Some Facts about Cyber Bullying...

GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CYBER BULLYING

Parents, your child may not be letting you in on their secret but someone has been bullying them for awhile. Most parents are unaware how prevalent online bullying has become in recent times. Moreover, online bullying has increased in recent years within the age range of tweens to teens. Your tweens and teens probably have to face ridicule by vicious and slanderous posting by peers one time or the next. It is a cruel world nowadays for tweens and teens to reside in and very hard for the introverted, shy child to fit into this world.

Nowadays, social media rules our youth lives and because of this trend, many children find themselves fighting online wars, putting out social fires because of deviant behavior of some of their peers.

You may ask why I would label it as deviant? A mere tease is now more vicious by using explicit and cryptic messages. Some people may shrug their shoulders and say it is harmless but social media is attributed to some of the recent teen suicides. Everything goes viral, one image online can travel the world in a matter of several minutes to say the least.

I am passionate about seeing our youth display more responsible behavior online and using the technology that they may have access to, for the common good of mankind and not its demise.

So what am I really talking about...
I am referring to cyber bullying, which is bullying online
What is it exactly you may ask? Below is a more textbook version for clearer understanding

CyberBullying is using the Internet, cell phones, video game systems, or other technology to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. It is also defined as acts of aggression through computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices” (Jackson & Cohen, 2012).

This type of bullying can happen across many technology media such as cell phones, Ipads, chats, blogs and all. It can spread across all channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, any or everywhere your Tween or Teen hangs out online.

How do we distinguish this form of bullying? Well, for instance it is not face to face, it is overt and covert. It happens in unsupervised spaces, anywhere and anytime. It may consists of threats of harm, gossip, exclusion and ignoring etc. There are many more features that would suggest it is this form of bullying.

Read More about Cyber Bullying Here...

So parents, a little bit of motherly advice, take an active role in your child's online life as well as personal life. Perhaps, as parents we must always believe that there is more that meets the eye. Start having active discussions with your child about bullying and their online presence and follow-up by constantly monitoring their social media spaces.  We need to know whether our children are being bullied or are they bully? We have to ensure our children navigate this generation equipped with the right tools and the information and practice responsible behavior online.