A suit filed in Cobb County Georgia continues to bring light to the very serious and horrible issues of cyberbullying.  Classmates of Alexandria Boston created a fake Facebook page and posted an altered photograph of aAlexandriato make her look overweight.  The Facebook page also associated false racial slurs and sexual activity to the victim.

Bill Nigut, the Southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League is well aware of the serious nature of such incidents and knows that creating a fake Facebook page to bully someone is not an uncommon practice.  As opposed to being teased or bullied in school where the actual act ends, you maybe able to “find some peace when you go home,” he said. “But cyberbullying is ubiquitous.”

Alexandria’s parents found the false Facebook page one afternoon after she came home from school crying.  Understandably, the family was shocked to see what had been posted on a Facebook page that appeared to be Alexandria’s.

In explaining their intentions, the classmates who created the fake Facebook page were told school officials that they didn’t like Alexandria.  The students were given two days of in-school suspension for using their cellphones to take photos at school.

The Anti-Defamation League has provided the following tips for parents to combat cyberbullying:

1. Insist that your children allow you to “friend” them on Facebook.

2. Monitor incoming and outgoing postings on your child’s Facebook page.

3. Make sure your child understands that social media accounts are a privilege, not a right.

4. Encourage students not to “like,” or in any way perpetuate by sending to other friends,    messages of hate.

For more information about the Anti-Defamation League’s CyberAlly training model, log onto www.adl.org.

With the popularity of social media including Facebook, Twitter, texting and e-mails, bullying no longer occurs just face to face.  To address these concerns, Missouri requires school districts to put the terms “cyber-bullying” and “electronic communications” into their anti-bullying policies, which have been required since 2007.

As parents and grandparents of school aged children our attorneys are sensitive to the devastating effects bullying can have on a child.  Combined with our over 50 years of experience and knowledge of the law, call us today toll-free at 866-298-1020 and let our St. Louis bullying attorneys and Missouri cyber bullying lawyers answer your important questions.