Seventeen
partnered with Facebook to survey teens on their thoughts and
experiences with online bullying. Reaching a total of 5,000 girls ages
15-22, the results found:
The Bad News:
• 51% of girls have seen a hurtful post aimed at another girl at least once a week
• 44%
of the hurtful posts girls see about other girls have to do with their
appearance; a quarter have to do with her sexual reputation
The Good News:
• 83% of girls think they have a responsibility to stick up for other girls online
• 54% of teen girls have stood up to someone who's bullied them or someone else in the past year
Designer Nanette Lepore is helping to create awareness for the cause through specially designed [delete] t-shirts to be sold exclusively at jcpenney stores and online at jcp.com. Girls who buy the [delete] t-shirt are encouraged to upload a photo of themselves to Instagram with the hashtag #17delete – they have already been joined in standing up to bullying by their favorite celebrities like Ashley Benson, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and Bella Thorne. All proceeds from the shirt will benefit STOMP Out Bullying™,
an organization committed to reducing and preventing bullying,
cyberbullying, sexting, and other digital abuse. jcpenney will also be
making a $100,000 donation to the organization.
Stars Kat Graham (The CW's Vampire Diaries), Ariana Grande (Nick's Victorious) and Bridgit Mendler (singer and star of Disney's Good Luck Charlie) have teamed up with Seventeen to further increase awareness for the cause.
I had a chance to interview Seventeen Deputy Editor Caitlin Moscatello about cyberbullying.
Can you give a brief definition of cyberbullying?
The
formal definition is that bullying is repeated, unwanted behavior
inflicted on someone who has less power or is perceived to have less
power. Add cyber to that, and it's the same thing—a teen with more
power, relentlessly taunting, even threatening, someone who she thinks
is weaker—but just online or through text messages.
Are there things that make cyberbullying particularly harmful?
Social
media of course plays a big role now—girls are bullied on sites like
Twitter or Facebook, and for them, the mean comments feel a million
times worse because they're being broadcasted to her whole school. And
teens, well, they've gotten creative now. It's not uncommon for a bully
to create a fake profile to hurt or embarrass someone, or post or tweet
mean pictures with a nasty comment. And what makes it so much more
harmful is that other teens can see that, and share it with whoever is
in their social networks. They can publicly comment, too, or hit
"like," without feeling directly involved. This is dangerous for the
victim, because now she feels like everyone is agreeing with the
bully--it adds power and validity to the bully's behavior in her eyes.
Think about it: If someone posted mean, hurtful comments about you
online over and over, and those comments were getting 60 "likes" from
other people, you'd start to think the world was against you, too. The
irony is that most of the kids who are commenting on and re-tweeting
these posts, they don't see themselves necessarily as being involved. It
allows for this concept of bystander bullying—they're passively
participating, but might not see themselves as bullies because they
didn't post the embarrassing photo or hurtful comment themselves.
Many girls are exposed to negative comments online - what are some ways to mitigate their effects?
The
number one thing they can do is hit "delete. " That's why Seventeen
started the Delete Digital Drama campaign--it's to send the message to
girls that when they see a hurtful comment targeting them or anyone
else, they should just get it out of their lives. It's just one
click--and yet it gives them so much control (and takes away from the
bully's power). Of course, if the bullying persists, girls should speak
up and tell someone, an adult they trust. The effects of cyberbullying
are real—girls have taken their own lives after being bullied online—and
it can be hard for teens to know when to step in. I think as moms, you
want to let your kids know that they can come to you if they're
concerned about something they see online. And if they don't feel
comfortable coming to you, let them know they can talk to a teacher or a
guidance counselor. It's important that teens know how to protect each
other, since they are the ones who are most likely to see the bullying
and can hopefully help stop it early on.
How can teens support each other if they notice negative comments coming up?
They
can hit "delete" and report the bullying, as I mentioned above, and
they can also support each other just with kindness. We heard from lots
of girls that when they see a comment about someone else online, they
reach out to her directly or post something nice to mitigate what the
bully is saying. This is powerful, too, because not only is she not
responding directly to the bully's power, she's taking away from what
the bully is saying.
Where else can teens go if they experience cyberbullying?
STOMP
Out Bullying™ is an amazing organization that educates young adults
about online bullying, but they also have this online help chat where
teens can go and talk to a counselor to get the help they need. What’s
so great about the STOMP Out Bullying™ Live Chat Helpline is that teens
can talk the way they do with their friends—over the computer—in an
environment that’s safe and secure. It can be intimidating for a teen to
pick up the phone and talk to someone, it’s way more accessible if they
can just chat online. Just go to stompoutbullying.org/livechat.php.
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