The Dark World of Cyberbullying
Bullying When the term bullying comes up, taunting and teasing at the schoolyard probably comes to mind.
Worrying about your child's safety while they are away from the home is enough for a parent to think about.
But with technology moving at lightning speed, there is a new threat in town.
A threat that allows bullying to walk right into your living room, even when you think your child is safe and sound ten feet away from you.
Enter the world of cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is a serious issue that affects many school children and peaks between the ages of 11-13.
As with regular bullies, cyber bullies typically displace their own anger and frustrations on targets that they find to be weaker and more vulnerable than themself.
A bully will traditionally pick on someone that appears different from themself and has shown the inability to defend themselves.
However, cyberbullying can be even more ruthless, as bullies have the capability to post pictures and text on the internet where the entire world can see it.
Often these pictures and text can be edited with different programs to create images and phrases that can be seriously damaging to a child.
Such as kids' faces copied and pasted onto pornographic images, hurtful captions on pictures, or even voting and rating of kids as to who is the fattest, sluttiest, ugliest, etc.
These cruel tactics can be extremely psychologically damaging to a child.
Cyberbullying is particularly scary because the bully has the ability to remain invisible.
Kids can be targeted from remote locations with vicious and cruel acts, while the bully holds little or no accountability because he or she can remain anonymous.
The worst part about cyberbullying is that a child will often not report this type of abuse to a parent because he or she is embarrassed, scared, or fears that it will make the problem worse.
There have been very limited studies done on this new phenomenon, which makes the problem hard to fully understand and prevent.
Dr.
Qing Li, a professor of educational technology at the University of Calgary, says that around one in every six kid's experiences cyber-bullying on a regular basis, and that the problem is increasing at a rapid pace.
What can you do as a parent? Look for signs of cyber-bullying.
A child will often be reluctant to report being bullied, so it is up to you to make sure you are looking for any visible signs that your child may tip you off to.
Some of the major indications include: oYour child spends long hours on the computer oTries to hide or shelter you from their online activity oMood swings oYour child complains of illness irregularly and tries to avoid school and social events oLowered self-esteem oLoss of personal items, broken personal items oTaking out aggression at home oTrouble sleeping Spread the word Talk to teachers and other parents about bullying.
Consider starting or joining a committee on bully-prevention.
The more the word gets out the better chances or people starting to recognize it as a serious problem.
Warn kids about personal privacy Make sure your kids are not revealing personal information while online.
Photos, addresses, cell phone numbers can all be fuel for a bully's rampage.
It is best for your child to have as little information available to the public as possible.
Call services providers Internet service providers have restrictions against this kind of inappropriate activity, so if your child is experiencing taunts or threats, they should be reported immediately.
However, do not delete any abusive images or messages that have been directed towards your child.
This can end up being your evidence against the bully if pursuing further action.
Call a police officer If bullying becomes constant and abusive it is important to contact authorities.
The police will be helpful and can conduct Internet surveillance to catch the bully if you feel that your child is in any kind of danger.
As a good parent it is important to make sure that you are raising your kid with the common sense to be able to come forward and report incidences like bullying.
It is the bully that has the real problem, and it is necessary for your kid to know that they need to stick together with friends, teachers and parents, and come forward when they are experiencing abuse on the internet.
Even if your kid is not being bullied but knows someone who is, hopefully you have taught them to have the courage to tell someone about it.
Tell your kids that bystanders are part of the problem, and reporting inappropriate online behaviour to an adult is a step in the right direction of eradicating the problem.
Worrying about your child's safety while they are away from the home is enough for a parent to think about.
But with technology moving at lightning speed, there is a new threat in town.
A threat that allows bullying to walk right into your living room, even when you think your child is safe and sound ten feet away from you.
Enter the world of cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is a serious issue that affects many school children and peaks between the ages of 11-13.
As with regular bullies, cyber bullies typically displace their own anger and frustrations on targets that they find to be weaker and more vulnerable than themself.
A bully will traditionally pick on someone that appears different from themself and has shown the inability to defend themselves.
However, cyberbullying can be even more ruthless, as bullies have the capability to post pictures and text on the internet where the entire world can see it.
Often these pictures and text can be edited with different programs to create images and phrases that can be seriously damaging to a child.
Such as kids' faces copied and pasted onto pornographic images, hurtful captions on pictures, or even voting and rating of kids as to who is the fattest, sluttiest, ugliest, etc.
These cruel tactics can be extremely psychologically damaging to a child.
Cyberbullying is particularly scary because the bully has the ability to remain invisible.
Kids can be targeted from remote locations with vicious and cruel acts, while the bully holds little or no accountability because he or she can remain anonymous.
The worst part about cyberbullying is that a child will often not report this type of abuse to a parent because he or she is embarrassed, scared, or fears that it will make the problem worse.
There have been very limited studies done on this new phenomenon, which makes the problem hard to fully understand and prevent.
Dr.
Qing Li, a professor of educational technology at the University of Calgary, says that around one in every six kid's experiences cyber-bullying on a regular basis, and that the problem is increasing at a rapid pace.
What can you do as a parent? Look for signs of cyber-bullying.
A child will often be reluctant to report being bullied, so it is up to you to make sure you are looking for any visible signs that your child may tip you off to.
Some of the major indications include: oYour child spends long hours on the computer oTries to hide or shelter you from their online activity oMood swings oYour child complains of illness irregularly and tries to avoid school and social events oLowered self-esteem oLoss of personal items, broken personal items oTaking out aggression at home oTrouble sleeping Spread the word Talk to teachers and other parents about bullying.
Consider starting or joining a committee on bully-prevention.
The more the word gets out the better chances or people starting to recognize it as a serious problem.
Warn kids about personal privacy Make sure your kids are not revealing personal information while online.
Photos, addresses, cell phone numbers can all be fuel for a bully's rampage.
It is best for your child to have as little information available to the public as possible.
Call services providers Internet service providers have restrictions against this kind of inappropriate activity, so if your child is experiencing taunts or threats, they should be reported immediately.
However, do not delete any abusive images or messages that have been directed towards your child.
This can end up being your evidence against the bully if pursuing further action.
Call a police officer If bullying becomes constant and abusive it is important to contact authorities.
The police will be helpful and can conduct Internet surveillance to catch the bully if you feel that your child is in any kind of danger.
As a good parent it is important to make sure that you are raising your kid with the common sense to be able to come forward and report incidences like bullying.
It is the bully that has the real problem, and it is necessary for your kid to know that they need to stick together with friends, teachers and parents, and come forward when they are experiencing abuse on the internet.
Even if your kid is not being bullied but knows someone who is, hopefully you have taught them to have the courage to tell someone about it.
Tell your kids that bystanders are part of the problem, and reporting inappropriate online behaviour to an adult is a step in the right direction of eradicating the problem.
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