The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

The Bully. No one is immune to online harassment.  No matter what your age, race or religion – you can quickly fall victim to vicious keystrokes within seconds. According to a Cox Communications Survey, 81 percent of young people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person.  This makes sense since cowards use the easy way of not facing their victims through a screen – whether it is a cellphone or computer. About   58 percent   of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out 10 say it has happened more than once. 90 percent   of teens who have seen social media bullying say they have ignored it. 84 percent have seen others tell cyberbullies to stop. Only   1 in 10 victims   will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse, this needs to turn around.  When a child holds this emotional pain inside of them, it can come out in many different negative ways such as sadne...

Anderson Cooper speaks with Sue Scheff Yes, I was more than thrilled to meet Anderson Cooper and must say I was humbled by his sincere concern for those that are victimized by others that are being destroyed online by vicious keystrokes. For those that don't know my story, it starts in 2000 and ended in 2006 with a landmark victory for Internet Defamation and invasion of privacy.  My stories were written and published by Health Communications Inc (HCI - home of Chicken Soup for the Soup book series) and over the past decade, my mistakes and my knowledge has helped thousands of people and families to make better decisions for their teens and their virtual lives. Whether you are considering residential therapy or thinking about creating a Facebook page, you will learn from the mistake I made.  After spending years in litigation - with two major victories - and almost being silenced to tell my story, I am here to not only share my story, but to be sure what happened to ...

Today parents have to more to worry about than generations prior. The Internet is only part of what we need to take the time to learn about. Although years ago we thought of the Internet as an Educational tool (which it still is), however the ugliness has reared its' head with Internet Predators, Cyberbullies, Sexting, and much more. Be an educated parent! Here is a new website I found that has some great advice for parents, children and educators. Source: Cyberbullying Children, parents, and educators all have a role in preventing cyberbullying. What Parents Can Do Many of these points were adapted from National Crime Prevention Council 2003 and Media Awareness Network 2004 : Don’t put a computer in your young child’s bedroom. Keep your computer is a busy area of your home. Set up e-mail and chat accounts with your children. Make sure that you know their screen names and passwords and that they don't include any personal information in their online profiles. Regularly go...

Source: SafeTeens.com Tips to Stop Cyberbullying Reposted from ConnectSafely.org Don’t respond. If someone bullies you, remember that your reaction is usually exactly what the bully wants. It gives him or her power over you. Who wants to empower a bully? Don’t retaliate. Getting back at the bully turns you into one and reinforces the bully’s behavior. Help avoid a whole cycle of aggression. Save the evidence. The only good news about digital bullying is that the harassing messages can usually be captured, saved, and shown to someone who can help. You need to do this even if it’s minor stuff, in case things escalate. Talk to a trusted adult. You deserve backup. It’s always good to involve a parent but – if you can’t – a school counselor usually knows how to help. Sometimes both are needed. If you’re really nervous about saying something, see if there’s a way to report the incident anonymously at school. Block the bully. If the harassment’s coming in the form of instant messages, texts, ...

CYBER-BULLIES Source: Connect with Kids “What used to be done face to face or at slumber parties or on the telephone are now done through instant messaging and emails and etcetera. And the difference is it doesn’t go away. It can stay there permanently, it can be saved, it can be transmitted.” – Joanne Max, Ph.D., Psychologist For the online generation, here are the latest numbers: 91 percent of teens have an email address, 60 percent use instant messaging, 75 percent have a cell phone, 72 percent have a Facebook or Myspace page. And in a recent Harris Poll, one in five teens has been harassed online or by text message. 13-year-old Taylor has lots of online friends and one enemy: a girl who posted a web log making fun of Taylor and other kids. “She was mostly calling everyone whores and sluts and ho’s,” says Taylor. Taylor found out thru the grapevine at school that the girl was a classmate. “She wrote down all the people’s names that she didn’t like, or didn’t care for, and she wrote ...

REMINDER FOR TOMORROW – JUNE 24TH – IMPORTANT SUMMIT REGARDING TEENS AND CYBER-SAFETY. COX’S NEW SURVEY ON CYBER-SAFETY FINDS MANY TEENS GOING ONLINE WIRELESSLY WITHOUT LIMITS OR CONTROLS Children’s Advocate John Walsh to Lead Teens in Discussion of Cyberbullying, Sexting and Other Cyber-Safety Risks at Cox’s Annual National Teen Summit on Internet Safety ATLANTA – For the fifth consecutive year, Cox Communications, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and America’s Most Wanted host and children’s advocate John Walsh, will present the results of a new survey on the behavior of young people online. This year, the survey also looks at teen behavior using wireless devices. Under the auspices of Cox’s Take Charge! program, the partners are helping parents understand the potential dangers of the Internet and learn ways they can help keep their kids safer online. The initiative includes both the survey about teen behavior and a frank discussi...

