You will be given a case number of a Real-Life Cyberbullying case. Your group is to read the case information carefully and complete the group presentation guidelines sheet. This will help you organize your information for your group presentation.
REAL-LIFE CYBERBULLYING CASES
#1 – At the age of 13, Ryan committed suicide after a lengthy battle with bullies at school and online. Ryan was constantly teased at school because he was developmentally slow. In seventh grade he had problems with a bully, who later pretended to be his friend and then revealed personal information about Ryan and spread rumors online. During the summer before he started eighth grade, Ryan received frequent e-mails and IMs from classmates making fun of him because of the rumor the bully had started. Ryan had a crush on one girl who pretended to like him; then she sent his personal emails to her friends so they could laugh at him. While his parents knew of the bullying at school, Ryan never told them about the cyberbullying. He kept it to himself and went into a deep depression. Just after he started eighth grade, Ryan committed suicide.
#2 – Teenager David was always teased and bullied in school. His home was a safe haven away from these bullies, until they took their bullying online. David’s classmates set up a website called “Welcome to the Page that Makes Fun of David K******.” They posted mean comments about him and his family, and made up rumors about him. David also received cruel e-mails making fun of him. David no longer felt safe at home and he dreaded having to go online. He told his parents, who went to the school, the police, and the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that hosted the website. Eventually, the website was removed, but David decided to finish school at home so he could get away from the bullies.
#3 – Kylie was in eighth grade when two of her classmates started a website called “Kill Kylie Incorporated.” On this website, the cyberbullies posted degrading comments and made threats of physical harm. Another cyberbully also created an IM screen name very similar to Kylie’s and sent people messages that made Kylie look bad. Kylie was devastated; she told her parents and the police. After an investigation, the police filed charges against the cyberbullies for the death threats. In the end, Kylie transferred to another school.
#4 – Joanne was a freshman in high school when she had a fight with one of her friends at a sleepover. After that, she received e-mails that threatened her life. The cyberbully also constantly left rude and threatening messages on her blog. This cyberbullying lasted for three months. Joanne hated going on her computer and feared what she might find when logging on to the Internet. She told her parents and her school about the cyberbullying. The cyberbully finally stopped after the school got involved.
#5 – Students from a group of private schools decided to hold a vote on a free virtual voting website. They logged on to this site to list and rank 150 girls in their schools to decide who was the most sexually active. The girls’ full names were used, and voters posted vicious comments, explicit stories, and rumors of what the girls had done. Parents and teachers found out about the vote and tried to get the website to take it down. That didn’t work; but the vote eventually came down when a District Attorney contacted the website about it.
#6 – Lauren was a sophomore in high school when she was attacked by a cyberbully. An anonymous poster started a thread on a message board making fun of Lauren. The cyberbully teased Lauren about her weight, calling her “fat” and a “cow.” The cyberbully also made horrible comments about Lauren’s multiple sclerosis and pushed for Lauren’s boyfriend to break up with her. However, the bullying didn’t stop there. Someone egged Lauren’s car, vandalized her house, and even threw a bottle of acid at her front door. Her mother had minor acid burns from that incident. Lauren’s friends beganposting on the thread to defend her; Lauren started her own thread called “This ends now,” asking for people with any information about the identity of the cyberbully to come forward. The cyberbully who started the thread has never been caught; neither has the person who attacked her house.
#7 – Amy was teased at school because she was taller than the other kids, so she was happy to find a website where she could chat with others about art. One day, Amy got into a fight with another girl on the website because of an unanswered e-mail. Although Amy wanted to make up, the other girl ignored her and began bullying her online. A group of girls from the site sent Amy nasty e-mails. They also signed onto the site using Amy’s name and sent other members mean and threatening messages. Amy was blamed for these messages. First she got upset and later she went into a depression. Amy’s mother asked her to stop going to the website, but Amy still had friends there and so kept logging on. Finally, Amy took a break from the website; when she went back to it the bullies left her alone.
#8 – Amanda was the new girl in an eighth grade class. One day, a group of girls stole her pencil case filled with makeup. Amanda told on them, and she came home to constant IMs calling her a tattletale and a liar. Amanda was upset and sent an IM back telling them “You stole my stuff!” The cyberbullies kept sending IMs calling Amanda awful names. Later that night when Amanda left the house, she received 50 IMs on her cell phone from the cyberbullies. Amanda never spoke to the girls again and they were never punished for their cyberbullying.
#9 – Fifteen year-old Ghyslain was cyberbullied by millions of people when his home movie was posted on the Internet. Ghyslain was a Star Wars fan; he videotaped himself using a golf ball retriever as a light saber and making his own sound effects. Some of his classmates found the video at school and posted it online to make fun of him. Millions of people downloaded the video and Ghyslain became known as “The Star Wars Kid.” His video was even shown on several television shows. Ghyslain was so humiliated by the video that he had to have counseling; he also transferred to another school. Gyslain’s parents filed a lawsuit against his classmates and Ghyslain received $351,000 in damages.
#10 – Teenager Julianne was bullied in school by a group of girls in her class. She thought of her bedroom as a refuge from the bullies, until they started taunting her online. The girls found her profile on a social networking site and began posting hurtful messages. They called her names and threatened her. Later, they found out what her IM screen name was and started talking to her. Julianne thought it was one of her friends, until they started calling her names. They told her that they were going to hurt her at school the next day. Julianne was frightened, so she printed the conversation and showed it to her father. Together, they went to the police and filed harassment orders to help keep Julianne safe.