What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying refers to the use of technology and digital communication tools such as Facebook, Instagram, Blogs, etc., to harass, scare, threaten or target another person. With the increasing use of digital platforms in this era of technology, the number of cases of cyberbullying is also increasing tremendously.
Cyberbullying includes texts, photos, messages, videos, tweets, etc., that are posted online and are meant to hurt others. It also includes refusing to take down that information even if the associated person has asked to do so. As the material posted online is permanent, cyberbullying is more disturbing than traditional bullying.
Even if the post is removed or deleted, the chances that someone has saved it are very high. Therefore the effects of cyberbullying are often more significant.
Many people can suffer from cyberbullying and cybercrime, but they cannot share it with anyone. But, it is mandatory to reach out for help or file a complaint. And, if you have not been in that position, follow precautions so that you do not fall into the trap of cybercrime or cyberbullying.
Kids are using the digital platform now more than ever. And in these times of COVID, when even the school has moved online and are giving online lectures that can be downloaded using 4Hub.net linked here, however, the cases of cyberbullying are continuously increasing.
Teenagers use various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. They are even using them to bully others. Social media platforms are often used to bully a person in a variety of ways.
The Most Common Ones Include:-
- Posting insulting comments or rumors, embarrassing information, or threat about someone.
- Making a fake account of someone and posting racist, sexist things from that account or hacking the password and changing someone’s online profile.
- Creating a humiliating or insulting video and sharing it online.
- Conducting a poll about someone online, which includes mean questions or making a website or blog to bully someone.
- Posting someone’s private picture or information online, which can put them in danger.
Cyberbullying victims experience psychological as well as emotional trauma. They often fear and have complaints of anxiety and depression. The victim often suffers from low self-esteem and feels unsafe and difficult to communicate and connect with others. One can take various preventive measures to protect oneself and their peers, especially kids and teens, from cyberbullying.
One can use various privacy tools available on every platform. These tools keep your posts private and enable you to withhold permission for sharing your content.
If you have a unique and strong password and change it regularly, it will prevent someone from hacking your account. You should avoid sharing personal information online and teach your kid the same. Always log out all your accounts when you use a public computer.
What Can Parents Do?
These measures can prevent cyberbullying to some extent. But cyberbullying is often seen among teenagers who have just started using these online platforms. Thus teaching them about it and keeping a check on them regularly is very important.
Restricting the child’s digital access won’t prevent them from being bullied, but instead, educating them about it and how to report and handle it if it occurs would certainly help, like tell them why it is significant to keep their status and other things private or to respect others privacy, or why they should not talk to strangers on social media platforms, or trust anyone.
As a parent, if your child uses digital media, protecting his privacy becomes extremely important. You have control over the personal information companies collect from your child. There are two types of privacy when you are online.
Personal privacy refers to the kid’s online reputation, while consumer privacy refers to the information and data collected by the companies online. Protecting both types of privacy is the foremost step towards protecting your child from online bullying. You can protect your personal information by implementing a few simple steps.
The first step you can take is to use strict privacy settings on websites and in applications. Teach your kid to change the privacy settings whenever he/she gets a new device or signs up for a new app or website.
Either you can avoid giving personal information during the initial setup of the device or website, or you can change the privacy settings and disable sharing personal information such as location, phone number, address, etc. You can also disable sharing of your posts while using social media platforms.
Although it is not possible to read huge files of terms and conditions each time, it is important to educate your kids on such contractual terms and conditions.
Teaching your kids about what information they are sharing while engaging online is very crucial. Educate your kids about online etiquettes and sharing only relevant things online. Teach them about online privacy and how someone can misuse the information they provide and share.
Apart from teaching them about their privacy and the relevance of the information they share, make them aware of their rights and steps they can take if they are ever bullied online.
Communicate freely with them about this topic so that they can trust and share things with you if they ever have trouble while using online platforms. Keeping an open dialogue with them is the most effective way to deal with cyberbullying and protecting their privacy online.
Conclusion
These are some ideas you can follow to stay safe in the era of cybercrime and cyberbullying. If you are a parent or friend, and someone comes to you with their problem, please do not get mad at them; listen to their issue. Stand with them, help them out and be supportive.
Because if the victim does not have anyone to share their problems with, things can only worsen. Some support and a helping hand can go a long way to help out a victim of cyberbullying.
Hope this article gave you valuable insights and helped you solve your problem. Read more such articles, go through our page, and let us know your views in the comment section. Happy reading!
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