Blog: Stopping Cyberbullying

With the use of Twitter by public officials putting cyberbullying back into the headlines, just a reminder that when kids use electronic channels to bully others, the best consequence is to take away their electronic device or online access or to restrict the applications used (e.g., Twitter, texting, Instagram, email) for a period of time. This approach, part of the CirclePoint program’s Constructive Discipline Process, has proven to be extremely effective. As many educators know, punishment for bullying behavior does not work and is often counterproductive. Instead, educators and parents should use a “constructive consequence,” one that deprives the aggressor of socializing with peers during those times or through those electronic channels in which the bullying has occurred. In the context of cyberbullying, if the aggressor used text messages, for example, to bully, the aggressor gives up his or her electronic device or is not permitted to text for a period of time. As most students put status among peers as their highest priority, missing out on opportunities for social interaction with their peers can be agonizing. Depriving aggressors of those social opportunities, including online interaction, during which they have bullied others, is very effective at getting bullying to stop. – Ari Magnusson