By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – Cyberbullying continues to be a growing problem among students in schools.
Recently, the Anti-Defamation League Plains States Region began a new training program. Education Project Director Jessica Gall says it's called "Cyberbullying: Understanding and Addressing Online Cruelty." Gall says the initiative is meant to help those in education address and prevent problems related to cyberbullying. Gall says technology such as texts and blogs allow users to be anonymous, which can cause certain individuals to say things they might not otherwise. She says the students are sometimes called digital natives because they are the ones that easily adapt to new technology and have grown up with it, whereas adults always have always had to adapt and learn new things. Gall says it is difficult, "when adults feel that the students or their children know more than they do on a certain issue. It's sometimes hard to address the issue in a really proactive way when you don't feel you are really well educated about it."
Gall says more than 33 percent of teens report that they have experienced cyberbullying from their peers. Consequently, she says the ADL hopes to help create an effective anti-bullying policy for all schools.