Cyberbullying is the bullying or harassment of a person or group of people who use some form of technology. Louise Cobb (2010) suggests that; Cyberbullying can lead to serious emotional consequences, including depression, low self-esteem, anxiety disorders and suicide. Based on this information, Year 11 health education students decided to implement an action plan to minimize the prevalence of cyberbullying and raise awareness among Year 9 students in Meridan. The action plan allowed health education students to develop three main hypotheses about why Meridan ninth grade students cyberbullied. Meridan ninth graders are cyberbullies because they think cyberbullying is anonymous and therefore has a low risk of getting caught; increase their popularity; and follow their peers. The general consensus on wiki responses suggests that socio-cultural factors are the large-scale forces within cultures and societies that influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals. The need to strengthen community action against cyberbullying and create a supportive environment [fig. 8.1] within Meridan State College is imperative. Meridan State College does not have a firm policy on cyberbullying. Therefore, the 11th grade health education course designed and incorporated an action plan to minimize cyberbullying. To evaluate the effectiveness of the action plan in the 11th grade health education classroom, a 30-question survey was designed to ask 9th grade students about various aspects of cyberbullying. Once the initial survey and action plan were completed, the survey was distributed to the group. The Year 9 cohort again. Initially, when asked whether students would block a bully after being harassed online, 63% of students responded that they would, after pla... .. half of the paper ......concluded March 15, 2011, .Cyber Bullying: Statistics and Tips 2009, I-SAFE Inc., accessed March 23, 2011, .Quotes about bullying 2011, Good reads Inc. , accessed March 23, 2011, http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show_tag?name=bullying>. Cobbs, L 2007, How cyber bullying affects your children, Dream Online, accessed 20 March 2011, What socio-cultural factors affect health? 2011, WikiAnswers, accessed March 10, 2011, Principles of Social Justice, Ottawa Charter, Social View of Health 2011, Meridan State College.
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