Page 23 - OSCA Ethical Guidelines - 2009.pdf

Preamble
Types of Cyberbullying
There are several types of cyberbullying:
• Sending instant messages containing insults or threats directly to a person
• Spreading hateful comments about a person through email, instant messaging, or postings on Web sites and online diaries (Blogs, weblogs)
• Stealing passwords and sending out threatening emails or instant messages using an assumed identity
• Building Web sites to target specific students or teachers
• Sending hurtful text messages through cell phones
• Using camera phones to take and distribute unwanted photos of classmates
• Flaming – Sending someone a message to deliberately hurt their feelings or make them angry
• Voting or polling booths. Cyberbullies can use Web sites such as www.freevote.com to create Web pages that allow students to vote online for The Ugliest, Fattest, Dumbest, etc. boy/girl at a specific school.
Acceptable Cases
Connecting with longtime friends and making new acquaintances has always been among the most important goals of adolescent social activity. With the exponential growth in technologies such as email, instant messaging, chat rooms, text messaging, blogs and the creation of Web sites such as Facebook and MySpace, among others, a whole new world of social communications has opened up for today’s young people that enables them to establish even wider social networks.
While the majority of the social interactions today’s youth have are positive, recently there has been significant increase in the number of young people exploiting the power of these communication technologies and networks to intimidate
and antagonize others. Featuring many of the qualities and characteristics of its face to face counterpart, this online world practice has become known as cyberbullying.
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyber Bullying
Cyberbullying is the general term describing any
communication activity using cyber technology (eg. computers,
cell phones, and smart phones) that could be considered
harmful to individual or collective wellbeing. It can include
predation, hate group recruitment, invasion of personal privacy, Scenarios harassment, stalking, and harmful speech, inadvertent access
of harmful material and dissemination of violent and abusive
material.
a) A student comes to your office and tells you that there is a Web site that has been designed to ridicule another student
OSCA Ethical Guidelines for Ontario School Counsellors 2010 • www.osca.ca ■ 23