Protecting children from bullying requires more cyber-safety education say experts

OTTAWA – A single photo changed her life.

“I can never get that photo back. It’s out there forever.”

Those were the words of 15-year-old Amanda Todd, who committed suicide in her Port Coquitlam, B.C. home on Wednesday after a years-long battle with bullying.

The bullying began after a young, vulnerable Todd, then just in grade seven, was asked to flash her chest by an anonymous person who she was chatting with via webcam.

A year later, the photo turned up everywhere and ignited a storm of bullying that Todd could not escape.

As people search for answers in the wake of her death, cyber-bullying experts say parents and teachers must help educate young people about how to protect themselves and respect others online.

“They need to learn about safety and (victims and bullies) need to know the consequences of these things,” said Faye Mishna, the dean of the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

For Todd those consequences were devastating. The teenage girl documents how her life took a dark turn after that fateful online encounter in a YouTube video posted in September.

In it, Todd silently holds up handwritten cue cards that tell her story, recounting how friends started to bully her for her mistake. Depressed and struggling with panic disorder, Todd switched schools twice, but the bullying followed wherever she went.

The video documents incident after heart-wrenching incident of bullying and several suicide attempts. It ends with her haunting words: “I have nobody. I need someone. My name is Amanda Todd.”

Todd’s tragic story underscores the importance of digital literacy in the classroom, according to Rebecca Randall, the vice-president of educational programs at Common Sense Media.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“We live in this cut and paste culture where things, the minute they go digital, they are out of your control,” she said. “Not only are they searchable and you can easily find the information, they are also permanent.”

The non-profit organization created a free cyberbullying curriculum to help teachers prepare young people for a world where the Internet has transformed how young people interact with each other.

“It’s really about teaching digital media learning and citizenship skills to kids so they are informed digital citizens; kids who think critically, behave safely and participate responsibly in this world,” she said.

Adults should remind teenagers anything posted online is there forever and can be shared in seconds and should teach teenagers to “self-reflect before they self-reveal” online, according to Randall.

Potential bullies also need to be taught how to act responsibly and respectfully online.

“If you see somone has done something, don’t pass it along. It’s that simple. Don’t start it. If something was sent to you privately, don’t forward it to anyone.”

Matthew Johnson of MediaSmarts, another non-profit focused on digital literacy, puts it in ethical terms for teenagers.

While it is important to remind teens to be smart and avoid posting illicit pictures of themselves, he said bullies have to be held responsible.

“What’s more important is that we say when you get one of these images, however it came to you, you have an ethical responsibility of how to deal with it,” he said. “You have to make a wise ethical choice, and there will be strict consequences to the choice you make.”

Both Johnson and Randall said schools across North America have started to incorporate their curriculum into the classroom.

“Demand for our resources has been very high, particularly for the classroom tutorials,” Johnson said. “They’re being used in every province and territory.”

More than 1,800 teachers from 1,450 schools in Canada have registered through Common Sense Media, although the numbers don’t show how many teachers are using the curriculum.

In B.C., the provincial government is teaching teachers how to spot and deal with bullying and is working on a smartphone app that would allow kids to report bullying.

“People are saying we have the best anti-bullying program in the country, but we have to keep ahead of it,” B.C. Premier Christy Clark told Global News.

Representatives for the organizations both stress digital literacy and anti-bullying programs must go beyond a school assembly and become an integral part of learning over the entire year.

While important, prevention efforts may not be perfect, and parents need to be prepared when they fail, according to Mishna.

Mishna said teens need to know their parents won’t “freak out” if faced with an embarrassing or dangerous cyber-situation.

“Feel that way, but deal with it later because the first thing is the kid’s safety. If they cannot tell their parents they cannot stay safe,” she said.

At the end of the day, teenagers will be online and adults need to speak to them not only about the dangers but the opportunities to build communities rooted in respect, according to Randall.

“What if just one or two kids when those photos were posted online spoke up and said, ‘Not cool’ or messaged her privately to say ‘I’m here for you,’” she said.

Todd’s own mother told Global News that Amanda was surrounded by people who loved her and was getting help from her school.

She now hopes Todd’s story will make a difference, tweeting on Friday: “I believe that the video should be shared as a learning tool for anti-bullying. That is what my daughter would have wanted.”