Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies

Before the advent of the widespread use of the internet, bullying was confined to school grounds, classrooms, and backyards. Now, the virulence of bullying has taken on new meaning, as bullies take to the web to intimidate, harrass, embarrass, and offend others. Through email, cell phones, text messaging, and social networking sites, bullies can carry out their bullying in many cases without ever having to confront their victims, and often without consequence. Whereas the audiences for humiliation in the past was often limited to those who witnessed the bullying and perhaps talked to others about it, now, bullying takes place in cyberspace, where images and audio can be posted online for whole school communities to witness, discuss, and comment on. The social, psychological, and sometimes economic trauma experienced by victims can be devastating, and in some cases, cyber bullying has crossed the line and became a criminal act.

Because just about anyone can be the victim of cyber bullying, and because it often goes unreported, there are precious few resources available to victims, parents, teachers, and others interested in combatting this new form of bullying. This book provides, however, a thoroughly developed, well-researched analysis of cyber bullying - what it is, how it is carried out, who is affected, and what can and should be done to prevent and control its occurrence in society. The book captures the sensational, technological, and horrific aspects of cyber bullying while balancing these with discussion from perspectives about social computing, various academic disciplines, possibilities for public policy and legislation formulation, education, and crime prevention strategies. Using case examples throughout, readers will come away with a new sense of indignation for the victims and a better understanding of the growing problem and how to combat it.

Author: Samuel C. McQuade III, James P. Colt, Nancy B. B. Meyer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 03/01/2009
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.46w x 0.92d
ISBN: 9780313351938

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2009

About the Author

Samuel C. McQuade III, currently serves as the Professional Studies Graduate Program Coordinator at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a former Air National Guard security officer, deputy sheriff and police officer, police organizational change consultant, National Institute of Justice Program Manager for the U.S Department of Justice, and Study Director for the Committee on Law and Justice at the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences. His textbook Understanding and Managing Cybercrime was published in 2006.

James P. Colt, is the Coordinator of School Safety and Security for the Monroe 1 BOCES school district. He is a former police officer employed by the State University of New York, and also served as a criminal justice instructor and school community safety specialist. He is the chair of the district-wide bullying prevention committee at Monroe 1 BOCES, and is an active member of the Monroe County Community Task Force on Bullying Prevention.

Nancy B. Meyer, is an established community activist against bullying and cyber bullying. She routinely travels throughout the U.S. and other nations where she interviews young people about their bullying experiences. She has worked in schools and conducted community workshops about bullying, and has offered counseling services to students and parents struggling to manage familial, school-related, treatment and legal issues stemming from incidents of bullying.