Local Students Rally Against Cyberbullying

Online harassment affects nearly 13 million kids every year and students in Newport Beach are no exception to the potential dangers.

Responding to the threats of the Internet, members of Corona del Mar High School's Human Relations Council (HRC) discussed its mission at a of the documentary "Bully" in Newport Beach.

"We don't have much of a problem with physical bullying [at CDMHS], mostly verbal," Mason Lyle, an HRC member, said. "We really want to try to dissolve some of that hatred that happens in schools."

Jerry Weichman, a licensed clinical psychologist and expert on bullying from Hoag Hospital, says cyberbullying is the most popular form of bullying thanks to social media platforms including Facebook and Formspring.

"These kids growing up in this generation are growing up in an entirely different world then we did," Weichman explained. "The Internet is partially responsible for ramping up the bullying."

To help keep the bullying to a minimum among CDM students, the HRC spends its days trying to spread the positive message through various activities including offering 30-day challenges to students such as complimenting another student on their achievements. 

"There's a kid in my youth group, and when he posts something on Facebook, quickly the first comment is the "f word" about him. Everything he posts," student Oren Shaolian said. "Putting myself in his shoes, it's terrible. I do this work for kids like him."

With cyberbullying, teens can anonymously make derogatory remarks to one another without the consequence of someone finding out who they are. Student Kiefer Cohen says cyberbullying has created anxiety for a lot of students.

"The cyberbullying in Newport Beach is way worse than the physical or face to face," Cohen said. "With the Internet the bullies feel they have all the power in the world."

Things Parents Should Know:

• Weichman says Formspring is a hive for bullying and was designed to create bullying by causing negative interaction among students and kids.

• The Internet has increased the cruelty of violence. Experts suggest putting your child's computer in the family living room and not allowing then to have a Facebook or Formspring account.

• Shaolian suggests that some students put each other down and laugh about it so it's important to try to convey a positive atmosphere. "So people will think twice about bullying someone because they don't want to look bad," he said.

• "Parents don't see what their kids are doing online. The kids and teens in our community need to be first responders. You need to monitor what's going on," Weichman said.