Bullying and Harassment in Remote Learning

There’s been a tremendous amount of change to our learning conditions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools have shifted their curriculums to a remote learning model, which means that children of all ages are spending far more time online than ever before – often, unmonitored, as parents are challenged to balance careers with overseeing children’s schooling from home. Unfortunately, the more time a child spends online, the greater the likelihood that they will be exposed to some form of online harassment or bullying – also known as cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is bullying that occurs through electronic means – either on a cell phone, tablet or computer. It takes place when a bully posts or shares hurtful, negative, mean, false content or personal information with the intent of embarrassing or humiliating the victim. Among students, some of the most common forms of cyberbullying include posting mean or hurtful comments on social platforms or spreading rumors online. 

While a victim of in-person bullying usually knows the perpetrator, cyberbullying can be anonymous and can happen anytime and anywhere. The potential arena for cyberbullying to take place in is nearly as vast as the internet, itself, and with the growing number of social platforms available to students today, online harassment can be increasingly difficult for school administrators to regulate. Online harassment often starts with a singular, isolated incident and moves into cyber-bullying, or sometimes even “campaign harassment” – a situation where there is a coordinated bullying effort, such as cruel messages or personal photos being shared via group texts.

In an educational atmosphere, it’s not just the victim of bullying who is affected. Cyberbullying and online harassment affect everyone – those who are bullied, those who bully and those who are bystanders and witness the bullying. Cyberbullying takes an emotional toll and can cause fear, stress and depression, among other negative side effects. In the most extreme scenarios, online harassment and bullying has even led to suicide. No occurrence of cyberbullying should be taken lightly as it’s impossible to know the severity of the emotional toll and lasting effects that can be had on an individual, that are sometimes long-lasting or irreparable. 

With the recent shift to remote learning – and even as we look beyond the pandemic, as the number of social platforms available to students is only growing – it begs the question: what can be done to keep kids safe, now that they’re online more than ever and parents are not available to monitor their online activity 24/7? 

For schools, it is important to establish a culture of inclusion and respect for all students. Prevention of bullying can occur when school staff create rules that plainly lay out a code of conduct relaying a clear expectation for how students are to treat one another. Teachers and administrators are uniquely positioned to create a safe online environment for students by using popular social platforms to provide healthy forms of communication and model positive social norms for students. Educators can also encourage peer involvement in prevention strategies.

For parents, it’s important to stay engaged, monitoring children’s online usage as often as possible and staying attuned to any changes in attitudes or behaviors. It’s been said that giving a child unrestricted access to the internet is no different than leaving them home alone with the front door wide open. If a student suddenly becomes withdrawn, hides their phone or computer screen when others are nearby, or suddenly wishes to avoid social situations they previously enjoyed, these changes in behavior may be indicative of online harassment or cyberbullying taking place. 

For students who witness bullying of their peers, serving as a prosocial, active bystander can make all the difference. Whether stepping in to diffuse a situation directly or following up with a victim of bullying afterwards to ask whether they’re okay and affirm that the bullying is not acceptable, it’s important to take action. 

In all instances of online harassment or cyberbullying, it’s crucial to save all evidence (saving/screenshotting and printing copies of messages/sites/apps) and to report the incident as soon as possible. Reporting can lead to an intervention and eventual resolution. Online harassment and bullying in remote learning can end, but not without the collective effort of teachers, administrators, parents and students.

At Soteria Solutions, we teach educators, school administrators, students and families the necessary skills to use for both prevention of and responding to scenarios of online harassment and cyber-bullying, creating healthy culture change and happy students.