Cyberbullying is another way of saying “online harassment.” It’s basically the same as your everyday bullying at school, and yet not quite. Whereas traditional harassment ends as soon as school’s done for the day, cyber-bullying continues far beyond it. It’s very hard for a kid to escape torment from classmates, especially when abuse can be easily done via either smartphones, tablets or computers. A whooping 45% of children said they went through online bullying at one point or another. Another surprising statistic says that 70% of kids admit to having witnessed acts of online harassment.
For many children affected by it, cyberbullying will eventually push them into taking their own lives. A disturbing statistic reveals that only two in 10 victims of online harassment tell their own parents about what they’re going through. Not even teachers find out about it until it’s much too late. Online bullying can range from online threats to sharing private data in public and writing abusive comments on social media.
Thankfully, there are ways to prevent cyberbullying, or, if it’s already happening, to limit any and all dialogue with bullies. We will share with you some of the best methods of doing that in today’s post. Here are our six ways to stop and prevent cyberbullying.
Change privacy settings on your favorite social media accounts
All those networking sites your kids use daily come with privacy settings. Tell them to go there and make the things they share private. By doing this, people your child doesn’t know can’t access their information or send friend requests.
Block everyone who’s harassing you
In case you are already the target of a bully, make sure you cut off every single contact you’ve had with them. This means blocking the abuser’s telephone number, their profile on social media or their email address.
Talk to your kid about online bullying
Because children find it very hard to tell their parents that they’re being harassed online, be the one who initiates a talk with them. Especially if you notice a changed behavior in your child. Ask your kid if she or he is being abused online and reassure them that it’s OK to discuss about it with you. Let them know you’re there to make them feel protected.
After you’ve had the talk, let your kid know how to stay safe. One of the best ways is to install a security solution that features Parental Control. One of the best options around is BitDefender Antivirus 2018 (you’ll find a detailed review here).
Save evidence of online bullying
In this day and age, it’s easy to report online harassment as soon as it happens. You can use the print screen option on your computer to save all traces of cyberbullying. On your smartphone you can install dedicated apps that will help you perform the same. action Then, once the evidence has been saved, you can show it to your parents. They, in turn, can show it to the police if things get really bad. You should also keep copies of all emails that have been sent to you by an online abuser from the beginning till now.
Don’t use the same abuse tactics as them
It’s very easy to fire back and use the same behavior on a bully as they do. One of the best things you can do instead is to ignore them, if that’s possible. However, should online bullying persist or become too much, you should report them as soon as you have the chance. Whatever you do, remember to refrain from getting even with an online bully. They will get under your skin and, most importantly, they’ll bask in the glory of having made you upset at long last.
Track and monitor online activities
You probably don’t want to be the kind of parent who takes away the phone of their kid. Instead of doing that, look for a monitoring app and install it on their device. Tell them about it, though, and that what you’re doing is for their own good. With the app on board, both you and your children will feel safe against online bullying, no matter if it happens on Facebook, in a chat room or another favorite networking place. Your kid’s phone can be controlled via your computer, so you know what’s happening with your kid online at any given time.
Ask your child’s school if they installed special technologies to control online behavior. SafeSchools is only one of the technologies being used more and more. It features a custom alert system via which bullying incidents can be reported as they happen. Problems can be solved faster that way.
Online harassment continues to be a major problem as years go by. One of the most advisable things to do is to prevent it from becoming a nightmare. Today we give you six ways to stop and prevent cyberbullying.
