Cyberbullying

 

CYBER BULLYING 
  

Cyberbullying is used as an umbrella term to describe many different kinds of online abuse including but not to harassment , doxing , reputation attacks and revenge porn.

It is when someone uses technology to harass , threaten, embarrass , or target another people. It happens on device like smartphones , computer, tablets , and gaming system. 

 Cyberstalking is another form of bullying or harassment to stalk a victim ;this may pose a credible threat to the victim.

Cyberbullying is the use of digital-communication tools to make another person feel sad , angry , or scared by threatening him/her again and again by sexual videos and make her/his personal video's viral on the internet.

EXAMPLES OF CYBER BULLYING 

1) Sending mean texts or IMs to someone.

2) Pranking someone's cell phone

3) spreading secrets videos and rumors about the individual.

4) Hacking someone's personal information.

TYPES OF CYBERBULLYING 

There are various types of cyberbullying , but they all have one intention-hurting someone.

Knowing the types of dangers that your child can come across will help you protect them from it . therefore let's dive right into it: 

 

EXCLUSION

Exclusion  is the act of leaving someone out on purpose and is one of the most common ways of teen cyberbullying . FOR EXAMPLE- Your child might be excluded/ uninvited to groups or parties while they see other friends being included , or left out of conversation that involves mutual friends. 

HARASSMENT

Harassment is a broad category that contains many types of cyberbullying. It generally refers to a sustained and constant pattern of hurtful or threatening online messages sent with the intention of doing harm to someone. 

 

OUTING/DOXING

Outing , also known as doxing, is the act of openly revealing sensitive or personal information or images about someone ( without their consent ) for malicious purposes. the effects of cyberbullying which are based on outing can be severe, especially among teenagers.

 

FRAPPING

One of the most common types of cyberbullying is frapping. A bully uses your child' s social media accounts to post inappropriate content under their name. FOR EXAMPLE- 

A bully can post inappropriate content about your child's teacher or another classmate through your child's profile. Your child will be the one to blame for such actions when in fact they have no involvement with it. 

 

DISSING

Dissing is the act of a bully spreading cruel information about their target through public posts or private messages to either ruin their reputation or relationships with other people . In these situations , the bully tends to have a personal relationship with the victim, either as an acquaintance or as a friend. 

 

 

WAYS TO PREVENT CYBERBULLYING 

Preventing cyberbullying is a matter of awareness and response: knowing what children are doing and how they are vulnerable, then helping them learn to respond when their well-being is threatened by bullies, trolls and other dangerous users online.

1) USE PRIVACY TOOLS AND SETTINGS-

No matter what your teen does online, make sure they are aware of the privacy settings and tools offered by the organization. Almost every social media platform including instagram , twitter, snapchat, and tiktok have privacy settings.

Go through each account and set privacy settings to the most secure settings. This means making account private, preventing people from tagging them, requiring other people to get permission before sharing one of their photos and so on.

 

2) KEEP PERSONAL STUFF PRIVATE

Nowadays, people should never share their address, cell phone no., or email address online. They should be careful about sharing too much information about where they go to school, especially if they have friends or followers online that they don't know really well.

 

Remind them that people are not always who they claim to be online. Even though the profile photo is of teenage girl, that doesn't mean the person behind the account is actually a teenage girl. It could be someone pretending to be a young girl in order to gather information on other teens.

  

3) MANAGE LOCATION SHARING 

Some smartphones allow users to share their locations with friends. This means that if they share their location with people, these people will always know where they are. Have a discussion with your child about they can share their location with or if they can share it at all.

    

     likewise, some photos taken with smartphones already contains geotags and indicate where the photos was taken. People can use these photos to determine your child's location, even if they never mention where the photo was taken.

 

Your child needs to be mindful about which photos they are sharing and when . For instances, you may want them to refrain from posting vacation pictures until you have returned from vacation. This way, you are not letting the entire online world know that no one is at your home for the next two weeks.

 

 

 4) Teach Them to Think Before Posting

Help your tweens and teens get in the habit of taking some time before posting. For instance, they could create a post offline and then come back to it in an hour and decide if they still want to post it. Doing so will keep them from posting things that they may later regret.

Cyberbullies may take what your child posted and use it against them in some way, so it might be helpful to encourage your child to take time to think before posting. Of course, if someone wants to use something against them, it won't necessarily matter what the content is.

But by taking their time to craft a post, your child will be able to think through what they are posting and determine whether or not it's something they want to say publicly. This is a good practice for kids in order to maintain a healthy relationship with social media.

You also need to teach your tween or teen how to practice digital etiquette. Using social media and other online tools is a privilege, not a right, and one that can be taken away if they are unable to use it responsibly.

 5) Conduct a Social Media Audit

Every month or so, sit down with your tween or teen and go through their social media accounts. Together, determine what posts may need to be deleted from their account. This exercise is especially important as they prepare to apply to college or look for a new job.

 

Many times, college recruiters and hiring managers will look through an applicant's social media accounts to get a feel for their personality and character. Together along with your teen, be sure your teen's posts and photos are sending the message they want others to receive.

6) Log Out When Using Public Devices

Remind your tween or teen that when they are using public computers or laptops at school or the library, they should log out of any account they use. This includes logging out of email, social media accounts, their school account, Amazon account, and any other account they may open.

Simply closing the tab is not enough. If someone gets on the computer immediately after they are done, they may still be able to get into your child's account. And once they have access, they can take control of that account by changing passwords.

Once they have control, they can impersonate your child online by making fake posts and comments that make your child look bad. Plus, once you lose access to an account, it can be difficult and time-consuming to regain control.

7)Refuse to Respond to Cyberbullies

If your child does experience cyberbullying, they should refrain from responding. This means they should not argue, try to explain, or engage in any way with a cyberbully.

Cyberbullies are looking for an emotional response, but if your child refuses to give them anything to go on, they are left with one-sided communications.

In the meantime, they should take screenshots of the harassment and save it as proof of the encounter. This documentation may be needed when reporting a cyberbully.

8) Report Cyberbullies

Make sure your child knows that they should always report cyberbullying. This includes not only telling you what is happening, but also letting the social media platform, internet service provider, and any other necessary parties know what is going on. You may even need to contact the school or the police to put an end to the harassment.

Once all the reports have been filed, take the appropriate steps to block the person or account responsible for the cyberbullying. Doing so doesn't prevent them from using a different account or a public space to continue to cyberbully your tween or teen, but it will slow them down.

Teens also should learn to be good bystanders too. If they witness cyberbullying online, they should refrain from participating in the cyberbullying and instead look for ways to support the person being targeted. They should also report what they witness online to a responsible adult like you, a teacher, or a principal—especially if they know who is doing the cyberbullying.

More often than not, kids are cyberbullied by people they know from their school or their community. So standing up for the person being targeted can help prevent future cyberbullying incidents, especially if the cyberbully is not getting the reaction they want.

 

 WRITTEN BY

TANISHA SONI