Sue Scheff: Bullies in Cyberspace

By http://www.education.com/

Everyone remembers the school bully in their lives. Maybe they stole your bike, or bloodied your nose, or spread a nasty rumor that had you hiding out in the bathroom. Whatever they did, they made life miserable. But as bad as they were, you could identify them, predict their behavior and try to steer clear.

Unfortunately for your kids, that may no longer be the case. That’s because bullies can still be on the school grounds, but they can also be in cyberspace, lurking where no one can see them.

Cyberbullying is on the rise, and the bad guys are not always who you think. A bully can be a girl spreading rumors about a former friend, or a student trying to get revenge on a teacher who gave them a bad grade, or a group of kids playing a prank on an unsuspecting schoolmate. Cyberbullying is a complex beast. Often it starts with otherwise nice kids from nice families who go online to “have a little fun” at someone else’s expense. But it can get out of hand very quickly.

Bullies are resourceful. With all the high-tech tools out there, they can take their pick from cell phones, pagers, websites, blogs, chat rooms, IMs, or emails. They can go on a site and invite other people in to help bully their victim – by asking them to comment on their picture. They can create a webpage that looks like it belongs to the person being bullied, but is malicious. They can enter an email address and have their victim spammed with messages from websites they’ve never visited. They can put up embarrassing pictures, or even use a tool like Photoshop to adjust a picture and make it look different.

Read entire article here: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Ed_Bullies_Cyberspace_2/

Sue Scheff - Podcast Website Updated

Visit http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/ for the addition of the The Rachael Ray Show!

Colleges, Potential Employers, Potential Clients and Networking Sites

We keep hearing about more and more people searching online for background information on potential new employees, college applicants, or if someone is considering using your business for a service or trade.

Parents need to take the time now with their kids to show them what they create on their MySpace profiles, Facebook, Friendster and other Social Networking sites could potentially effect their future.

We, as parents, need to make them aware of what they put on there today - could effect them tomorrow. Of course, kids don’t quite understand that the future comes faster than they can imagine. After-all, in most cases college is years away! (In reality they are only 2-8 years away - which isn’t that far off, but feels like an eternity to a child).

Take the time to offer examples and show how what they may deem as funny today, could potentially cause embarrassment later. Remember, what is posted on the net today - has the potential of staying there forever!

Teaching your kids to make smart online decisions is now part of parenting our kids today. One service I always recommend parents consider, that is very cost effective, is Reputation Defender MyChild. This service helps monitor your child’s activity that is relevant to their name and privacy.

Another article I found to help parents and offer tips is Colleges and Networking Sites by Connect with Kids. Take a moment to check out the Tips for Parents.

Sue Scheff continuing to help others....

Since my appearance on 20/20 ABC News i-Caught earlier in August, I have been contacted by many people that are victims of Internet Abuse.

When 20/20 first contacted me, I had my reservations, since I knew that the people that want to continue to slander me would escalate again with their malicious posts- as they did after the airing, but in the long run, being a voice for so many others that can't speak up has been rewarding.

From the professional photographer that has one disgruntled bride after years of an impeccable reputation for high end weddings, to a house wife that was being attacked by other jealous neighbors and postings of the most horrific acts that were completely false. In today's Internet World, the stroke of a key has become too easy to destroy others for no reason other than hate and malice.

Speaking out has given me the opportunity to have others learn from what steps I have taken as well as learning from my mistakes.

Sure, I am still being abused online, but fortunately most people can see through the vendetta's and vindictiveness.

After appearing in major media outlets, all have done their due diligent back ground on my situation, I am continuing be a voice for those that are silenced and scared.