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What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is an individual's use of technology to threaten, insult, tease, taunt, harrass, or damage the reputation of another person. Some people reserve the term for web abuse that occurs between two minors; once adults become involved, the abuse is usually termed "cyber harrassment" or "cyberstalking."
Concerns for Parents
- Your child may be a victim of cyberbullying. Kids who are cyberbullied are at high risk for low self-esteem and depression.
- Your child may be cyberbullying others. Studies have shown that kids who bully others show tendencies towards cruelty and violence later in life.
- One huge concern—whether your child is the bully or the one being bullied—is that information posted on the web can be viewed by anyone. Rumors, lies, and cruel or embarrassing remarks will be posted for virtually anyone to see. Further still, what is posted online never truly goes away. Cyberbullying could haunt your child for years to come.
How Can I Keep My Child Safe?
- Stress the importance of following the rules of Netiquette. Remind your kids that there are human beings with feelings, opinions, and emotions behind every email address and screen name. If you are courteous and respectful towards other web users, it's likely that they'll return the favor.
- Be sure your children understand the importance of reporting cyberbullying. Whether the abuse is directed at them or at someone else, this kind of bullying can be extremely damaging and becomes harder to resolve as time stretches on. Let them know that they can come to you, to a teacher, or to any other trusted adult if they find themselves victimized by a cyberbully. The sooner parents and adults can get involved, the sooner the cyberbullying can be stopped.
- Teach your kids to avoid environments where cyberbullying tends to start. Chat rooms, online discussion boards, and social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook can be hotbeds for cyberbullying and flame wars. Decide what places on the web are and are not appropriate for your child, taking age, maturity, and any other important factors into consideration.
- Be sure your child isn't a cyberbully Do not let your children post unkind comments, photos, or videos of anyone else. Be sure they know that this kind of behavior is absolutey unacceptable. Many public schools are teaching this message in special anti-bullying lessons or programs. Help these good efforts along by reinforcing these ideas at home.
Where Can I Learn More?
The following are anti-cyberbullying sites that provide tips for avoiding, dealing with, and stopping cyberbullying. Click on the organization's name to learn more about it or simply hit the Go! link to go straight to the website.
You can find some great anti-cyberbullying videos on YouTube. Here are some of our favorites:
Read this article about the warning signs of cyberbullying. Another great article from the same site highlights the potential tragedies cyberbullying may bring about and presents some sobering statistics about the prevalence of cyberbullying among kids and teens today.
