This document discusses digital footprints and cyberbullying. It begins by asking how big one's digital footprint is and discusses how social media like Facebook can be used inappropriately. It then defines cyberbullying and where it occurs, identifying who cyberbullies are and providing examples from the news. The document discusses responding to and preventing cyberbullying on Facebook and through texting. It also touches on sexting, noting it can have legal consequences. Throughout, it emphasizes the importance of being responsible digital citizens and controlling one's online presence and digital footprint.

1. How big is your digital footprint?
Cyber Awareness-Facebook and other current issues
Kelly Schermerhorn
Questar III-Model Schools Coordinator
kelly.schermerhorn@questar.org
NYSRA-Fall 2012
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2. Overview
 It is not designed to place blame or
scare, but rather to educate, emphasize
responsibility and problem-solve.
 Essential Question
 How big is your digital footprint?
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3. Cyberbullying
What is it,
where is it found, and who is a
cyberbully?
“Bullying is a behavior, not
an identity”
Southern Poverty Law Center
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4. What is it?
Cyberbullying is the repeated use of
information technology, including e-mail, instant
messaging, blogs, chat rooms, pagers, cell
phones, and gaming systems, to deliberately
harass, threaten or intimidate others. Unlike
physical bullying, where the victim can walk
away, technology now allows for continuous
harassment, from any distance, in a variety of
ways.
*New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
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5. NYSDCJS also identifies cyberbullying as…
 Flaming (online fight)
 Denigration (“dissing”)
 Bash boards (online bulletin board of hate)
 Impersonation (pretend or poses as someone else)
 Outing (personal info made public, usually online)
 Trickery (tricks to divulge personal information)
 Exclusion (leave someone out on purpose)
 Harassment (repeated insults online)
 Happy slapping (physical attack that is filmed and posted)
 Text war/attack (several people send loads of messages)
 Online polls (hurtful polls responded to by others)
 Malicious code (send code to create computer virus)
 Images/videos (inappropriate pics posted online)
 Griefing (causing grief to others in an online gaming community)
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6. Olweus-bullying prevention program definition
“A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and
over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other
persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or
herself."
This definition includes three important components:
1. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted,
negative actions.
2. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time
3. Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength.
Bullying can be:
 Physical
 Relational/Verbal
 Olweus, 1993
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7. Where is it found?
E-mails
Instant messaging
Text messages
Web logs (blogs)
Chat rooms or discussion groups
Social media sites
Significant amount occurs off-campus, but it
is impacting student relationships on-
campus.
This creates a liability issue for districts.
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8. Who are Cyberbullies?
 May be known to the victim or an
online stranger.
 May be anonymous and enlist others,
including online “friends”.
 May be related to fights about
relationships.
 May be based on hate or bias.
 Some teens think cyberbullying is a
game.
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9. In the News: Cyberbullies arrested
 Two Florida school girls (ages 15 & 16) were arrested in Jan. 2011 for
creating a fake Facebook page of classmate
(Traced the IP address to the mother of one of the girls)
 16 year old Virginia student was charged in March 2011 with a
misdemeanor for creating a fake Facebook page about nine fellow
students-charge carries possible one year jail sentence and $2500
fine
(The alleged computer was seized as evidence)
 Seattle-based Sultan MS principal Robin Briganti had a fake Facebook
page created in her name and inappropriate wall posts suggesting
inappropriate relations with students
(The principal stated “I know the feeling of wanting to stay home in
my bedroom and pull the covers over my head.”)
This past weekend in our area, a soccer coach was dismissed for
posting inappropriate comments about the opposing soccer team-
he was fired immediately. Is this considered “cyberbullying” or free
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speech?

10. In the News, continued
 A 15 year old Staten Island teen committed suicide in
December 2011 and is still being harassed by a group on
Facebook after her death.
 An 11 year old girl uses her webcam to express her anger
over being bullied, posts it and it goes viral on You Tube.
 NYS Senator Jeff Klein has proposed a bill that stalking in the
3rd degree, Class A misdemeanor to include harassment of a
child using electronic communication. The bill also will update
2nd degree manslaughter, Class C felony to include
cyberbullying (bullycide) in the case of suicide.
It has not passed in the Senate.
 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44678607/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/cyber-bullies-bill-introduced-new-york
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11. Facebook
 Facebook is a social network service and website
launched in February 2004 that is operated and
privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of October
2012, Facebook has more than 1 billion active
users. Daily users number ~450 million. Users
may create a personal profile, add other users as
friends and exchange messages, including
automatic notifications when they update their
profile.
 Facebook allows anyone who declares
themselves to be at least 13 years old to become
a registered user of the website.
*Wikipedia.org
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12. How could Facebook be used
inappropriately?
 Pictures posted that were supposed to be private.
 Creating mock Facebook page to degrade a
person.
 Inappropriate messages, status messages,
postings, content, etc.
 Hacking into others accounts/creating viruses and
scams.
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13. What to do?
 Facebook Security- www.facebook.com, Resources, drop down menu,
Account settings, Security page ( look @ current settings)
 Privacy Controls-choose who you want to see your profile (be sure
you know how you want to customize your settings)
 Recommended settings-think of who will see what you post, control
each post you make, control your apps and control where/how you
are tagged
 From Facebook: “Information
you've shared with
everyone - as well as your name, profile
picture, gender, networks, and username
could be seen by anyone on the internet.
Please be aware that it will be visible to
anyone viewing your profile, and apps and
websites you and your friends use will be able
to access it.”
