The Bully Text Extended!

DoSomething.org and The Wireless Foundation extend availability of “Bully Text” after over 128,000 young people play the game

Whether the victim of bystander, “Bully Text” educational mobile game empowers young people with strategies on how to stop bullying

DoSomething.org and The Wireless Foundation announce the extension of ‘Bully Text’, a virtual text-based educational game where users choose how to respond to bullies, whether the victim or a bystander, in typical situations at an imaginary high school.

In only three months, more than 128,000 young people learned how to best respond to bullying by participating in “Bully Text.”  With an estimated 160,000 kids skipping school each day to avoid being bullied, DoSomething.org developed ‘Bully Text’ to educate students on how to stop bullying in their schools.

‘Bully Text’ offers a “choose your own adventure” where participants virtually experience different bullying situations and are offered options on how to react. Depending on the users’ responses, the results show them the impacts of their reactions in a safe learning environment.

DoSomething.org found a natural partner in The Wireless Foundation and their mission: bringing organizations, people, and technology together so wireless innovations will continue to enhances lives in communities across the United States.

The campaign is part of DoSomething.org’s proprietary mobile gaming model – through which they built their mobile subscriber list to over 1.3 million young people. With the average teen sending 3,339 texts a month and texts having a 99% open rate; SMS is a powerful tool to effectively engage young people on issues they care about.

“The best way to stop bullying is to step in when you see it,” says Nancy Lublin, CEO and Chief Old Person of DoSomething.org.  ”The Bully Text is like a vitamin in a Twinkie: young people learn how to stop bullying under the guise of playing a game on their phone.”

“Bullying is an issue that many children may face, and the ‘Bully Text’ is a safe way for kids to determine the best response if they find themselves – or are a bystander – in that kind of situation. Our partnership with DoSomething.org on this important initiative engages teens via mobile, their favorite form of communicating, to help them learn how to best handle bullying,” said Steve Largent, President of The Wireless Foundation and President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association.

Thanks to success of the ‘Bully Text’ campaign, DoSomething.org and The Wireless Foundation will continue to offer the game until January 27, 2014. To find out more about the campaign, visit: http://www.dosomething.org/bullytext or text BULLY to 38383.

About DoSomething.org:

We love teens. They are creative, active, wired…and frustrated that our world is so messed up. DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about. Almost every week, we launch a new national campaign. The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US for teens and social change. Join us at www.DoSomething.org.

The Bully Text: National Bullying Prevention Month

‘The Bully Text’ utilizes SMS to educate young people on how to step up to bullying in their community

DoSomething.org and The Wireless Foundation announce the launch of The Bully Text, a unique mobile experience that allows young people to walk through a day at a virtual high school to explore the ways that they can step up to bullies in common bullying situations. With an estimated 160,000 kids skipping school each day to avoid being bullied[1],  DoSomething.org developed The Bully Text to educate students on how to stop bullying in their schools.

The Bully Text is a text messaging game set during an imaginary first day of school. In the game, participants experience different bullying situations and are given options on how they can react. Depending on how the participant reacts in the different situations, they walk down different paths that each offer unique endings. The SMS education experience is meant to emulate common bullying situations, show different ways to react and offer an example of the impact of their actions.

For the second year of The Bully Text, DoSomething.org found a natural partner in The Wireless Foundation and their mission: bringing organizations, people, and technology together so wireless innovations will continue to enhances lives in communities across the United States.  Last year over 68,000 young people took part in the campaign, and 89% of participants reported having a better idea of how to stop bullying in their school after playing the game. This year, young people who participate will be entered to win a $3,000 scholarship.

The Bully Text is part of DoSomething.org’s proprietary mobile gaming model – through which they built their mobile subscriber list to over 1.3 young people. With the average teen sending 3,339 texts a month and texts having a 99% open rate; SMS is a powerful tool to effectively engage young people on issues they care about.

“We all remember that moment, that feeling. You see something you don’t quite agree with in school, something you know is wrong. But do you act? It’s hard for young people to know how to deal with those situations first hand” said Greg Thomas, campaign manager at DoSomething.org. “Through The Bully Text, we’re providing young people with a chance to understand what it’s like to experience bullying through different roles, and reflect on how they can change their behavior to help them step up to bullying in their school.”

For full campaign details, visit www.dosomething.org/bullytext or text BULLY to 38383.

[1] National Association of School Psychologists (http://www.nasponline.org/)

Using The Power of Online to Get Teens to do Good Things Offline: Be a part of DoSomething.org

It seems bad news will travel fast and good news will take time to get to us.  However it is about time that we DoSomething to change that.  DoSomething.org is an awesome website designed to inspire teens to make a difference in the world we live in. Watch their video and learn about it here.

DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about.  Almost every week, they launch a new national campaign. The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the U.S. for teens and social change.

Their cause this month is Green Your School Challenge!

Get your school involved!

From February 1, 2012 thru April 22, 2012:

1. Register your school to take part in the challenge! Get your friends to sign up too.
2. Browse projects ideas for your school to tackle to increase recycling, save energy, promote green agriculture, and more!
3. Report back on your completed projects to be judged by our panel of celebrity and expert judges!Bring the challenge home! You don’t have to just green your school, you can green your home too!

Watch video about Green Your School Challenge.

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