Many that know me know that I am a supporter of keeping kids and adults safe in cyberspace. Whether you want to protect your business' online reputation or monitor your families privacy, including preventing identity theft, ReputationDefender is one of the pioneer online reputation management services. I not only use them, I recommend them to parents regularly. I am not a spokesperson for them, nor do I receive any referral fees from them - I just know first hand the work they do. Do you know what your child is doing online?? Summer is here, which in many cases, means more online time - be sure you are aware of what is going on in your child's cyber-room. Source: ReputationDefender How to Stop Cyber Bullying Cyber Bullying is an act of aggression exercised online and is typically experienced by web-savvy teens and pre -teens. Cyber bullying, which can take place through social networking sites, forums, emails, instant messaging conversations, and blogs, are aimed at caus...

Source: Forbes.com Author: Andy Greenberg How To Keep Kids Safe Online Every parent worries about the power of the Internet to expose kids to online predators. Less often discussed: tech ’s power to expose kids to their own bad judgment. Earlier this month, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and Cosmogirl.com released a survey showing that two in five teens has sent sexually suggestive messages online. One in five has electronically sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves. And more than a third of teens in the survey say that those pictures tend to be shared beyond the intended recipient. Teen exploitation online has long been a hot-button topic for tech -focused politics. Last year, popular teen social networks like MySpace and Facebook were the targets of investigations by several state attorneys generals seeking to purge sexual predators from the sites. MySpace responded by deleting the accounts of 29,000 users whose personal de...

Bullying, hazing, teasing and more - parents need to start educating themselves and their children about this harmful issue and how serious it is. As I stated in yesterday’s Blog , the tragic loss of young lives is unspeakable - and when you hear that these kids were constantly bullied and teased, there has to be a stop to it. Hazing is just as serious. Many teens/tweens are pulled into this horrible activity in an effort to “fit in” or think they will be with the “cool” group. Think twice - learn more now. Source: Connect with Kids HAZING “I think that hazing by nature is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s when it gets humiliating or cruel or overly anxiety-provoking and it becomes a traumatic event, we have to get rid of that.” – John Lochridge, Ph.D., psychologist Fifteen-year-old Sean Butkus sees hazing as a pretty normal part of team sports. “Hazing is a way of initiating a kid and seeing if they’re determined enough’ he says. “Just like, it’s like a test to see if you know they’r...

Vanessa Van Petten continues to bring valuable information for parents with today’s teens. This week she has dedicated to helping prevent cyberbullying. Partners for CyberBully Awareness Campaign : Thank you to everyone who is already offered to join and spread the word about our anti-cyberbullying campaign here at On Teens Today : Angeline of MomStyleNews Vivien Bruss of Cool Moms Rule Brenda Preston of Safewave Sue Scheff of Help Your Teens Myrna of TangerineTimes.com Tara Paterson of the Mom’s Choice Awards and Just for Mom Karen Pease

TEENSHEALTH answers and advice for parents of teens. Learn more about teen drug use , substance abuse , bullying , cyberbullying , peer pressure, sex education and more! Learn more at this comprehensive parenting website.

2009 will be here, as parents, making a resolution to learn more how to keep your child safe online should be a priority. With the ever expanding cyberworld - social networking - texting etc. the time is now to learn more. Source: http://www.ikeepsafe.org/ You don't have to be a computer expert to keep your child safe online.As parents, we want our children to be safe and responsible while using technology. We will have succeeded when each child can recognize and minimize the three main risks associated with all connected technology (i.e., iPods, instant messaging, chat, computer games, game consoles, cell phones, text messaging, webcams). Read More For more information: Hot Topics Videos & Tutorials Family Fun Lessons DARE Activity Center Online Safety Digest

Source: Connect with Kids “I’d block them, but then they’d have another screen name and they’d be like ‘you’re a whore, you can’t get away from this’… It would just bring me to tears and I would cry because I couldn’t get away from it as much as I tried.” – Erica Bryant, 18 years old Everyday at school, Erica Bryant was harassed. “They’d call me a slut, call me a whore.” The bullying became too much, so her parents decided to have her home schooled. “So, sure, a huge part of the problem was resolved in that she didn’t have to face that trauma everyday, she didn’t have to sit in the lunchroom by herself,” explains her mom, Linda Perloff, “but what we didn’t expect was the power of the Internet …we didn’t expect the instant messaging.” Erica explains her frustration: “I’d block them, but then they’d have another screen name and they’d be like ‘you’re a whore, you can’t get away from this. It would just bring me to tears and I would cry because I couldn’t get away from it, as much as I tr...

