Cyber bullying

I thought it would be a good idea to address some concerns about Cyber bullying. This type of bulling takes place on line through the use of technology all devices such as phones, computers, smartphones and tablets can be used to bully another person. The growth of social media a students can be subjected to bullying online at any time.   This is what makes this type of bullying so much more damaging to a student.  The anonymity available online makes it very difficult to identify the cyber bully in many cases. The possible effects could be detrimental to a student’s studies and self-esteem.  

So what are the preventative measures you can take to protect your children from Cyber bullying? You must be aware of what your children are doing online. You should talk with your children have an open honest conversation with them about what social media site they are visiting. They should further be aware as a privilege of having access to social media that you as a parent reserve the right to review they social media activity if you feel there is a concern. You should be a friend or at least be following you children on all social media accounts. This will allow you to monitor any unusual activity. I wrote a post some time ago called “should kids have cell phones?” this might provide some guidance on having a conversation with your children about social media sites and monitoring services you can use.

In the event you have found your child has been a victim Cyber bulling there are some immediate steps you can take. You need to record the cyber bullying event take screen shots save text messages, emails should be printed once you have gathered all the evidence then block the person.  In order to report you have a few options you can contact your service provider in most cases any cyber bullying violates some type of rule outlined in their contact agreement, you can contact your local school leaders since cyber bullying is on the rise most schools have programs to address these matter very quickly and the last option is your local law enforcement. This would be in extreme cases if the cyber bullying involves stalking, a threat of violence, sending sexually explicit photos and taking photos/videos of someone in a place they expect the place they are in to be private.

I hope this post was helpful as always please leave a comment

Mark Carvajal