Blurred Lines: Teaching and Parenting in the Age of Cyberbullying

The below piece was co-authored by Pamela Roggeman , Ed.D., academic dean for the College of Education at University of Phoenix and Tammy Woody , Ed.D., dean of faculty for the College of Social Sciences at University of Phoenix

The schoolyard bully is far from a new concept. In our experience, even classroom teachers who rate their bully radar as acute report overt and subtle forms of bullying occurring on a regular basis. Across news reports and in our homes, we have long heard about conflicts taking place everywhere from classrooms and locker rooms to hallways and cafeterias. In fact, more than 20 percent of K-12 students said they were bullied in 2015, with countless more choosing not to report.

With the advancing digital age, bullies have found a nontraditional playground where they can confront their peers: the internet. Through the rise of computers, smartphones and social media, yesterdays playground bullies have transformed into todays cyberbullies. According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly 16 percent of high school students and nearly 25 percent of middle school students were cyberbullied in 2015. Tactics like aggressive text messages, fake social media profiles and email blasts with embarrassing pictures have taken the place of in-person teasing and name-calling, but the impact is deeply personal. Ultimately, digital bullies feed off the public nature and perceived anonymity of social media, and the victims of these attacks usually face the experience alone.

In this new age of cyberbullying, the lines between whats public and personal, and what lines define the schools jurisdiction versus that of the home, are now blurred. To successfully combat the cyberbullying epidemic, we believe teachers, counselors, parents and even community leaders need to be more cohesively aligned on strategies for raising a generation that is responsible on social media. We must work together to present our children with consistent expectations and parameters for digital etiquette.

To learn safe and responsible social media communication, students need regular, positive contact with social media. According to a recent University of Phoenix College of Education survey conducted online by Harris Poll, a majority (86 percent) of K-12 teachers say they have not integrated social media into their classrooms, and more than half (62 percent) indicated they do not plan to do so. The more that teachers and parents are willing and able use social media as a tool in learning and development, the easier it will be for children to understand its implications. Teachers should be comfortable enough with social media in the classroom to implement guidelines and rules against cyberbullying at school as a logical extension of their classroom management plans; parents should be comfortable enough with social media to discuss these issues with teachers and develop at-home solutions that may help stop the cycle. Ultimately, todays teachers and parents cannot not rely on the other to teach these lessons; we must join forces to educate the next generation of social media users on the lasting impact of their unique digital footprints.

As parents and teachers work together to educate children on digital citizenship, they should also craft plans and strategies for these social-digital interactions with ethics in mind. Adults must clearly define expectations for children in the social media landscape and should also engage children in developing guidelines for their personal social media usage. From a training perspective, it is important for teachers to have the skillset to navigate increasingly complex digital classroom dynamics. University of Phoenix has integrated ethical decision-making into coursework and offers specific Continuing Education for Teachers courses to help teachers address some of the ethical dilemmas they face in the classroom environment, including appropriate uses of social media.

As we turn to integration and training as strategies to guide our children through this digital age, it is important to remember that the idea of home as a refuge is being threatened, and it is not as simple to identify and navigate instances of cyberbullying. As parents, teachers, and role models to the next generation of digital users, it is imperative that we clearly define the lines of our lessons and work together to encourage long-lasting, healthy behavior both online and in-person. We must embrace new social mediums, continued digital learning and promote an open dialogue with children regarding their thoughts and ideas as they navigate these new tools. Lets work together and reshape the narrative to welcome social media into our homes, classrooms and communities as a resource for positive energy that offers limitless possibilities to benefit generations to come.

For more information about each of these programs, including on-time completion rates, the median debt incurred by students who completed the program and other important information, please visit: http://www.phoenix.edu/programs/gainful-employment.html .