No one wants to see their child being bullied. As bullying has been covered more frequently by the media, it has become obvious that bullying no longer includes just the "Steal your lunch money" tactics of past generations.
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Akilah C. Thompson, Founder and President of ACT Inspires Inc. and Generations Inspired Inc.
uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?
AT: As an inspirational speaker, I work with teenagers as well as college students and have learned a lot about cyberbullying directly from them and conducting research on the subject to find solutions. I am also actively involved on social media and have witnessed the impacts of bullying over the Internet. I was a bully myself growing up due to low self esteem and strive to assist young people with tools to be confident in all areas of their lives to avoid being victims of bullying. I have facilitated trainings, workshops, open forums and seminars that focus on cyberbullying, bulling and the proper use of social media.
uKK: What do you believe is the number one thing that can be done to draw attention to and prevent this trend?
AT: There are several things that can be done but I believe the first thing is to hold social media sites accountable for facilitating cyberbullying.
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Jayne A. Hitchcock, President of Working to Halt Online Abuse – Kids/Teen Division.
uKK:What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Ruth Carter, Licensed Arizona Attorney.
uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?
RC: One of my passions and areas of practice is social media law, which includes cyberbullying.
I wrote the book The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed which includes topics related to cyberbullying prevention.
I’ve also experienced cyberbullying as a law student.
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Tom Jacobs, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem/Commissioner (Arizona) (1985 to 2008) and founder of askthejudge.info.
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Tara Fishler, Founder & CEO of “Customized Training Solutions."
uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?
TF: I have been educating students, parents and teachers on the issues of bullying, cyberbullying and related topics for many years.
uKK: What do you believe is the number one thing that can be done to draw attention to and prevent this trend?
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Jill Buban, Dean, School of Education at Post University.
uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?
JB: My experience with cyberbullying spans K-12 and college students, as well as in my experiences as a parent of an elementary school child. As a parent, previous high school teacher, college instructor, and currently, college administrator, cyberbullying is ever present and should be a top concern for parents and places of learning.
uKK: What do you believe is the number one thing that can be done to draw attention to and prevent this trend?
For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. Our first one involves Jennifer Hancock, author of The Bully Vaccine.
uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?
JH: I teach people how to use operant conditioning to train bullies to stop bullying. Yes, it does work and yes, it works with cyberbullying just as well as with in person bullying. Actually, cyberbullying is easier to deal with because it’s impersonal.
Facebook's features run the gamut, from a simple poke to flagging inappropriate content. Now, the social media site has rolled out its newest addition, which may limit cyberbullying by allowing teens to report mean or threatening posts by clicking "this is a problem."
Facebook teamed up with Yale, Columbia and Berkley Universities to create the tool.
It's aimed at 13 and 14 year olds, the minimum age for a user on the site, and will replace the old "report" link. Clicking the new button takes users through a questionnaire to rank their emotions and determine how serious the problem is.
If your child has being harassed by a cyberbully, would you know what to do? Responding to cyberbullying can be more complicated than you think, and the right way to react depends on exactly what's going on.
Finding that someone is bullying your child makes you want to act immediately, but keep your cool and ask questions first. Most victims of cyberbullying don't tell their parents because they think doing so will only make it worse. So before you start making phone calls to the bully's parents, the principal, or the police, find out:
uKnowKids is committed to protecting the safety and reputation of children whenever and wherever they go online. Other companies have also jumped in the arena to try to protect kids online in various sectors.
Word Bully is developed by Iconosys, a company designed to address the pitfalls in mobile and smartphone technology. Word Bully is a smartphone app developed to keep parents apprised of potential cyberbullying – whether their child is the victim or the perpetrator.
Parents put a password on their child's smartphone, program in their own cell phone number, and are instantly alerted via SMS whenever their child's phone sends or receives a message that contains profanity, threats, vulgarities, or other custom words identified by the parent.
