Has your Tween or teen joined Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or some other social media site? If the answer is yes, then they are venerable to cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is the latest trend in bullying and is having a damaging and sometimes deadly effect on our youth. Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place over the internet with a technological device, such as a cell phone, computer, or tablet. It has shown a steady increase with the rise of technological use by young people and their use of it at younger and younger ages. The internet has become a big part of the social lives of many adolescents and teens. It has taken the place of watching TV, telephone chats, exercise, and is a distraction from homework. Among adolescents and teens, more than 1 in 3 has experienced cyber threats over the internet. Over half of adolescents and teens using the internet have been bullied online or bullied others. Cyber bullying, of all the types of bullying, can be the hardest to detect because it can be done anonymously.
Inform your Tween or teen that social media accounts have rules. For example, Twitter has a Hateful Conduct Policy. This policy states that users can report posts that violate the rules of Twitter’s service. These rules include: No promoting violence; threatening or attacking other people; or inciting harm based on a person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease. Parents should also be sure that their child has shown the proper maturity, independent skills, and responsibility to have a social media account before allowing it. Don’t be swayed by the age old cliché used by adolescents and teens to persuade parents, All my friends are doing it.
Copyright, Protect Your Child from Cyber Bullying, Sharon Rose, Parents Want to Know 101, May 2, 2018. All rights reserved.
