Who Is Cyberbullying You Or Your Child
Who Is Cyberbullying You Or Your Child
“My child is being bullied on FaceBook.” “Girls who used to be friends are now spreading rumors by texting.” “Someone posted lies about my son on a social media account. How do I find out who did it?” “My boss texted others in the workplace something I shared in private. What do I do.”
Questions From Parents About Cyberbullying
How to stop someone who is cyberbullying you or your child is a question most parents dread having to ever ask. Quite frankly, the internet and cyberspace changes so rapidly that it is hard for parents to keep up.
The definition of cyberbullying is important to understand before attempting to resolve it. Cyber bullying is the malicious act of a person(s) who harasses, stalks or spreads lies about someone else via electronic methods.
Cyberbullying, or online bullying is when someone, either on purpose or as a joke posts intimidating messages. These messages might be embarrassing photos of someone in the school bathroom or a photo of your child taken without permission. This could be through a cell phone or over the Internet.
Cyberbullies use Text Messaging, e-mail, blogs, web sites, and chat rooms as venues to post their intimidating messages. Tracing them is very hard, but parents should keep records of dates and messages to give to authorities.
National Media Is Focused On The Crime
Cell phones and the internet are very useful tools. However, they can be used for harm as well as good.
Parade Magazine,8-22-2010 focused on the national attention that is surrounding the suicide of Phoebe Prince in Massachusetts. After her suicide, the Massachusetts state legislature passed a law making cyberbullying a crime.
As more people are on the Internet now more than ever before, it is increasingly becoming a problem. Some methods of this bizarre behavior include gaining trust of someone and then abusing it, impersonating another person, posting derogatory information about a person or posting their information on the Internet.
New Hampshire has expanded its bullying laws to include digital harassment. Nevada lawmakers have set up criminal penalties for those convicted of bullying others electronically.
How To Be Internet Savvy
Parents and caring adults need to learn all they can about this expanding problem. Not only to help the children or themselves from cyberbullies, but to make sure their messages are not being misinterpreted. You will find excellent information on this subject at http://cyberbullyinghelp.com/r/101safetytips
The more you know about the Internet and online bullying, the more you can do to protect yourself and those who are looking to you for protection and guidance.
Tags: Cell phones, Phoebe Prince
