Cyberbullying and Hacking

Cyberbullying and hacking are two timely topics covered in the October 2011 issue of School Library Journal.

• The Bully in the Backpack – Is cyberbullying an epidemic or just media hype? It might be a little bit of both. Certainly, tragic, high-profile cyber-bullycides have put a national spotlight on the devastating effects of online abuse. But the hysteria that cyberbullying is driving kids everywhere to kill themselves simply isn’t true—especially since teenage suicide rates have remained relatively unchanged since 1998.
• License to Hack – it’s “the practice of modifying the features of a system in order to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose.”

Be sure to check out the resource list in the cyberbullying article for more excellent resources and start a conversation with your child!