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73 percent reported having witnessed someone they know be“I felt so small and that ev- ing targeted. eryone hated me,” Blut said. “I “It’s basically a new word thought that I had no friends for the old term ‘harassing,’” and was in a very dark place.” counselor Luba Bek said. “If In 2014, the Centers for Dis- you’re harassing somebody, ease Control and Department of doing something unpleasant or Education defined the core ele- deliberately unpleasant to anments of “bullying” as unwanted other human being, it used to aggressive behavior, observed or be called ‘harassing’ and ‘being perceived power imbalance and mean,’ but now it has a name, repetition of behaviors ‘bullying.” or high likelihood of Bek said cyberbulrepetition. lying is not as prevCyberbullying in alent at the Upper particular primarily School compared to the involves verbal aggresMiddle school. sion, including elecBlut also said that tronic harassment, and she has not experirelational aggression, enced the same level of including electronically bullying since coming spreading rumors. to the Upper School. ’ Cyberbullying rates “Middle School kids Mikaela have decreased in rehave less of a prefronWolfsdorf ’16 cent years, though cytal lobe cortex to conberbullying rates still trol their impulses and remain higher in feactions,” Bek said. male students, according to the “But it happens here too, but no Department of Education. increase whatsoever.” In a Chronicle poll of 363 Recent honor board cases students, 33 percent of stu- described during class meetings dents said that they have been that involved bullying over Twittargeted on social media and ter and other social media have • Continued from page A1
Attacking Behind A Screen With the increase in the use of social media among high school students also comes an increase in online bullying and harassment, which can have a lasting effect on the victims.
Jan. 1
nathanson s
13, 2016
hwchronicle.com/features
Features C5
Cyber Stats We polled 363 students about their experiences with online harrasment and bullying.
15 percent have posted something mean about someone online.
15%
33 percent have been targeted on social media by someone online.
33%
73% GRAPHIC BY KITTY LUO AND JEAN SANDERS
ILLUSTRATION BY VIVIAN LIN
shown that cyberbullying is still an issue at the Upper School. Though Bek was not at liberty to comment on the cases, she explained, as the peer support advisor, the consequences leaders or trainees must face. “We take it on a case by case basis because even with cyberbullying, it could be a minor slip up or something really big,” Bek said. “And if it’s something really big and mean, we’re done. The person is not going to be there.” Bek said that when these “slip ups” are minor, some students will get second chances if they show that the are “truly remorseful” and “learning from the mistake.” Some students who have witnessed cyberbullying have experienced that it can lead to more. Mikaela Wolfsdorf ’16, whose friend was cyberbullied, explained that though it began only with light jokes on Twitter, it soon escalated into face-toface bullying. Wolfsdorf and Bek believe one of the pitfalls of cyberbullying is buying into the false sense of distance and anonymity of so-
cial media sites. “Your generation is so used to doing everything online,” Bek said. “And there’s so much more to language than words that, when you say something to a person face-to-face, their facial expressions and their non-verbal cues might not come off as bullying. I think a lot of things that happen get started where people join in totally innocently, but you cannot understand sarcasm without non-verbal cues, and it’s going to snowball.” Wolfsdorf believes the students who bullied her friend were not trying to be mean, but funny. She said they didn’t understand that the jokes were seriously hurting her. Bek believes that “mean, intentional bullying” is caused when people are “delusional” in their thinking. A recent trend of “finstas” or “fake” alternate Instagram accounts meant to provide more privacy than “real” Instagram accounts have created a space for further cyberbullying. Many accounts upload posts that ask their followers to write in the comment section about a
specific person. and support.” Although only the account “Do not negate and try to get user and the commenter know the person who is bullying, but the name of the person being give the person your uncondiwritten about, the comment it- tional love,” she said. self can be seen by anyone who One of the most common follows that account. mistakes for a friend or victim “I just think it’s stupid, hon- is to try to point fingers at who estly,” Bek said. “I think it’s perpetrated the cyberbullying, stupid, and gossip is gossip. I Bek said. don’t think it’s as “The witchharmful as goshunt is never a sip, which has a thing,” Bek I felt so small and good name and is out said. that everyone hated there, but I like For Blut, the saying that me. I thought that I had her experiences ‘successful peohave taught her no friends and was in a ple talk about to try to be an ideas and unadvocate of anvery dark place. successful people ti-bullying. —Natalie Blut ’18 talk about what “I try to shut other people did.’ ” it down immediEventually, ately because I this bullying does diminish, and don’t want anyone to feel how I Bek believes that it will decline did,” Blut said. after college, when people start Bek said that there’s no “having other interests in life point in trying to avoid social and the social media world is media, because “that’s where different.” you live.” For now, however, Bek sug“Treat [social media] as real gests that as a friend or witness, life, and be a nice person,” Bek “your role is to provide uncondi- said. “What other people think tional love and positivity to the of you is their business, and person and listen, empathize this applies to cyberbullying.”
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73 percent have seen someone they know targeted on social media.