The state attorney general's office had a message Wednesday for Butler Middle School students: Cyber bullying is a serious offense.

Philip Little, education and outreach specialist for the state attorney general's office, spoke at the school about the dangers of cyber bullying.

He described cyber bullying as the abuse of technology such as cell phones and social media sites to harm another person.

“When we misuse these types of technologies, we don't realize that we can be committing crimes,” Little said.

He said that because of this, people need to be careful about what they post.

“We simply put it out there and don't think it's that big of a deal, but in reality words have a big impact on each other,” he said.

Little differentiated between face-to-face bullying and cyber bullying. He said that face-to-face bullying provides for a limited number of onlookers, allows the victim to escape the situation, and allows for the bully to be identified.

However, with cyber bullying, many more people can witness the abuse, and it's impossible for the person to get away from the bullying. Also, by using accounts under a fake name, bullies can remain anonymous — or so they think.

When Little asked if the students knew anyone with an account under a fake name, many of them raised their hands. He told them that it often takes just 20 minutes to find out who is using that account.

That was news to fifth grader KiKi Zaccone, 11. Her parents won't allow her to have any social media accounts until she's at least a teenager, and after learning about the dangers of cyber bullying, she's currently not interested in Facebook or Twitter.

“For me, just knowing all the dangers it can cause, it makes me not want to have that technology,” she said.

Little spoke about how important it is for students to report cyber bullying to adults.

“I think the biggest thing you're talking about is empowering (students) to do the right thing,” he said. “They get shamed for reporting.”

When Little asked students if they knew the correct way to handle cyber bullying was to tell a trusted adult, most students in the auditorium raised their hands. Little was glad to see this, but said that only 1 in 10 students report cyber bullying to authorities.

When he asked students why this was, he was told that some students were shy, afraid telling would make things worse, or that they didn't want to be labeled a “snitch.”

Little expected the “snitch” response, but dispelled that mentality in the face of the severity of cyber bullying.

“When you see these things happening in your school, don't sit on the sideline,” he said. “You're old enough. I call on you to do something.”

Those who do something would be labeled as “heroes” by Little, ones who step in on behalf of the victims of bullying. Little classified heroes, victims, and bullies as three kinds of people involved in bullying.

Bystanders, those who witness the bullying but do nothing about it, were another kind, while reinforcers, those who egged on the bullying by gossiping about it, were yet another type.

Sometimes, Little said, people can put themselves at risk by sending images of themselves that can get them into trouble.

“Respect yourselves, because the moment you hit send you lose control of a situation you want complete control of,” he stressed.

Sixth grader Damon Sheakley, 12, does not use social media sites, and was enlightened by the presentation. He doesn't see the sense in cyber bullying.

“People should honestly not do it,” he said. “I don't know why they do it. There's no reason.”

A presentation on cyber bullying by Jonathan Ogden of the state attorney general's office will be held for parents only from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Butler Intermediate High School.