In today's society, the Internet has made its way into almost every American home. It is a well-known fact that the web is a valuable asset for research and learning. Unfortunately, it can also be a very dangerous place for teens. With social networking sites like Myspace and Friendster, chat rooms, instant messaging, and online role-playing video games, our children are at access to almost anyone. Sue Scheff, along with Parent's Universal Resource Experts™, is tackling the dangers of the web. Keeping tabs on our teens' online habits doesn't just keep them safe from online predators. More and more parents are becoming wary of the excessive hours their teens spend surfing the web, withdrawing from family, friends and activities they used to enjoy. Internet Addiction is a devastating problem facing far too many teens and their families. While medical professionals have done limited research on the topic, more and more are recognizing this destructive behavior and even mor...

I recently read the complaint Dozier Internet Law vs Riley and couldn't believe how low people will stoop to harm others. It is obvious Riley has a lot of time on his hands and clearly is being held accountable legally! YES - let's work toward making these people that believe their keystrokes are anonymous wake-up! Be careful - you could be served!The product of an investigation spanning the course of a year, the lawsuit sets forth in detail how Ronald J. Riley allegedly built false credentials through, among other tactics, claiming false affiliations with MIT and Harvard, creating executive positions by surreptitiously forming his own companies and organizations and appointing himself "President", "Executive Director", or "Senior Fellow", and misappropriating the identity of defunct organizations, including "The Alliance for American Innovation", a powerful lobbying group that had fulfilled its mission and had closed down. The suit all...

Source: Internet Law Business Services Bullying and, in particular, cyber-bullying is becoming a frequent practice among the American youth. Incidents are reaching such daunting results that state legislatures are rapidly adopting measures. For instance, Florida Legislature adopted an anti-bullying, including cyber-bullying, law on April 2008. The law is called "Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act" (Fla. Stat. section 1006.147), named after Jeffrey Johnston, a 15-year-old boy who committed suicide after being the object of bullying, including Internet bullying, for two years. This new Florida law prohibits bullying and harassment of any public K-12 student or employee, and requires public schools to adopt measures to protect students and employees from the physical and psychological effects of bullying and harassment. The Florida Senate, quoting to a report by SafeYouth.org, stated that "bullying behavior can involve direct attacks, such as hitting, threatenin...

Victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the same effects as children who are bullied in person, such as a drop in grades, low self-esteem, a change in interests or depression. However, cyberbullying can seem more extreme to its victims because of several factors: Occurs in children’s home. Being bullied at home can take away the place children feel most safe. Can be harsher. Often kids say things online that they wouldn’t say in person, mainly because they can’t see the other person’s reaction. Far reaching. Kids can send e-mails making fun of someone to their entire class or school with a few clicks, or post them on a Web site for the whole world to see. Anonymity. Cyberbullies often hide behind screen names and e-mail addresses that don’t identify who they are. Not knowing who is responsible for bullying messages can add to a victim’s insecurity. May seem inescapable. It may seem easy to get away from a cyberbully by going offline, but for some kids not going online takes a...

In today's society, the Internet has made its way into almost every American home. It is a well-known fact that the web is a valuable asset for research and learning. Unfortunately, it can also be a very dangerous place for teens. With social networking sites like Myspace and Friendster, chat rooms, instant messaging, and online role-playing video games, our children are at access to almost anyone. Sue Scheff, along with Parent's Universal Resource Experts™, is tackling the dangers of the web. Keeping tabs on our teens' online habits doesn't just keep them safe from online predators. More and more parents are becoming wary of the excessive hours their teens spend surfing the web, withdrawing from family, friends and activities they used to enjoy. Internet Addiction is a devastating problem facing far too many teens and their families. While medical professionals have done limited research on the topic, more and more are recognizing this destructive behavior and even mor...