Cyberbullying

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a perceived power imbalance (stopbullying.gov). Cyberbullying is bullying by an electronic means. Unlike normal bullying that only last while a person is in school or away from home, cyberbullying can continue nonstop. With the majority of young people having access to computers and cell phones with internet capability it is easy for bullies to harass someone anonymously and continuously. As parents we must understand that cyberbullying is happening and it can cause strong emotional damage to our young people.

As a parent of two teenage children who have an active “cyber” life, I feel that it is very important to monitor their email and social media sites. As the father of a son who can be described as socially awkward I can further understand the importance of asking questions about what is going on with them. Children especially teenagers tend to be very closed off when it comes to bullying and if you accept the “nothing’s wrong” answer from them at face value you are liable to be overlooking bullying in one form or another. As it stands right now, only seven percent of U.S. parents are worried about cyberbullying even though 43 percent of teenagers admit to being victims of it (internet safety).

Even if a young person is not themselves online, it is possible for them to still be bullied. In today’s tech savvy world, it is not hard for someone to impersonate someone or hack into their email or social media site and make damaging posts. Cyberbullies are as creative as they are cruel and will use any means they can to degrade someone.

So what do we do to protect today’s youth from this growing trend? First we have to understand what i...

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...em as well.

If cyberbullying includes threats of violence, anything sexually explicit to include child porn, a violation of someone’s privacy or what may be stalking or a hate crime you should report it to law enforcement. If the bully is in school, then they should also be reported to the school as well. Most states now have laws regarding schools addressing cyberbullying (stop bullying).

The most important thing that I can think of though is to provide support to the person involved. Cyberbullying can have a strong, negative impact on a young person and it is important that they know they are cared for and that you are there to support them. Gone are the days of telling them to just ignore the bully, they will go away. We all must do our part in this to ensure the safety of our young people both physically and mentally. One child lost to this is one too many!