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14. What to do if being bullied on Facebook
 Facebook suggestions on how to limit being bullied on
Facebook: accept friend requests safely (only real-life
people that are known), use the “block” feature to stop
abusive behavior, report directly to Facebook, restrict
privacy settings and respond to abusers in the right way.
 Block feature explained below:
To do this, show how to enter the name or e-mail address
of the user you want blocked in the "Person" or "E-mail"
fields at the bottom of the page and click "Block." You
can visit this page at any time by navigating to the
"Privacy Settings" option in the Account drop-down menu
available from the top of every page.
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15. Facebook: + and -
 What are some of the positives and
negatives for your usage of Facebook?
 “Friends” –virtual and known
 Constant contact with “friends”-24/7/365
 “In the know” about upcoming events
 Postings and pictures of “friends” you don’t get to see
often
 Being a part of something “bigger” than you
 Learn about topics you wouldn’t have exposure to
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16. Excerpt from, “The Millennial Teenager”, The Erial Project, 2011,
OnlineSchools.com
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17. Texting
 Three quarters of teens – 77% – have cell phones. Ownership among
younger teens has dropped since 2009.
 Average American teen sends and receives/sends (2012 1st
quarter stats) ~ 60 messages a day
 Psychologists and psychiatrists say it can lead to anxiety,
distraction in school, falling grades, possible sleep issues
 Intensive, repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead
to upper musculoskeletal issues
 Is there a balance for usage in school?
NY Times Health article, May 2009
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18. What to do if being bullied by texting
 Open dialogue between child and parent
 Do not retaliate!
 Block the number and alert your wireless provider
 Save all messages, text, pics sent-print out what
you can
 Alert school officials-teachers, administration
 If no resolution has been reached, take all
information to the police-it is a crime and
documentation has been used in court
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19. Sexting
 Sending or forwarding explicit photos, videos, or messages from a
mobile phone.
*Cyberonline.gov
 Some teenagers who have texted photographs of
themselves, or of their friends or partners, have been
charged with distribution of child pornography, while those
who have received the images have been charged with
possession of child pornography; in some cases, the
possession charge has been applied to school
administrators who have investigated these incidents as
well. The images involved are usually different in both
nature and motivation from the type of content that anti-
child pornography laws were created to address.
*Wikipedia.org
“Net Cetera-chatting with Kids about Being Online” resource
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20. Sexting in the news
Recent information regarding pics in the news:
 NYS law: can result in felony charges, including creating,
possession and distribution of child pornography.
 Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland) has introduced a bill
that will create an affirmative defense where a minor is
charged under child pornography laws if they possesses or
disseminates a picture of themselves; or possess or
disseminates the image of another minor (within 4 years of
their age) with their consent. The affirmative defense will not
be available if the conduct was done without consent.
*Wikipedia.org, mysanantonio.com, news.com.ua
 In DeKalb, GA, a football coach was suspended after being accused of
sending inappropriate pics to a football player’s mom.
 A MS Band teacher in TX was arrested for accusations of having
inappropriate pics and conversations with a 15 year old student (it started
out on Facebook)
 Anthony Weiner, former NYS Congressman sent a inappropriate link and
photos on Twitter and resigned in June 2011.
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21. IT IS A CRIME!!!
 The Albany County Legislature voted in
November 2010 to approve a law which makes
cyberbullying a misdemeanor punishable by a
$1,000 fine or a year in jail. It includes all forms
of electronic harassment, including texting and
phone spoofing, as well.
 January NYS 2012 stats for this legislation: Yes, there
is a bullying law with an update to include
“cyberbullying” and electronics with criminal sanctions,
a school sanction is in place which requires a school
board to have a policy but does not include off campus
behavior.
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22. Your digital “footprint”
 On the Internet, a digital footprint describes the
trail, traces or "footprints" that people leave
online. This is information transmitted online,
such as forum registrations, e-mails and
attachments, uploading videos or digital images
and any other form of transmission of
information — all of which leaves traces of
personal information about yourself which is
available to others online.
 www.webopedia.com
 How can you control your footprint?
 Your daily activity is being collected pretty
much all day long…
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24. Digital Citizens
 Reminder: whatever you do online carries over to your “real”
life.
 Post only what YOU are comfortable seeing.
 Once it is posted, it CANNOT be taken back.
 Trust your gut if you have a suspicion about
conversations, people, etc.
 It is wrong to impersonate someone else.
 Don’t allow someone to bully you or anyone else-
stand up!
 Potential risks for illegal downloads, counterfeit
software, using other’s work without permission.
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25. Conclusion
 If you see something, say something
 Do not look the other way
http://www.thebullyproject.com
Comments or Questions?
Thank you!
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26. Resources
 New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
 Multishare Information Sharing & Analysis Center; MS-IASC
 Pew/Internet research Cyberbullying, 2010
 www.Wikipedia.org
 www.facebook.com
 NY Times Health article, May 2009
 www.Cyberonline.gov
 NetCetera-Chatting with Kids about being online
 Dr. Amanda Nickerson, SUNYA Albany; Bullying presentation
 www.blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Digital Education/2011/08
 Huffington post, March 2011
 NBC Washington.com, March 2011
 www.digizen.com
 www.webopedia.com
 www.thebullyproject.com
 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44678607/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/cyber-
bullies-bill-introduced-new-york
 *http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501367_162-57336444/few-teens-sexting-racy-photos-new-
research-says
 Google images
 Cyberbullying Methods: The Various Tactics Used to Bully Online - © Jace Shoemaker-
Galloway
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