Firstly, holy moly! This kind of cyberbullying is so beyond the likes of what I even realized possible. In fact, considering the literal extortion of a minor like Amanda Todd, I feel like the term cyberbullying hardly encompasses the devastation that occurred. In my mind, this was a series of exploitation, sexual assault, and criminal behavior more generally. Maybe the term has different connotations now, but, when I was in school, bullying was essentially teasing. It was a step or two below violence or harassment. I remember thinking to myself as a kid in middle school: “we all have been bullied.” I wondered if updating the term to reflect the seriousness of this kind of behavior might help students realize how outside the window of acceptable behavior this is. However, it was noted in the Dark Cloud: the high cost of cyberbullying documentary, that often with young people, extreme examples like Amanda Todd’s tragedy can undermine the seriousness of the matter. This is perplexing to me.

Moreover, I am convinced young people who participate in or perpetuate this kind of targeted onslaught of abuse already know they are behaving in a way that is beyond the pale. I know this by the way it is reserved for interactions behind the computer screen/device; the same kind of behavior in person, to one’s face, would take a certain kind of monster. Somewhere along the way, the distance provided by technology shelters perpetrators from the societal implications that would occur naturally if the same actions were committed face to face. What I don’t know is how you teach children what they already know is wrong remains wrong online, and whether or not that is the parent’s job. Teachers obviously cannot ignore it, but I think parents must involve themselves in establishing ethics for the new technological age prior to school. Students will likely be introduced to the online world long before they are in our classrooms. It is gonna take a village to curb this!

During school, I have no recollection of being taught about treating our peers with decency online or even how to protect ourselves. Perhaps, young people’s online usage needs to be more monitored. The difference between this and when I went to school is no matter how brutal it might have been at school, it ended when we got home. We were never inundated with bullying 24 hrs. The Dark Cloud mentions the prolific nature of cyberbullying and how there is no reprieve. It also mentions, that even in person, adults step in only a fraction of the time. Online, 59% of children report being bullied. There is near zero chance of adult intervention there.

I hope police take this more seriously now, especially if it is targeted and victimizing. According to the government of Canada, cyberbullies can face jail time, have devices taken away, or pay a fine. I would like to know how often perpetrators encounter these consequences. This topic makes me feel so out of my depth…And makes me want to bring the hammer down. I hope after discussion with the class, I can temper some of this rage and actually see some tenable approaches for myself as a future teacher.

There are some behaviors online we are not going to curb through scare tactics (in my day, it was illegal downloading), but I cannot help but wonder if a certain threshold of this kind of bullying meets criminal and maybe if that is the case, ramping up repercussions is not a bad thing. I realize that some cyberbullying is anonymous, making consequences difficult to enforce, but the circulation of graphic materials without consent is a serious offense in the adult world if charges can be laid. I don’t want to treat children like adults, but I am literally at a loss how to navigate this. It is clear, that the singsongy PSA by organizations and government tend to be read as trivializing. Perhaps, there is a middle ground, but besides the obvious conversations we might have with a class, I do not know what teachers on their own can do besides advocate for victims.

Verywellfamily.com has some suggestions for parents and I think as teachers we can support these efforts, particularly by encouraging students to come forward and report each incident.