A St. Albert man said he feels helpless and angry because his son has been relentlessly bullied on Facebook for more than a year yet there is little he can do to stop it for fear of making the situation worse.
“It's hard for me to comprehend that people like this are able to have such power and control over my family, and not only one member of my family but the whole family,” said the man, who asked to remain anonymous in order to protect the identity of his son.
“What's happening to him affects all of us,” he said.
The man's son, who attends a Catholic school in St. Albert, has not spoken to anyone outside his immediate family about the issue because he doesn't want to make it worse.
He's asked his father to do the same.
“I'd like to see it stop,” said the man.
He said the incident involves three former friends of his son.
“It's a real problem. There is nothing private from these people; they watch your every move. They've been in my house so they know a lot about the family and they're able to find any number of things to comment on publicly,” he said, adding the parents probably aren't aware of what's going on.
Due to the nature of online social networking sites such as Facebook, victims of bullying are subject to a much wider audience than just those in their immediate circle.
“Somebody will say something obnoxious and a whole pile of people will chime in and say, ‘Yeah I agree with that,'” said the man.
“He tries to watch every move that he makes, what he wears, how he answers things in class for fear of doing something that will provoke these people. And of course, this is exactly what they want and the farther we go down this road, the worse it gets, the more control they assume.”
Without intervention, incidents of bullying can often escalate, said Cpl. Laurel Kading, of the St. Albert RCMP.
“The power in bullying is if no adults know then the people who are doing the bullying are sort of free to continue doing it,” she said.
Although it depends on the nature of the incident, Kading said police are only likely to become involved if threats have been made or if someone is being intimidated.
“It depends on exactly what is happening,” she said.
Four school resource officers are divided among junior high and high schools in St. Albert, where they regularly lecture in classrooms and meet with students one-on-one for counselling or mentorship.
Kading said parents and youth often approach officers for advice or assistance on various matters, including bullying.
“If it's able to be handled through sitting down with the people involved and having quite clear talks with them, often that can nip it in the bud. But if it's a case where it's more serious than that, then obviously a police investigation will be launched.”
In the Catholic school board, incidents of cyberbullying are very low, according to the board's communication manager Carol Bruineman.
“With the increase in use of technology in the school division, we do have an acceptable guideline in place to ensure that our students understand and agree to proper use,” she said.
In addition, she said both students and parents must sign an appropriate use agreement that confirms their understanding of what the division guidelines and procedures are regarding Internet use.
As a proactive measure, the division has also introduced what they've coined “cybermorality” teachings to ensure students are communicating respectfully with their peers.
“With the teaching of the morality, focus is ensuring that students are introduced to a decision-making process through the religion programs that exist in the division and that just ensures that students make good decisions, which means decisions that do not cause harm to others and these extend to technology as well,” Bruineman explained.
She said the division recently received an excellent rating by Alberta Education for providing a safe and caring environment. “We continue to ensure that we're taking the necessary steps to keep kids safe.”
Similar initiatives are unfolding within the Protestant school board where associate superintendent Glenys Edwards said cyberbullying is certainly a topic for discussion.
She said the board's character education programs, which are used from kindergarten up to Grade 12, have recently been expanded to include terms such as “cyberintegrity” and “online reputation.”
“We are certainly paying attention to educational programming for kids that addresses establishing cyberintegrity and paying attention to students' caring about their online reputation,” Edwards said.
She said there have been several incidents involving communication through Facebook that have been dealt with at the disciplinary level.
“I think that's part of why we are paying attention to it.”
Recently, Alberta Education signed a licensing agreement with Media Awareness Network to make the Passport to the Internet online student resource available to all schools with Grade 4 to 8 students until the end of August 2011.
The resource is aimed at helping students apply critical thinking skills to their online experience. It also includes information on online safety, recognizing online marketing ploys and how to deal with cyberbullying.
Loretta Manning, principal at Lorne Akins Junior High School, said incidents of cyberbullying have occurred at her school.
“Our school and probably every school in the province right now,” Manning said.
It's one reason why Lorne Akins is trying to bring in as many resources as possible to teach parents and students about responsible Internet use and the importance of keeping online reputations intact.
At next month's parent council meeting, a speaker from Parent's Place in St. Albert will be brought in to discuss Internet safety.
“I think in the schools, it's incumbent on us to be teaching about the responsible use of cyberspace as well,” Manning noted.
Despite the concern of parents and the efforts of educators, online bullying persists, often because victims are too afraid to name their persecutors.
Despite their fear, Kading suggests victims talk to someone if they're being bullied.
“The biggest thing I think with bullying is to talk to someone about it and someone who can actually help,” she said.
“My advice is if it's happening, talk to your parents about it, talk to a teacher about it, get some help. If they're not sure where to go with it then certainly come to the school resource officers and we'll certainly help you with it,” Kading said.
“The person who is getting bullied feels awfully alone, they feel very isolated by this and very vulnerable and suddenly, they've got some allies. If nothing else, we can be that person to help them through it and check on them regularly.”
