THUR 18.07.13 - WED 24.07.13
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Sights on Sochi Wanaka-based skeleton racer Katharine Eustace sets her sights on next year’s Winter Olympics in Russia. Story page 5.
Reflecting on term PAGE 3
Rocking the regionals
PHOTO: WANAKA.TV
PAGE 4
Cyber bullying a constant threat Tim Brewster Wanaka Sun
Special fundraiser PAGE 7
sunviews PAGE 11
Fantastic finish PAGE 16
Concern about cyber bullying among school children and the perceived difficulty in dealing with its relentless presence has at least one Wanaka family considering sending their child away for schooling. “How do you deal with these people anyway? They have been around forever, but now with the internet they have a lot more power and continue 24/7,” a mother who remains anonymous for privacy reasons said. “The school has listened to me and has approached the bullies but it never seems to solve the problem. They still allow the main bully to go to school.” Mount Aspiring College headmaster Wayne Bosley said the school couldn’t comment on cases of cyber bullying due
to privacy reasons. “From the point of the view of the college, we look at it more holistically. The use of Facebook and other social media is not just at school, it goes across all boundaries.” The MAC internet network students can register with has a number of firewalls which block harmful sites, however they could not stop students accessing other sites using smartphones, he said, but if there was a case that required police intervention, they would definitely be called. The mother has asked her child to no longer look at the internet or check texts during the school holidays. A survey by Central Otago community organisation REAP earlier this year found that 88 percent of 159 Wanaka school
children aged between 11-18 questioned said cyber bullying was an issue for young people with all questioned saying they spent some time online. More than a quarter of the group said they had been bullied in the past year, with 18 percent saying this had been done through social media or texting; the same number reported verbal abuse. The survey was part of an antibullyinginitiativecalledSticksand Stones which is aimed at helping young people to combat cyber bullying themselves, programme coordinator Karla Sanders said. “It is a student-led programme to target and prevent cyber bullying and promote positive digital citizenship for schools. The increased speed, connectivity and access of the internet on devices such as smartphones
combined with the ability to bully anonymously and the popularity of social media have led to increased incidents reported to schools and the police. This kind of bullying invades the life of a young person not only at school but also at home, it is not left at the school’s gate and is having a negative impact on all aspects of students’ lives.” Wanaka Police youth aid officer Phil Vink said incidents have increased over past years at all levels as technology, such as more photographic material being recorded, and internetcapable devices increase in numbers. “Therehasbeengroupbullying on the internet via various sites such as ‘ask fm’ and setting up false Facebook sites.” He said proving harassment
can be difficult when a site is anonymous and identity is proven but there are a number of options to help keep young people from being affected. “Strategies include not having internet-capable devices in bedrooms when youth should be sleeping. Try to keep devices in communal areas in the home; not responding/engaging in retaliation; blocking unwanted people and phones so they cannot access you. Netsafe is the leading site for advice and information for reporting misuse of phones and sites. A key bit of advice to parents is not to remove devices when issues arise as this will potentially lead to your child keeping issues a secret, not to ignore technology and be involved in your children’s cyber world.”