Junior Cycle Post-Primary Findings (O’ Moore &
Minton, 2009) (I)
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2, 794 students from eight post-primary schools (the entire
student body of the first, second, third and fourth years) were
involved.
Around one in seven students (14.2 per cent; 18.1 per cent of
girls, and 12.3 per cent of boys) reported having been cyberbullied over the past couple of months.
Around one in eleven (8.7 per cent; 8.0 per cent of girls, and 9.1
per cent of boys) reported having taken part in the cyber-bullying
of others at school within the past couple of months.
16.5 per cent of students reported having received an abusive
text outside of school in the past couple of months, and 10.7 per
cent having sent such a message.
School restrictions on the use of mobile telephones would seem
to be having a positive effect – inside school, these incidences
were 8.7 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.
3B – Cyber-Bullying in Ireland (II)
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Junior Cycle Post-Primary Findings(O’ Moore & Minton, 2009) (II)
 17.6 per cent reported that they had had embarrassing or nasty
pictures or video clips taken of them; 15.9 per cent reported having
taken such pictures or clips of others.
 Use of social networking Internet sites was very frequent, with over
three-quarters (76.6 per cent) of the sample having used Bebo (85.5
per cent of girls and 72.3 per cent of boys) and You Tube (76.2 per
cent; 68.9 per cent of girls and 79.7 per cent of boys) within the past
couple of months.
 Around one in eight students (12.3 per cent of the sample – 15.3 per
cent of girls, and 10.9 per cent of bys) had had nasty web postings
made about them on Internet sites over the past couple of months.
 Abuse via Instant Messages was fairly frequently reported – by 12.9
per cent of the sample as targets, and 8.4 per cent of the sample as
perpetrators in the past couple of months.
 Other forms of cyber-abuse were less frequent – having received or
sent abusive e-mails were indicated by 6.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent
of the sample respectively; having received or sent abusive
messages in Internet chat-rooms were indicated by 9.5 per cent and
7.3 per cent of the sample respectively.
4A – What Can and Should be Done (I)
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Psychologically Dangerous
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Implicated in the suicides of Erin Gallagher, Shannon Gallagher,
Ciara Pugsley (2012)
Problems specific to Cyber-bullying
 Those targeted can be bullied outside conventional
space and time limits
 Easily ‘hidden’
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Raskauskas, 2004 – 60% of NZ teens have mobile phones; of
these, 40% had one parents didn’t know about
Each episode of bullying can reach a much wider
‘audience’
Potentially-intervening adults may be far less familiar
with technical media than are the young people involved
Comparatively little about these forms of bullying are
known
In / out of school - who takes the responsibility?
4B – What Can and Should be Done (II)
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Potential Solutions shared with ‘Conventional’
Bullying
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The ‘whole-school’ / community approach is still
appropriate – which should start with legislation on
school policies (opportunity missed on 23-01-13)
Schools, parents, community interest groups, health /
educational / psychological professionals, researchers
and young people themselves all have a role to play
Awareness raising is still a key ‘first step’
Changing attitudes towards oppression and violence
are still goals
5A – Cyber-Safety and Parents (I)
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The following advice is offered, based on and
adapted from that of Peter Smith and his
colleagues (2006) regarding cyber-bullying and
cyber-safety:
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Make sure you and your child are aware of the
risks of technology use
Make sure your child knows what to do if her or
she is cyber-bullied
Consider parental control software
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N.B. Remember, in Ireland the Law is on your side
as regards SMS bullying!
5B – Cyber-Safety and Parents (II)
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Advice for Young People (I)
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In General
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SMS / Film Clip Bullying
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Don’t reply
Don’t delete – these messages can be used as evidence
Turn off incoming SMS for a few days
Consider changing your number
Dealing with Nuisance Telephone Calls
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Remember, being the target of bullying of any sort is not your fault
Don’t ignore it – tell someone
Try to keep calm; don’t just react
Don’t hang up right away – walk away, and hang up after a few minutes
Always tell someone
Don’t give out personal details
Keep a record of all calls to use as evidence
E-mail Safety
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Don’t respond to ‘flames’ (unwanted e-mails)
Keep e-mails as evidence, and find out who sent them
Don’t open files from people you don’t know
5C – Cyber-Safety and Parents (III)
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Advice for Young People (II): On the Web
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Remember, people can pretend to be someone else on-line
Be extremely careful what you post, and how you react to posts
 On a public site you have little control concerning what is posted
 Anything can be re-posted, cut and pasted, re-edited – and
information and pictures can be there forever
 Be careful with your passwords and maximise privacy settings
Remember, web-based bullying is NOT specifically against the law
in itself (unlike in the UK) – need for legislative change
 Threatening and illegal behaviour should be reported
Follow safety and reporting systems on social networking sites
themselves
 Keep complaining, and get help for yourself by telling
 Remember, Facebook sometimes does NOT do anything about
complaints
Recognise Internet ‘trolling’ for what it is, and do NOT respond to it
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6A – Cyber-Safety Resources for Parents (I)
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Teach Today (www.teachtoday.eu)
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An excellent repository for cyber-safety resources
The Office for Internet Safety offers the following
series of information leaflets / booklets:
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‘A Parents’ Guide to New Media Technologies’;
‘A Parent’s Guide to Filtering Technologies’;
‘A Parents’ Guide to Social-Networking Websites’;
‘Get With IT! Leaflet - Internet Safety for Parents; and,
‘A Guide to Cyberbullying’ (9th December, 2008).
These are all available as downloads from their website: www.internetsafety.ie.
6B – Cyber-Safety Resources for Parents (II)
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Barnardo’s has also produced its own set of guidelines for
practitioners in reducing risks for child users of technology:
www.barnardos.ie.
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Also, the following UK websites have been suggested by
Peter Smith and his colleagues (2006), regarding textmessage and cyber-bullying:
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www.anti-bullyingalliance.org (many helpful resources and
organisations);
www.bpl.org/kids/Netiquette.htm (guidelines for on-line safety for
young people); and,
www.nch.org.uk (information on a range of issues relating to textmessage and cyber-bullying).
Some other good general sites:
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Stop Cyberbullying (www.stopcyberbullying.org)
Vodafone’s website provides information on bullying and malicious
communications (www.vodafone.ie/aboutus/carepolicies/bullying)
6C – Cyber-Safety Resources for Parents (III)
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There are also some good books for parents on
the subject of bullying in general:
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Besag, V.E. (2006). Understanding Girls Friendships, Fights
and Feuds. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Elliot, M. (1996). 501 Ways to be a Good Parent. London:
Hodder & Stoghton.
Elliot, M. (1997). 101 Ways to Deal with Bullying: A Guide for
Parents. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Humphreys, T. (1993). Self-Esteem: The Key to Your Child’s
Education. Leadington, Co. Cork: T. Humphreys.
O’ Moore, A.M. & Minton, S.J. (2004). Dealing with Bullying in
Schools: A Training Manual for Teachers, Parents and Other
Professionals. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
Voors, W. (2000). The Parent’s Book About Bullying. Center
City, MN: Hazelden.
7 - Conclusions
The seriousness of cyber-bullying and
cyber-safety can not and should not be
underestimated
 Whilst there are points of similarity with
‘traditional’ forms of bullying, but cyberbullying does present fresh challenges
 School policies and strategies should be
updated, but schools will need to be
supported on this
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THANKS FOR LISTENING!
ANY QUESTIONS?
Dr Stephen James Minton CPsychol
School of Education
Trinity College Dublin
mintonst@tcd.ie
(01) 896 2216