-Cyberbullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner.
It is the biggest threat to a child in the world they live in today, with over 50% of children being affected by some form of cyberbullying in their life.
It is a problem all over the world and very much alive in New Zealand schools.
The availability of faster connection speeds, free wireless access and the fact that many kids can bully anonymously has made this issue worse.
Whether through email, social networking sites or text messaging, the effect bullying has on its victim is huge. Seeing nasty messages in writing for any of us is uncomfortable for adults, so how do you think kids feel when being subjected to this behavior?
It’s important to talk about it with our children. We need to understand the signs our children may exhibit that could be an indication that they are a victim of cyberbullying.
Signs your child may be a victim of cyberbullying
- appear nervous when their cellphone beeps
- no longer wish to use the computer
- become short tempered
- loose self esteem
- no longer mix with certain friends
- not sleeping well
- loss of appetite
- loose interest in school
- decline in grade marks at school
- become anxious or nervous
- exhibit signs of depression
Remember, YOUR child may be the bully! Therefore parents should discuss with children how they think someone being bullied feels inside. Build up empathy with your children.
Ask them the different symptoms the other person may go through. See if they can put themselves into the other persons’ mind.
If your child is young, ask them the things people might say to someone else that would make them feel sad.
Often the perpetrators lack empathy and do not fully understand the affect bullying has on their victim. Once they do, it will go some way in reducing bullying issues.
Installing monitoring software on home computers will help parents potentially pick up any issues before they get out of hand. Being able to capture emails, chat conversations and more can be early indicators for trouble!
-What should you be concerned about?
Number one in your list should be bullying - or cyberbullying. The stats vary on this but hover around 15-33% (depending on country, age of child and nature of what is understood to constitute cyberbullying) and are likely to increase. Whatever your perspective it is undeniable that cyberbullying is an increasing phenomena that is highly likely to affect your child in some form and at some time - they will either be bullied and/or become bullies themselves. And in the online world the gap between bullies and bullied is easily traversed.
Another concern should centre on how much personal information your child is revealing online - information that can be used to identify and trace your child. This information can be used to target your child with online scams, or to steal or 'borrow' their identify; or to trace them in the real (physical) world. All of these things can have devastating effects. The main problem here is that research suggests that 83% of children 8+ have made their online profiles visible (or public) to all-comers.
Inappropriate Content is not the problem many parents think it might be, or at least not for the majority of children. Up to one in every 7 kids report coming across harmful or inappropriate content on the web - usually of a sexual (most reported) or violent nature. But most kids appear to be able to cope with the experience, finding it simply a distraction and not engaging (most indicate they leave the offending page or site immediately). Only a small number think to report the experience to their parent, probably because they are not unduly worried or affected. Perhaps more worrying is that the Internet serves to normalise this type of experience: kids expect it, it is not unusual.
There is no real evidence that such inappropriate content harms kids or adversely affects their behaviours. And there is certainly no consensus in psychological or educational research that this is the case. Although there are clear exceptions: children who seek out harmful content (e.g. sites that celebrate and encourage anorexia; sites which talk up suicide; sites which encourage emulation of acts of violence - copycatting) are more likely to find it online. These are children who are at risk already, and using the Internet amplifies that risk and in some situations with tragic consequences.
Clearly kids can find out so much more these days by using the Internet. Child psychology tells us that children under 10-12 years (pre-adolescence, pre-puberty) are less discerning, they don't understand risk (i.e. they can often rehearse the rhetoric about why they shouldn't do certain things online - the rules of Internet use - but often don't practice what they say they understand) and can't rationalise the dangers of certain behaviours. So kids who are more likely to demonstrate risky behaviours offline, in the real physical world, are likely to get into all sorts of trouble online.
Number one in your list should be bullying - or cyberbullying. The stats vary on this but hover around 15-33% (depending on country, age of child and nature of what is understood to constitute cyberbullying) and are likely to increase. Whatever your perspective it is undeniable that cyberbullying is an increasing phenomena that is highly likely to affect your child in some form and at some time - they will either be bullied and/or become bullies themselves. And in the online world the gap between bullies and bullied is easily traversed.
Another concern should centre on how much personal information your child is revealing online - information that can be used to identify and trace your child. This information can be used to target your child with online scams, or to steal or 'borrow' their identify; or to trace them in the real (physical) world. All of these things can have devastating effects. The main problem here is that research suggests that 83% of children 8+ have made their online profiles visible (or public) to all-comers.
Inappropriate Content is not the problem many parents think it might be, or at least not for the majority of children. Up to one in every 7 kids report coming across harmful or inappropriate content on the web - usually of a sexual (most reported) or violent nature. But most kids appear to be able to cope with the experience, finding it simply a distraction and not engaging (most indicate they leave the offending page or site immediately). Only a small number think to report the experience to their parent, probably because they are not unduly worried or affected. Perhaps more worrying is that the Internet serves to normalise this type of experience: kids expect it, it is not unusual.
There is no real evidence that such inappropriate content harms kids or adversely affects their behaviours. And there is certainly no consensus in psychological or educational research that this is the case. Although there are clear exceptions: children who seek out harmful content (e.g. sites that celebrate and encourage anorexia; sites which talk up suicide; sites which encourage emulation of acts of violence - copycatting) are more likely to find it online. These are children who are at risk already, and using the Internet amplifies that risk and in some situations with tragic consequences.
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