No Cyberbullying!
Posted September 14th 2015 at 10:51 AM by Rachel89
Did you know that by now more than 50% of kids have experienced cyberbullying and more than 35% admit to be bullies’ targets? This is quite shocking statistics that we can ignore no longer.
Cyberbullying is not much different from traditional bullying. Only instead of being bitten up at school, kids are being bitten up by dozens and hundreds of users online. While you may think that cyberbullying cannot be taken into account as a serious problem, keep in mind that online bullying has been recognized by the experts as one of the top suicidal factors among teenagers.
There are very few cyberbullying stories presented online, nevertheless, the ones that are cannot but touch our hearts. The most famous story is probably the one that was told by Amada Todd. Amanda was a girl, who bravely told her bullying story online via YouTube video. In her video she described all the suffering she has been through that lead to her killing herself.
Her tragic death has lead to serious investigation that put her bully (in fact child predator) to jail in the Netherlands.
Although this is a horrifying subject there are things that you as a teenager or your parents can do to prevent cyberbullying.
For teens:
Report bullying. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you see that you or someone else is being bullied. Online bulling is considered a crime in most American states and Canada. People who are harassing and tormenting others online can and should get into trouble because they are creating these troubles. Teachers and parents will gladly assist you and support you.
Create a group. It is always easier to fight bullying when having friends watching your back. Remember that more than half of the children you know are experiencing online bullying so they will surely like to find other children who can support them.
Stand up for victims. Don’t be afraid to stand up for someone who is being bullied and call others to help you. Together you form a community of great students that will lead on in future. Also, don’t forget to collect the evidence: make screenshots or simply take a picture of harassing messages and comments. This evidence can be later transmitted to parents, teachers and even police.
For parents:
Monitor online activity. Every parents trust his/her children but we cannot trust all Internet users. Monitoring online activity should not deprive the right to have a free internet access for your children. You can either download an app to monitor child’s phone like Pumpic or even set parental controls on a child’s computer. It is important that these parental controls don’t interfere with your child’s social life. Instead of monitoring their online activity you can set a special alerting system that will inform you in case there were offensive words or naked pictures detected.
Play the celebrity card. Your child is not the only one who is being bullied online. Most of the teen stars like Demi Lovato, Justi Bieber, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have been bullied throughout the years. They share their personal stories and ways to overcome bullying online in their social media websites, which can be powerful examples for your children.
Cyberbullying is not much different from traditional bullying. Only instead of being bitten up at school, kids are being bitten up by dozens and hundreds of users online. While you may think that cyberbullying cannot be taken into account as a serious problem, keep in mind that online bullying has been recognized by the experts as one of the top suicidal factors among teenagers.
There are very few cyberbullying stories presented online, nevertheless, the ones that are cannot but touch our hearts. The most famous story is probably the one that was told by Amada Todd. Amanda was a girl, who bravely told her bullying story online via YouTube video. In her video she described all the suffering she has been through that lead to her killing herself.
Her tragic death has lead to serious investigation that put her bully (in fact child predator) to jail in the Netherlands.
Although this is a horrifying subject there are things that you as a teenager or your parents can do to prevent cyberbullying.
For teens:
Report bullying. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you see that you or someone else is being bullied. Online bulling is considered a crime in most American states and Canada. People who are harassing and tormenting others online can and should get into trouble because they are creating these troubles. Teachers and parents will gladly assist you and support you.
Create a group. It is always easier to fight bullying when having friends watching your back. Remember that more than half of the children you know are experiencing online bullying so they will surely like to find other children who can support them.
Stand up for victims. Don’t be afraid to stand up for someone who is being bullied and call others to help you. Together you form a community of great students that will lead on in future. Also, don’t forget to collect the evidence: make screenshots or simply take a picture of harassing messages and comments. This evidence can be later transmitted to parents, teachers and even police.
For parents:
Monitor online activity. Every parents trust his/her children but we cannot trust all Internet users. Monitoring online activity should not deprive the right to have a free internet access for your children. You can either download an app to monitor child’s phone like Pumpic or even set parental controls on a child’s computer. It is important that these parental controls don’t interfere with your child’s social life. Instead of monitoring their online activity you can set a special alerting system that will inform you in case there were offensive words or naked pictures detected.
Play the celebrity card. Your child is not the only one who is being bullied online. Most of the teen stars like Demi Lovato, Justi Bieber, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have been bullied throughout the years. They share their personal stories and ways to overcome bullying online in their social media websites, which can be powerful examples for your children.
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