This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Mean Messages

By Nicole Iorio

Jessica felt that she could not escape. "I was in tears every day when I went to the computer," says Jessica, 12. What was making her life so miserable? A girl who had been picking on her at school started attacking her online.

Jessica is not alone. Many kids are feeling the sting of online teasing. Bullying has moved beyond the playground and cafeteria. It is now in cyberspace, the world of computer networks, and the problem is growing.

Parry Aftab heads an organization that teaches kids how to deal with cyberbullies. Aftab has found that 55% of kids age 9 to 14 have experienced some form of online bullying. "Cyberbullying is any way of using interactive technology to humiliate, frighten or target another child," she says.

Computers, cell phones, pagers and interactive games are the weapons that cyberbullies use. Bullies send hateful e-mails and instant messages. They create websites with mean words and embarrassing pictures. They steal passwords and spread rumors. Cyberbullying may not inflict physical pain, but it causes emotional hurt.

Making Cyberspace Safe
The issue is now being addressed by schools, communities, parents and kids themselves. The nation's first cyberbullying summit was held on February 8 in White Plains, New York. More than 500 people attended. Kieran Halloran, 12, came with a group from his middle school. Kieran learned that if no one tries to stop online bullying, "the problem can grow."

One solution to cyberbullying is education--teaching kids and adults how to deal with online attacks. Aftab's group trains students to become TeenAngels, who pass on antibullying advice to others. Mary Lou Handy, a middle school teacher in Ridgewood, New Jersey, advises a chapter of TeenAngels. "It's influential when it comes from one child to another," Handy says. "Kids (learn to) think on their feet."

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Stop a Cyberbully

Parry Aftab, the executive director of WiredSafety.org, offers these tips for dealing with troubling messages.

Be private. Keep passwords, pictures and secrets to yourself.

Take five. Instead of replying to a message that upsets you, step away and do something you enjoy for five minutes.

Stop, block and tell. Stop before you reply. This way you won't do anything that you will regret. Block the sender. Tell someone you trust about the message.

Save the evidence. Save mean messages on your computer or use monitoring software.

Google yourself. Check to make sure that your name isn't in any unwanted places. Tell an adult if it is. Your parents can help you take action.

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