Dealing with Bullies in Cyberspace

He defined bullying as using violence, excluding others purposefully, sending rude messages, teasing or name-calling.

Jeremy Glicksman, Nassau County assistant district attorney with the technology crime unit, presented a talk at Long Beach High School on Monday entitled "How to Talk to Your Kids About: Internet Safety, Cyber-Bullying, Internet Predators, "Sexting" and Protecting Their Privacy."

During the presentation, opened to parents of children in grades K to 12, Glicksman noted that cyber-bullying uses computers, cell phones and other electronic devices to inflict this type of intentional harm. The difference,

he explained, is that once a damaging message or photo goes out on the Internet, it remains in cyberspace forever.

The supposed anonymity of the Internet simply exacerbates the problem by emboldening the bully. Once a photo or text message is sent electronically, it is no longer private. Even messages and photos that are intended to be shared only among friends can be forwarded endlessly and well outside of the intended circle of friends.

After Glicksman offered this information, he cautioned parents to teach their children that no form of bullying is acceptable, no one ever deserves to be bullied and there can be real consequences for these actions, including hurt feelings, damaged reputations, real danger from predators, discipline at school or even criminal charges.

Glicksman told parents to look for warning signs. He said that if their children suddenly stop using their computers or cell phones, act nervous when receiving a message, seem uneasy about going to school or start to withdraw from friends, these could mean that they have become victims of cyber-bullying.

What can parents do to stop cyber-bullies? Glicksman suggested taking actions to block or ban the bully from social networking sites, setting up a new account, reporting the problem to a website moderator, and informing a trusted teacher or guidance counselor. He said parents should not try to seek revenge or keep their children out of school, and should never blame the victim. Filing criminal charges, he said, should be considered a last resort.