[YSPNetwork] Cyberbullying and suicide

[Louisa Holmes]

Good morning, 

I had the opportunity to attend a presentation this morning by Nancy E. 
Willard of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use based in Eugene, OR. It was a very useful and informative presentation on 
the prevalent use of internet technology among youth and the dangers that 
can be associated. Cyberbullying, or online social cruelty, is of 
particular concern to the suicide prevention community as it is a risk 
factor for suicide. Similar to suicide prevention as well, the research in 
this area is just now developing, but the need to address the problem is 
immediate. 

Ms. Willard is currently undertaking a review of bullying literature to 
see what parallels can be drawn to cyberbullying, and she is reaching out 
to potential partners in school districts, and at the state and federal 
level in an attempt to raise public awareness about safe use of technology 
among youth. She has also developed guides for parents and educators in 
this area; I have included links to the files below. SPRC will also make 
some of these materials available in our library catalog. 

It seems there is great potential for collaboration here, and an 
opportunity to begin educating gatekeepers about possible strategies to 
address this widespread risk, thus I wanted to share this information with 
all of you. I have also included below a link to Ms. Willard's website 
addressing this topic specifically.

Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet: A Guide for Educators
http://csriu.org/onlinedocs/pdf/srui/entire.pdf

Parent's Guide to Cyberbullying: Addressing the Harm Caused by Online 
Social Cruelty
http://www.cyberbully.org/docs/cbparents.pdf

http://www.cyberbully.org/

Thank you!

Louisa Holmes
**************************************
Prevention Specialist
Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458
 
877-GET-SPRC (438-7772)
617-618-2907
lholmes at edc.org
www.sprc.org
To subscribe to the SPRC e-newsletter, visit http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/sprc
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