Cyber-Bullying: "Trickery, Trolling, and Threats"

The ADL is very concerned about the increase of cyber-bullying on the Internet. For the current generation of teens, e-mailing, IM-ing, text-messaging, chatting and blogging are a vital means of self-expression and a central part of their social lives. There are increasing reports that many are misusing online technologies to bully and harass others, and even to incite violence against them.

Unfortunately, despite the prevalence and impact of cyberbullying, many adults are unaware of the problem due to lack of fluency in new technologies, a lack of involvement in and oversight of youth online activity, and strong social norms among youth against disclosure of online behavior.

As a result, the ADL has developed a program to combat cyber-bullying. "Trickery, Trolling, and Threats," seeks to promote safety and inclusion in online forums as part of a broader strategy to create safe schools for all youth; to help create informed student populations who understand the importance of behaving responsibly and respectfully online, and who are motivated to challenge cyberbullying in their schools and online communities; to inform educators about legal and ethical responsibilities to respond to cyberbullying that may occur on and off campus, and to empower them to respond in ways that create safer and more respecful online environments for students.

The program consists of an interactive training for middle and high school educators, administrators and student support personnel which provides practical information and opportunities for skill-building to support school communities in developing comprehensive plans for preventing and taking action against cyberbulling and social cruelty in online forms.