Upstander Story: Cyberbullying

It is hard to be an Upstander every time. Sometimes you have to think about what would be the best thing to do.

• Have you ever been a bystander and you wanted to do something to stop the bullying but did not know how?
• What do you think is the best thing to do for each of these stories?
• Which ending feels the best for you?

Jessie and Ava are playing on the computer at Ava's house. They like to listen to music and play games. Ava decides to play a joke on another classmate, Matt. Although Ava thinks this is just a game, Jessie starts to feel uncomfortable. Ava starts calling Matt names, making threats that he is going to "get it" at school the next day. Matt continues to ask who it is and tell them to stop, but they don't stop. Ava is laughing and having fun.

Jessie feels conflicted. On the one hand, she does not want to upset her good friend. On the other, she knows that what Ava is doing is wrong and she feels sorry for Matt. She would not want someone to do this to her.

What should Jessie do?

• This time Jessie confronts the behavior head on: Jessie tells Ava that she is hurting Matt's feelings and she does not think this is okay. Jessie tells Ava to try to see it from Matt's point of view and how Matt might be upset and even scared by this. Jessie asks Ava how she might feel if she were getting messages like this.
• This time Jessie tells her parents that this is happening. She asks them to help her find a way to stop this from happening. Her parents talk about a couple of things they can do together including telling Ava’s parents and Matt's parents so the problem does not get worse.
• This time Jessie tells Ava that she wants to do something else and that making fun of him is not fun for Matt and it is not fun to do.
• This time...(make up your own Upstander story!)