Hi and yes, sodagreen, it’s a good (and sad) reminder to spread the word (especially to young people) about the protective behaviors of civility and critical thinking. (In case you don’t know the story, “Jessi Slaughter’ was the screen name of an 11-year-old who, by all accounts, was left on her own to figure out how and who to be online, through her bedroom computer and Webcam, which she used to talk to peers and anybody else “out there” watching and listening in the videochat site Stickam.com and YouTube. Jessi was harassed and she very publicly harassed back, using violent language. When her father did get involved, he engaged in the same kind of behavior she used, drawing even more negative attention to his daughter.)

We’ll probably really never know why Jessi’s father chose to react the way he did. But parents who want to learn how to help their kids work through tough incidents involving sexting or cyberbullying need to start by teaching them that mean behavior is not normal and that aggressive behavior online is very likely to lead to victimization online. (For more, you'll definitely want to check out “Clicks & cliques: Meaty advice for parents on cyberbullying” and “Social norming: Increasingly key to kids' Net safety.”

Thanks for the post, sodagreen. Jessi's story really opens up some important avenues for discussion.

Best,
Maureen

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Maureen Kochan
ConnectSafely community manager