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TITLE OF DOCUMENT:

How to prevent cyber bullying and risky web surfing. Guidelines for teachers, students and parents

NAME OF AUTHOR(S):

Pinna N., Pisano L., Saturno M.E.

NAME OF PUBLISHER:

Comune di Cagliari

LANGUAGE OF DOCUMENT:

Italian

LANGUAGE OF THE REVIEW:

English

KEYWORDS:

Collaboration – Prevention – Privacy – police reports - Corrective strategies

DOCUMENT TYPOLOGY:

Report

TARGET GROUP OF PUBLICATION:

Parents, Teachers, School Directors.

SIZE OF THE PUBLICATION:

21 - 100 pages

DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS:

This document is a simple support addressed to teachers and parents to combat the bullying phenomenon. We consider cyber bullying all aggressive and intentional actions carried out by a single person or a group thanks to the help of electronic devices with the aim of causing harm to other peers. Cyber bullying is different from bullying because people can experience cyber bullying continuously in every moment of the day, while bullying can happen mainly during the school hours. Cyber bullies can be anonymous and tent to commit crimes they would not commit in real life. Bullies are students who are well known by the victim and are stimulated and encouraged to act out crimes by the class group, justifying their actions as a simple trick. Cyber bullying includes different options: it can consist of on line verbal interactions, silent phone calls which are the most common types of abuse, intimidations, online account violations, dissemination of videos reproducing violent acts and sexual abuse, nasty text messages and humiliating photos. New technology can have both advantages and drawbacks. An e-mail can be both a useful means of communication, but for the bully it can become a fast tool to send other users unwanted messages. On-line chatting is becoming more and more a meeting point for young generations, but sometimes new acquaintances turn out to be dangerous. The main risk of these new means of communication lies in the publication of private information. The social network – which is a place where young people can show their creativity – is a key element for all kinds of activities, e.g. professional ones, that belong to our life. Sometimes bullies can identify the profile of potential victims and start menacing people with difficulties. What are the good practices to combat the phenomenon? The victim of cyber bullying must be helped and supported with the idea that these kinds of abuse must be reported immediately. The main tip is to avoid offensive responses because they feel the need to revenge. If the cyber bully is identified, it is necessary to help him/her become aware of the serious effects that his / her behavior provoked and to apply not only punishing actions but also corrective ones.

REVIEWER’S COMMENTS ON THE DOCUMENT:

The text is a useful guide addressed to all operators in the education field and aims at preventing cyber bullying. Comparing cyber bullying with bullying in general, we are worried about the misuse of modern technologies which are more and more widespread among young generations. First of all, the authors want to find out the causes of these attitudes, trying to divide social influence from upbringing. Bullying is sometimes caused by fear; in this case the bully acts to defend him/herself against potential and sometimes imaginary attacks. Sometimes they are the consequence of problems and misunderstandings within the own family or within the group of friends. Who suffers bullying, he is incapable of reacting and so he remains an unprotected and silent victim. This first analysis is followed by a set of practical guidelines which help people recognize the features of this abuse. A very valuable starting point is the dissemination of good practices through preventive and upbringing projects to be carried out also in school. Local authorities, towns and Regions, support this activity thanks to the publication of handbooks to inform people about bullying and to find out a way to defend ourselves against it. Family plays a key role and each family should speak to the children more frequently in order to be more aware of the attitude and the needs of their adolescent children which are principally responsible for cyber bullying acts. Finally The corrective method wants to be informative rather than a useless punishment.

NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION:

Don Milani

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