Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Words Wound by Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja

I think we can all agree that cyberbullying is a terrible thing. And that is why we need books like this - we need to teach children/teenagers/everybody what to do when they're cyberbullied.

For example, you may know of the phrase "Don't feed the trolls". But, when you're the target, it's natural to try to retaliate. Which is why I was glad that in chapter two, one of the advice given would be to "never retaliate". Another piece of advice, which I really agree with, would be to document everything.

And those two pieces of advice are just some of the things mentioned in this book. The book is divided into three parts: for the bullied, for the bully and for everyone. The first part talks about what cyberbullying is and what to do if you're being cyberbullied. The second part reminds us that standing by is condoning bullying, and gets readers to realise that rash words can be hurtful and seen as bullying. The third part is about building a positive culture of kindness and gives ideas on how to spread the word. Each part comes with a quiz so you can think about how you're doing.

So all these information make this book a very good handbook. The book is readable and I can totally see it being used in a classroom setting.

The only quibble I have is that this book is very North-America orientated, particularly when it comes to legal affairs. But I suppose a quick google search of your country's laws will do the trick.

All in all, I think this is an excellent book. While it's not the most exciting of books, it's something that everyone using the internet needs to read.

Disclaimer: I got this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

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