I have had the opportunity to investigate cyberbullying in middle schools through a grad student, Brett Holfeld (now PhD), who had an interest in the topic. Moving past description was an issue for those interested in the problem. Most of the recommendations given for dealing with the issue was speculation without much in the way of documentation. One of the general recommendations I remember was to prevent bullying behavior from being “normalized”. This roughly translated as understanding that such behavior is actually not acceptable (or normal). Schools attempted to make it clear that aggressive online behavior directed at peers was unacceptable. It sounds obvious, but it is more difficult than it might seem to actually convey this message in a way that convinces others “the flaws are in the perpetrators and not the victims” (my way of understanding).
Those of us in educational technology might suggest that educators encourage students to create public service announcements taking a stand against bullying. A recent study now seems to suggest that similar approaches work especially if featuring “social referents”. Messages from some students are more influential than messages from others.
The research (Paluck, Shepard & Aronow) is available online as a “prepublication”.
