Educators will learn about cyberbullying at conference

By Cate Lecuyer
staff writer

October 07, 2008 05:49 am

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DANVERS — In cyberspace, there are no sticks and stones to break your bones — only names that, unfortunately, can hurt you.

Bullying has moved from the playground to computers and cell phones, and the teachers, counselors, police and professionals charged with keeping kids from hurting one another are staying up to speed with how technology has made bullying easier than ever.

A conference today, organized by Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and the state Anti-Defamation League, aims to help educators understand the issue.

It's at the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and will include state and regional speakers.

"Cyberbullying is a growing problem, which affects almost half of all teenagers in this country," Blodgett said. "Because this harassment occurs online or via text messaging, it takes place out of view of adults, leaving them unaware of the problem or unsure of how to respond."

Indeed, cyberbullying has escalated in the last two years, said Helen Gorman, an adjustment counselor at Beverly High School.

"It doesn't necessarily happen at school, but we hear about it at school," she said.

There have been instances of students writing inappropriate messages on someone's online networking MySpace or Facebook page, sending them a threatening e-mail or instant messages, and in some cases acquiring their password and changing information in various accounts.

Often, students will pretend to be someone else, or think nobody will identify them, Gorman said.

"I think kids believe they can be anonymous, and do and say things they wouldn't say face to face," she said.

Last year in Beverly, two such incidents were reported to the police. One involved a threat via an instant message that resulted in a fistfight, and the other involved a student hacking into another student's e-mail account.

The conference is designed to teach adults how to recognize and respond to cyberbullying, and how to prevent it.