Source: Edited from the Raising Children Network
When young people experience bullying behaviour online, it can be difficult to spot. To help your child, you can learn about cyberbullying – what it is, when to step in, and what to do about it.
Did you know?
In a recent study; 20% of all teenage girls surveyed said they’d been cyberbullied.
The problem was most common in girls – nearly 1 in 4 reported having been the victim of cyberbulllying.
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is online bullying using modern communication technology to deliberately and repeatedly harrass, humiliate, embarrass, torment, threaten, pick on or intimidate someone.
Cyberbullying happens in lots of different ways – by mobile phone, text messages, email, or through social networking sites such as Facebook. Examples of cyberbullying include sending anonymous threatening emails, spreading rumours on the school e-bulletin board to break up friendships, or setting up an unkind or unpleasant fake social networking account using real photos and contact details.
Effects of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can leave teenagers with low self-esteem, less interest in school and a deep sense of loneliness. Some feel they have no safe place, because the bullying can happen anywhere there’s internet or mobile access. It can also happen at any time of the day or night.
Nearly one quarter (23%) of children who use mobile phones have reported receiving a threatening or abusive text, and 14% reported sending one.
Helping your child avoid cyberbullies
You can help make cyberbullying less likely to happen to your child by:
- discussing cyberbullying when your child first starts to use the internet or a mobile phone. Talk about what forms cyberbullying can take, the consequences it can have, and how it’s best to never pass along or reply to bullying material
- talking with your child about online friends and messaging friend lists. Explain that adding someone your child doesn’t really know as a ‘buddy’ or ‘friend’ gives that person access to information about her that could be used for bullying.
- teaching your child not to give out passwords to friends. Some teenagers do this as a sign of trust, but a password gives other people the power to pose as your child online.
- teaching your child to ‘think before posting’. Young people who post personal information online (like suggestive photos or videos) can also attract unwanted attention, negative comments or ridicule. This kind of personal information might be available online for a long time, well after your child is comfortable with other people seeing it.
A recent study suggested that 20% of teenagers have engaged in cyberbullying behaviour at some point. There’s no denying that cyberbullying is harmful. But if 20% of teenagers have engaged in bullying or been bullied, that means that 80% are using the internet happily and responsibly.
How to spot cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can be tough to spot. Many young people who are being bullied don’t want to tell teachers or parents, perhaps because they feel ashamed or they worry about losing their computer privileges at home.
As a parent, you might find it hard to keep up with the different technologies your child uses. Or you might not know how to bring up the subject of cyberbullying.
Some warning signs that your child might be the victim of cyberbullying include:
- being upset during or after using the internet
- withdrawing from friends and activities
- being more moody than usual, or showing obvious changes in behaviour, sleep or appetite
- spending much longer than usual online, or refusing to use the computer at all
- exiting or clicking out of a computer activity if a person walks by
- avoiding school or group gatherings
- bringing home lower marks than usual
- ‘acting out’ in anger at home
- having trouble sleeping
- feeling sick or complaining of frequent headaches or stomach aches.
Worried your child might be the one doing the bullying? For ideas on encouraging your child to treat other people with respect online, you could read our article on being a responsible cybercitizen.
Helping teens handle cyberbullying
If teenagers are being bullied online, it’s great for them to feel they have some power to resolve the problem on their own. These six steps are a good way for your child to get rid of the bully:
- Go block or delete the person engaging in cyberbullying. Blocking from friend lists helps stop the person engaging in cyberbullying from posting or uploading offensive content about your child. If it’s a text message or call, you can call the service provider and have the calls/texts monitored. If necessary, the service provider can even contact the sender, since mobile phone holders breech their contract if they use their phone to bully. If necessary, you can change the phone number.
- Ensure you keep evidence of bullying. Save and print out any bullying messages (use the print screen key, at the top right of most keyboards).
- Tell someone. Sharing feelings with a parent, older sibling, relative, teacher or close friend will help keep your child from feeling isolated.
- Report abuse. Reporting bullying to web administrators is usually as easy as clicking on a ‘report abuse’ link on a website. The website will remove the offensive content. There could also be consequences for the person engaging in bullying. If your child has been threatened, he should also report it to the local police.
- Ignore bullying behaviour. This means not responding aggressively to taunts. It’s OK for your child to tell the person engaging in bullying to stop, but they shouldn’t try to fight fire with fire.
- Delete the bullying message (after saving a copy), and don’t forward via text or send chat logs to others.
You might like to check out our illustrated guide to stopping cyberbullying. It’s a handy reference that you could print out for both you and your child to use.
Helping teens who have been cyberbullied
Your child won’t always be able to solve cyberbullying problems independently. It’s always worth stepping in if you’re concerned about them, as you’ll be able to help practically and emotionally.
