The pledge itself contains both statements and a set
of promises. It is signed and witnessed and given to
WiredSafety’s Megan Pledge volunteer team. The first
name and last initial of the person taking the pledge,
as well as their town and state are added to the roster.
The pledge commits the person, individually, to take a
stand against cyberbullying, to offer support to those
being cyberbullied and to report it whenever they find
it. They also commit to understanding that suicide is
never an option, empowering them to be part of the
solution, instead of the problem. They take the pledge
for themselves. They take it for Megan. They take it for
all others who have experienced the pain of cruel words
and actions in cyberspace, on cell phones and through
gaming devices.
The Megan Pledge is more than a pledge. It’s more
than a banner. It’s more than a polka-dot ribbon. It is
a movement. Empowering children, tweens and teens to be
part of the cyberbullying solution instead of the
problem, The Megan Pledge gives them concrete steps to
take to address the rising cyberbullying epidemic. The
Pledge gives them the chance to say “Enough!” when faced
with cyberbullying by providing conflict resolution
methods, anger management skills and support for the
target. At the same time, it teaches students how to
avoi becoming a cyberbully themselves, by either acting
out or responding to an attack.
Schools
taking The Megan Pledge can create a “cyberbully-proof
zone” for their students. The Pledge is designed to be
shared. After reciting and signing the Pledge document
either in person or online, the student is committed to
sharing what they have learned with others. They get a
card to give to someone they care about, stating that
they took the pledge for this person, would they take it
for them. The black and white polka-dot ribbons, worn
tied at the wrist or looped and pinned on a shirt, makes
a statement. The students are permitted to sew sequins
on their ribbons to show how many they have recruited
more ribbons the student shares with others, and the
more students they can recruit to take the PledgeIt
creates an atmosphere In polls of 45,000 students
conducted by
WiredSafety.org, at least 85% of middle school
students reported being cyberbullied at least once in
2007. In some cases, the percentage of students
reporting having been targeted by a cyberbully ran as
high as 97% of middle school students.
And cyberbullying isn’t limited to middle schoolers.
Students as young as those in second grade are learning
about cyberbullying the hard way. Often before they know
how to use the technologies effectively, they are forced
to contend with mean messages, lewd language and
threats. When asked to describe cyberbullying, second
graders in Long Island, NY, explained that extortion,
manipulated pictures, ID theft, hacking and
text-bullying were commonplace. At the same time, they
gave more than twenty reasons why children will not
confide in their parents, when targeted. If children,
tweens and teens are being attacked, and can’t turn to
their parents, where do they go for help? The obvious
choice, their best friends, may not be the trustworthy
confidant they were expecting. One young teen told Parry
that “You never know if the cyberbully is really your
best friend or worst enemy. You never know if your
friend is just laughing at you behind your back when you
turn to him for help.” This creates an environment where
the student has no safe place to turn, and no safe
person to share their pain.
Stopcyberbullying.org.
