Bullies. No matter where you go, they seem to be there. School, work, even in the military. They can do some pretty harmful damage, but that’s about to change. There’s an app that lets you report bullies anonymously and it’s about to kick some butt.
Ton Schobel was listening to the radio in his car when he heard a story about a fifteen year old girl who committed suicide due to both real life bullying and cyber-bullying. He was so moved that he made Stop!t, the anti-bullying app. It launched in August and has spread to almost 80 schools in 13 states. So far, they have raised $2.6 million to reach to more school districts.
People don’t report bullying because they don’t want to get into trouble themselves, or they don’t want to be called a snitch. This app eliminates that. Students or any user can screenshot cyber-bullying and send the picture anonymously to the school administration. These trusted adults can then review the reports and take action.
Schools pay $2-$5 per student to use Stop!t. Brian Luciani, principal of David Brearley High School in New Jersey, has noticed that the school received 75% fewer bullying reports since their students started using this app.
It turns out, not only does the app help report cyber-bullying, it deters cyber-bullying from happening in the first place. This app slows down active bullying and limits bullying before it actually happens. Schobel and his team are working towards getting Stop!t into workplaces and the military.
(via Wired)
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Published: Feb 19, 2015 12:52 pm