BOCA RATON, Fla. – Dr. Sameer Hinduja, an associate professor in the school of criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University, has studied cyberbullying since 2002. The now-co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center admits being bullied himself as a boy, and says building a good school “climate” gets to the root of the problem.
“Create a climate related to connectedness, belongingness, safety, school spirit, good morale,” says Hinduja, 35, an associate professor of criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University who has co-authored several books about cyberbullying and spoken about it at schools around the country and abroad. Anonymity in schools can leave students feeling they don’t matter, he says.
As a result, “they feel they can do what they want without anyone at the school noticing, let alone caring,” Hinduja says in a 2012 book he co-authored, “School Climate 2.0: Preventing bullying and sexting one classroom at a time.”
Cyberbullying, which Hinduja defines as “willful and repeated harm” inflicted by computers, cellphones and other electronic devices, is particularly insidious because it can go on around the clock. Hurtful comments and photos can go viral, prompting more abuse of the victim.
Victims often don’t know who are bullying them, since bullies can use anonymous e-mail address or pseudonyms. Since bullies don’t see their victims’ reactions, they may not recognize the harm they’re causing. They may not even have a pressing reason for doing it.
Cyberbullying, while not an epidemic, has led to kids withdrawing from their friends, changing schools, cutting or otherwise abusing themselves—even committing suicide.
About a fifth of students reported being victimized, and a fifth said they did the bullying in an extensive study conducted in a big U.S. school district in February 2010 by Hinduja and his longtime collaborator, Dr. Justin Patchin. Some victims have also been perpetrators.
