Abstract
Educators and the public alike are often perplexed with the enormous and evolving cyber mise en scène. Youth of the digital generation are interacting in ways our fore-mothers and fathers never imagined — using electronic communications that until 30 years ago never existed. This article reports on a study of cyber-bullying conducted with students in grades 6 through 9 in five schools in British Columbia, Canada. Our intent was to quantify computer and cellular phone usage; to seek information on the type, extent and impact of cyber-bullying incidents from both bullies’ and victims’ perspectives; to delve into online behaviours such as harassment, labelling (gay, lesbian), negative language, sexual connotations; to solicit participants’ solutions to cyber-bullying; to canvass their opinions about cyber-bullying and to inquire into their reporting practices to school officials and other adults. This study provides insight into the growing problem of cyber-bullying and helps inform educators and policy-makers as to appropriate prevention or intervention measures to counter cyber-bullying.
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