Cyberbullying in Distance Learning
/The growing popularity of distance learning for students in all age and grade brackets has unfortunately paved the way for new avenues of cyberbullying. The bad behavior that used to take place in hallways, lunchrooms, and classrooms now occurs in digital school settings everywhere.
Cyberbullying is not a new phenomenon. It occurs outside of the educational platforms far too frequently. Bullies harass, insult, attack, and threaten on popular social media platforms and content sharing sites. Now, the platforms commonly used by educational facilities and schools to replicate the classroom experience at home also play host to cyberbullying.
What Does Cyberbullying Look Like?
Cyberbullying is the repeated and persistent attack on the Internet with an intention to harm, harass, or endanger others. This is very different than the classroom meanie stealing lunch money or waiting after school to pick a fight. Online bullying involves social media, text messages, online chats, email, and gaming platforms. Nearly 16 percent of high schoolers reported cyberbullying in 2019. It includes making harmful and false statements, purposefully causing embarrassment, sexual harassment, and cyber stalking among other things. The intention remains the same.
Can a Distance Learning Experience Be Safer?
Yes. Some parents and teachers would insist that distance learning is safer because there is no physical threat of bodily harm. However, emotional distress and psychological damage can have equal or increased detrimental effect. Ultimately, the way to make the online educational experience better falls to whoever controls the platform and the teacher in charge of the lesson.
The following methods can help decrease cyberbullying in distance learning:
1 – Establish expectations and rules for online education behavior. Make sure all students understand what is expected of them and what the consequences of bullying will be.
2 – Tell all students that they should report cyberbullying directly to the teacher or whoever is in charge of the distance learning activities. This includes things that happen outside the online class itself.
3 – Limit communication options for students to minimize the risk of direct bullying. Never share contact information or social media platform details with others.
4 – Pay attention to the behavior of everyone in the online classroom and speak up if you notice anything going wrong. Getting the help of parents and peers is a great way to minimize the risk of cyberbullying overall.
Unfortunately, very few instances will occur in the class itself right in front of the teacher or proctor. Bullies know when to act for maximum negative impact. With the growth of distance learning, maintaining control over the classroom presents new challenges. The most important things include keeping lines of communication open, striving to include everyone in an equal and fair way, and teaching empathy and acceptance every day.
As the world becomes more understanding of the cyberbullying truth, teachers, peers, and administrators must take more forceful action against bad behavior. As distance learning becomes much more popular in the modern world for students of all ages, a clear understanding of what bullying is, how it can affect virtual education, and what can be done to stop it must be examined more closely.
