• Closely monitor the behavior of the students.
• Investigate to see if those who are cyberbullied and need help from a school health professional.
• Notify parents of students.
• Talk with all students about the negative effects of cyberbullying.

Always get ready to contact law enforcement if the aggressive behavior is criminal.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

It’s impossible to monitor the kids’ text messages. The best way is to inform them in advance what kind of messages are considered to be cyberbullying. While the government, schools, and communities are fighting against cyberbullying, a careless text message can be taken seriously if it causes harm to the recipient. Educate your children is the best way to prevent harm them and to others.

The student might be afraid to go to school or attend any activities. They are more likely to use drugs and alcohol. Also cyberbullying usually leads to in-person bullying. Parents and educators need to be aware of the effects on cyberbullying and stop it before it happens.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

• Strongly encourage your child not to respond to the cyberbullying.
• Do not erase the messages or pictures. Save these as evidence.
• Try to identify the individual doing the cyberbullying. Even if the cyberbully is anonymous (e.g., is using a fake name or someone else’s identity) there may be a way to track them through your Internet Service Provider. If the cyberbullying is criminal (or if you suspect that it may be), contact the police and ask them to do the tracking.
• Sending inappropriate language may violate the “Terms and Conditions” of email services, Internet Service Providers, Web sites, and cell phone companies. Consider contacting these providers and filing a complaint.
• If the cyberbullying is coming through email or a cell phone, it may be possible to block future contact from the cyberbully. Of course, the cyberbully may assume a different identity and continue the bullying.
• Contact your school. If the cyberbullying is occurring through your school district’s Internet system, school administrators have an obligation to intervene. Even if the cyberbullying is occurring off campus, make your school administrators aware of the problem. They may be able to help you resolve the cyberbullying or be watchful for face-to-face bullying.
• Consider contacting the cyberbully’s parents. These parents may be very concerned to learn that their child has been cyberbullying others, and they may effectively put a stop to the bullying.  On the other hand, these parents may react very badly to your contacting them. So, proceed cautiously. If you decide to contact a cyberbully’s parents, communicate with them in writing — not face-to-face. Present proof of the cyberbullying (e.g., copies of an email message) and ask them to make sure the cyberbullying stops.
• Consider contacting an attorney in cases of serious cyberbullying. In some circumstances, civil law permits victims to sue a bully or his or her parents in order to recover damages.
• Contact the police if cyberbullying involves acts such as:
  • Threats of violence
  • Extortion
  • Obscene or harassing phone calls or text messages
  • Harassment, stalking, or hate crimes
  • Child pornography

If you are uncertain if cyberbullying violates your jurisdiction’s criminal laws, contact your local police, who will advise you.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

• Cyberbullying can occur any time of the day or night.
• Cyberbullying messages and images can be distributed quickly to a very wide audience.
• Children and youth can be anonymous when cyberbullying, which makes it difficult (and sometimes impossible) to trace them.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

• 45% of preteens and 30% of teens who had been cyberbullied received the messages while at school.
• 44% of preteens and 70% of teens who had been cyberbullied received the messages at home.
• 34% of preteens and 25% of teens who had been cyberbullied received the messages while at a friend’s house.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

• Girls were about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying.
• Of those students who had been cyberbullied relatively frequently (at least twice in the last couple of months):
  • 62% said that they had been cyberbullied by another student at school, and 46% had been cyberbullied by a friend.
  • 55% didn’t know who had cyberbullied them.
• Of those students who admitted cyberbullying others relatively frequently:
  • 60% had cyberbullied another student at school, and 56% had cyberbullied a friend.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

• 18% of students in grades 6-8 said they had been cyberbullied at least once in the last couple of months; and 6% said it had happened to them 2 or more times (Kowalski et al., 2005).
• 11% of students in grades 6-8 said they had cyberbullied another person at least once in the last couple of months, and 2% said they had done it two or more times (Kowalski et al., 2005).
• 19% of regular Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 reported being involved in online aggression; 15% had been aggressors, and 7% had been targets (3% were both aggressors and targets) (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).
• 17% of 6-11 year-olds and 36% of 12-17-year-olds reported that someone said threatening or embarrassing things about them through email, instant messages, web sites, chat rooms, or text messages (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006).
• Cyberbullying has increased in recent years. In nationally representative surveys of 10-17 year-olds, twice as many children and youth indicated that they had been victims and perpetrators of online harassment in 2005 compared with 1999/2000 (Wolak, Mitchell, & Finkelhor, 2006).

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services