Cyberbullying

What is Cyberbullying? Cyberbullying is a form of teen violence

and it is a serious problem among the teens. By being more aware of cyberbullying, teens and adults can help too. fight it.

Cyberbullying can take many forms:  Sending mean messages or threats to a person's email account or cell phone  Spreading rumors online or through texts  Posting hurtful or threatening messages on social networking sites or web pages  Stealing a person's account information to break into their account and send damaging messages  Pretending to be someone else online to hurt another person  Taking unflattering pictures of a person and spreading them to cell phones or on the Internet  Texting, or circulating sexually suggestive pictures or messages about a person

Cyberbullying statistics(by the i-SAFE foundation) :  Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have been engaged in cyberbullying.  More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyber- threats online.  Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or through the internet.  Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyberbullying occurs.

Cyberbullying statistics(by The Harford County Examiner) :  Around half of teens have been victims of cyberbullying  Only 1 in 10 teens tells their parent they have been a cyberbullying victim  Fewer than 1 in 5 cyberbullying incidents are reported to law enforcement  1 in 10 adolescents or teens have had embarrassing or damaging pictures taken of themselves without their permission, often using cell phone cameras  About 1 in 5 teens have posted or sent sexually suggestive or nude pictures of themselves to others  Girls are somewhat more likely than boys to be involved in cyberbullying

Cyberbullying statistics(by The Cyberbullying Research Center) :  Over 80 percent of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most popular form of technology and a common medium for cyberbullying  About half of young people have experienced some form of cyberbullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly  Mean, hurtful comments and spreading rumors are the most common type of cyberbullying  Girls are at least as likely as boys to be cyberbullies or their victims  Boys are more likely to be threatened by cyberbullies than girls  Cyberbullying affects all races  Cyberbullying victims are more likely to have low self esteem and to consider suicide

How to stop cyberbullying? Parents and other adults can:  Explain to kids what cyberbullying is, why it is wrong, and what will happen if they engage in cyberbullying, and enforce consequences if the rules are broken  Parents should have access to their kids' accounts, and their kids should know that their parents may occasionally check their accounts to make sure their online activities are safe  Let kids know that no one deserves to be bullied, and if they are ever a victim reassure them that it is not their fault they have been bullied.

How to stop cyberbullying? Victims of cyberbullying :  Do not punish kids for being a victim. In other words, parents should not take away their computer or cell phone privileges to "protect" them  Encourage kids not to retaliate against cyberbullies  When cyberbullying occurs, it is a good idea to document it, either by saving the message, printing it, or saving a screen shot  When a child is the victim of cyberbullying, talk together with them about the next steps to take, and take the victim's concerns seriously if they are afraid of the bully

Cyberbullying in Croatia “Brave phone” („Hrabri telefon“) and the Polychlinic for Child Protection Zagreb, carried out a research in 2013 about experience and behavior of children on the Internet and on social networking site Facebook, on a sample of 1489 children in Croatia, aged 11-18, in schools in rural and urban areas. What we expected was confirmed:  93% of children has a Facebook profile  68% of them, opened their profile before they turn 13 (which is the limit that is allowed when accessing this social network)

Cyberbullying in Croatia Some other facts about cyberbullying in Croatia :  Even 84% of children in Croatia has the ability to connect to the Internet via mobile phones  47% of children is surfing on Facebook during class  Every fifth child declares that he recieved offensive messages or comments on Facebook several times  9% of children admits that they done cyberbullying a few times

Cyber bullying in Croatia  One in six children said that someone signed in in their Facebook profile and in their name published embarrassing information about them  13% of children admit that they intentionally blocked or excluded other children from a group  3% opened group on Facebook with the goal of insulting other children  While 7% of children admitted that they were sending threats

Cyber bullying in Croatia Associations which fight against Cyber bullying in Croatia :  „I listen, hear and understand” („Slušam,čujem,razumijem”)  „Step by step” („Korak po korak)  „Blue telephone” („Plavi telefon”)

Cyberbullying in Croatia Example of cyberbullying in Croatia : An unnamed 15-year-old girl from Požega became a victim of cyberbullying, after her classmates invented that she had made a porn movie. Her life has been turned into hell. The offender has not been found.

Cyberbullying in Croatia

Law for minors :

Minors can be punished only with educational measures (referral to a center for education, increased care and supervision, increased care and supervision with daily stay in a correctional institution, referral to an educational institution, a reference to the rehabilitation center and referral to special educational institution), but not the penalties. Older juveniles with educational measures, can be sentenced to a juvenile prison. Due to the application of the provisions of the Juvenile Courts, the age of the offenders is estimated at the time of their perpetration. So, anyone who is using a blog, respecting the conditions set by the editorial board,must be aware of the personal responsibility if he abuses someone else's personal information, insults or slander others, or if he's taking out someone elses private/family information.

Cyberbullying has become a big problem of our comunity. It affects children, teachers, parents, etc. We must learn how to stop and prevent it. We are those who bring changes!

Thank you for your attention!