It won't happen to me. Don't count on it.

By Abigail Clarke: Contributing Content Blogger

There is a new study released from Nottingham Trent University revealing peculiarity in how internet users look at the seriousness of cyberbullying. Young people are aware of the ongoing problem of cyberbullying, indeed yes, but the large majority perceive others being more at risk than themselves. Strange, isn't it? Interesting here that young women tend toward holding this view much more than do men. Even stranger to me. This is a perfect example isn't it of what is fueling the problem to begin with? Most people don’t realise the damage this activity causes others. Most, especially those of younger age, are preprogrammed to think they are invulnerable and that the problem will not affect them. How could this be that our young people aren't being schooled about the risks to themselves? That is a lacking in proper education and responsible advisement on internet etiquette.

This makes them either a great candidate to dish out cyberbullying or harassment without regard to other’s feelings, or the unsuspecting victim whose life is gutted because this sort of thing ‘just couldn’t happen to them’! This should be an indication that raising awareness of cyberbullying and the like, cannot end merely with showing people the statistics of what is going on, but needs to also address a more basic schooling of self-awareness. People generally have a keen misperception of how they are perceived by others and what impacts they have on those around them. To fully engage the problem and move closer to a solution, those of the younger generation especially must be educated on the psychology of realistic awareness of self. By being absorbed into the virtual world of social media as much as they are it is no wonder there is a growing separation between what is real and what is not. It is also true that girls tend to view the world in a more romantic sense which coincides with females more often falling victim to cyber-attacks, and to be fair, the reason there are a larger number of female perpetrators of cyber harassment per se. This very important research is screaming the demon loud and clear that there is more than meets the eye in this very human problem. Think about it parents and educators. If we're not teaching young people in a way that sticks that it can happen to them how can they be expected to understand what happens to others?

Cyberstalking Documentary

By Carolyn Davies, Contributing Blogger

This is an excellent cyberstalking documentary via the Crime and Investigation channel based in UK. It's nearly an hour long video but full of important information and specific stories about cyberstalking experiences. I would encourage everyone to watch it and use it to open discussions with young people in the guidance for their digital safety.

Twitter Takes Another Step To Protecting Users

By Carolyn Davies, Contributing Blogger

Hello, Twitter has been in the news as of late with its plans to crack down on cyberbullies and other internet abusers. Now they have taken another positive step in helping bridge victims between online reporting and real realm reporting to law enforcement officers. They are provide a new option in their Block and Report feature which enables victims to print off a police report to submit in their area.

Here is an article write up discussing the new measure and showing examples of how it will work in action. Please share this with others so they will be aware of the new feature.

http://www.itproportal.com/2015/03/19/twitter-tackle-cyberbullying-print-police-report-option/

Twitter CEO Says They Suck At Dealing With Trolls, But That's About To Change

By Carolyn Davies, Contributing Blogger

Finally the social media giant Twitter is taking action. Last month, their CEO, Dick Costolo took personal responsibility after the platform came under scrutiny for their role in the rampancy of cyber abusers leveraging their free and anonymous service as a tool to abuse and draw harm to targeted victims. Some of those victims committing suicide in response to the abuse and public humiliation received. In his own words, Mr. Costolo sent a memo to Twitter employees. He says: 

"We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we've sucked at it for years. It's no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day.

I'm frankly ashamed of how poorly we've dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It's absurd. There's no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It's nobody else's fault but mine, and it's embarrassing.

We're going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them. Everybody on the leadership team knows this is vital."

I am giving you the link for the full article. This is a big step for the company and can only lead to more and more improvement in online safety.

http://mashable.com/2015/02/04/twitter-ceo-trolls/

Swatting -- Another New Form of Harassment On Rise

By David Simms, Senior Contributor
The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

A new trend in cyber harassment is something called swatting. This assault occurs when a harasser anonymously files a false police report such as a bomb threat, murder, or other crime in progress for the purpose of provoking the police to raid a victim’s home or business. Although it is considered a harmless way to have “fun” by many younger people, they are in for a sore surprise as it has recently cost one teenager much more than he bargained for. 15-year-old Paul Horner broke down in tears after a judge found him guilty on two counts of domestic terrorism and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in a United States prison. He is the first person in history to be charged with swatting. In this case, he was found guilty of calling in multiple false threats against rival internet gamers, all resulting in police action that placed individuals in harms way as raids were carried out.  

Swatting is a new fad among gamers targeting those who broadcast themselves and their game play live over the internet to game rivals. It is common for online games to become very competitive, often leading to escalating adverse behaviours. If an internet harasser is able to obtain personal information of their rival or anyone they have a problem with, such as locating their IP and residential address, they will call in a dangerous threat to law enforcement and watch, if possible, on webcams as the victim’s house is forcibly entered by police. Law enforcement agencies say the crime, which has been happening with greater frequency since 2013, wastes valuable resources and places innocent people at risk. Unfortunately, this crime has gone largely unpunished, a fact which seems to encourage more of the same behaviours. However, with the prosecution of the teenager in the above mentioned case, it is sending the message that people will be held substantially accountable for their digital actions.

Video: Cyber Harassment and Cyber Stalking: The New Frontier of Civil Rights in the Twenty-First Century

By Carolyn Davies, Contributing Content Blogger

Hello, I've discovered and am sharing a lengthy but worthy video from Case University School of Law in the US. The first 10 minutes are background room noise with no speaker so fast forward your cursor prompt to roughly 9:45 inwards for the main introduction and 15:26 for the true start.The video discussion seminar is Cyber Harassment and Cyber Stalking: The New Frontier of Civil Rights in the Twenty-First Century. It's a bit dry but worth viewing. Raised are important questions facing us today and in the future with civil rights or free speech and how it bands to the legal processes not only in the US but around the democratic world.

Cyberharrassment and bullying is not a myth.

By Abigail Clarke: Contributing Content Blogger

I happened upon an article the other day trying to downplay cyberharassment and bullying. It claimed to be dispelling cyber harassment myths as if these myths were recognised as established. Not so. The article asserted that one of the most common myths is people being turned into cyberbullies by using social media. To me, this seems absurd. Of course nobody is claiming social media itself creates cyberbullies. The creation of a cyberbully mentality starts well before someone becomes acquainted with social media.  Social media is merely the conduit, not the cause.  The article then went on to make the token reassurance that there aren’t as many cyber harassers on the web as it may seem and that a “techno-panic” has been created to give people the impression the problem is much worse than it actually is. Well I disagree. The problem is indeed much worse than most realise and we are seeing dramatic increases in activity not the reverse.  This appears to be more due to the ease at which the Internet can be accessed these days as well as the amount of personal information available that can be exploited against victims.  It is also due to the pervasive element of anonymity that is intrinsic to the nature of online activity. The ability to express latent anger and rage at others without accountability, creates the cyberharasser, not the websites hosting it.  This is not to say social media sites are free from blame, they are enabling the problem.  But we definitely mustn’t be lulled into thinking cyber harassment is not as bad as it seems.  It most certainly is, which most people having any experience on social media can tell you.