Loving support is vital. Also:
- talk to your child – listen to his side of the story, and reassure him that the bullying isn’t his fault
- let your child know that you’ll help and that things will get better
- stay calm and resist the temptation to ban the internet in your home. Banning online activities will only make your child less likely to share her online problems
- speak with the school if the problem involves a classmate. It’s best to make sure your child knows about your interaction with the school, and that he has a say in the process.
How cyberbullying is different from other bullying
Cyberbullying is different from other kinds of bullying, for both the person engaging in bullying and the victim.
People using bullying behaviour will often act more boldly online than if they were facing their victim in person. Sending taunts remotely and anonymously makes the person doing the bullying feel safer. The victim’s physical or emotional response, which might change or soften the bullying behaviour, can’t be seen.
For the person being bullied, cyberbullying is tough to deal with. Because teenagers use mobiles and the internet so often, bullying can happen at any time, not just when they’re at school. The victim might not know who’s doing the bullying or when the bully will strike next. This can make teenagers feel persecuted and unsafe, even at home.
Bullying messages posted online are very hard to get rid of. These messages can be forwarded instantly and seen by many people, instead of just a few kids in the schoolyard.
The article you wrote is very good.
I really liked your article. You should write more about that topic.
Short, sweet, to the point, FREE-exactly as information should be!
I have to show some thanks to the writer just for bailing me out of this type of matter. After looking through the search engines and getting solutions which are not beneficial, I was thinking my life was gone. Existing minus the solutions to the issues you have resolved as a result of your main article content is a critical case, and those which could have in a negative way damaged my career if I hadn’t come across the blog. Your main mastery and kindness in controlling all areas was very helpful. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I hadn’t come upon such a thing like this. I can at this moment relish my future. Thanks so much for your specialized and results-oriented help. I won’t think twice to endorse the sites to anybody who needs guidelines on this subject matter.
I simply had to appreciate you all over again. I’m not certain the things I would have accomplished in the absence of these creative ideas shared by you about such a theme. It was a very scary problem for me, nevertheless understanding the very professional manner you processed that made me to weep for gladness. Now i am happier for this information and as well , pray you find out what an amazing job you have been getting into training men and women via your blog post. More than likely you haven’t come across any of us.
You made some clear points there. I did a search on the subject and found most individuals will consent with your website.
I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be much more useful than ever before.
I love reading these articles. They are very good and give me very much information.
Gosh, I wish I would have had that information earlier!
This article went ahead and made my day.
Pingback: dowsing
Whats up very cool blog!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds also…I’m happy to search out a lot of useful information here within the put up, we need work out more techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing.
Mainly on sundays don’t have a lot to do , not after eight ,therefore I’m browsing websites. Like very much the blogs powered by wordpress , specially the design. Nice theme!
Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I have really enjoyed browsing your weblog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your rss feed and I’m hoping you write once more very soon!
Hello there, You’ve performed a fantastic job. I will definitely digg it and in my opinion recommend to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited from this site.
It’s actually a nice and useful piece of information. I am happy that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a extraordinary job!
“Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.” – H.L. Mencken
I just wanted to make a brief remark in order to thank you for the fabulous advice you are showing here. My prolonged internet search has at the end of the day been recognized with good knowledge to share with my relatives. I would tell you that we readers actually are rather lucky to live in a wonderful website with many lovely professionals with valuable points. I feel somewhat lucky to have encountered the web page and look forward to so many more enjoyable times reading here. Thanks once more for all the details.
I don’t even know how I ended up right here, but I believed this put up was good. I do not understand who you are however definitely you are going to a well-known blogger if you aren’t already
Cheers!
Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..extra wait .. …
Very happy to see your article, I very much to like and agree with your point of view. Thank you for sharing.
Very useful post. It was very useful. I was looking exaxtly for this. Thank you for your effort. I hope you will write more such interesting posts.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I will definitely digg it and individually suggest to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this site.
It’s excellent webpage, I was looking for something like this
Just keep posting good stuff.
Hello! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
whoah this blog is magnificent i love reading your posts. Keep up the good work! You know, lots of people are searching around for this information, you could help them greatly.
I really enjoyed your post. That is always nice when you find something that is not only informative but entertaining. Awesome!
Pingback: i like reading
It’s good site, I was looking for something like this
Awesome post! I will keep an on eye on your blog.
Aw, this was a very nice post. In thought I wish to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make an excellent article… however what can I say… I procrastinate alot and on no account seem to get one thing done.
Hey! I like the design of you site, and the posts as well. It is difficult nowadays to find such a good work!
I seemed to be aware about this already, but still there have been a few beneficial bits which finished the picture for me personally, thanks a lot!
Thanks for making the sincere effort to speak about this. I feel very sturdy about it and wish to learn more. If it’s OK, as you gain extra intensive wisdom, may you mind including extra articles similar to this one with more information? It would be extraordinarily helpful and helpful for me and my friends.
Very good suggestions, you just gained a brand new reader. Do you have any feedback on your most recent post though?
Hello there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a extraordinary job!