There is no stranger, stronger, or more frightening epidemic streaking throughout the social world right now than bullying. Bullying has been an issue since the dawn of time. It is an act of antagonism that puts one person above the other with the sole intent of dominance and intentional hurting. For the longest time, the conventional bully would exist only on the playground or in school halls. Now, there are computers, cellphones, and video games everywhere and bullies have new avenues to reach the hearts and heads of your child. The following are some cyberbullying tips to help you deal with the situation. 

|SEE ALSO: Ten Internet Safety Tips to Avert Cyberbullying|

Statistics and tips show that cyberbullying is a prevalent issue that needs to be addressed. For more on such statistics and facts, read our article Cyberbullying Facts. Let’s delve into what a cyber bully is, what they do, tips for kids, and tips to prevent the act from becoming prevalent in your own life.

Cyberbullying is Not to Be Ignored

When people look for cyberbullying tips, they find conflicting information. Some misinformed sources believe that cyberbullying is just another ‘thing that kids do’. This is not correct at all. Ignoring cyberbullying is one of the worst things you can do as a parent. Ignoring cyberbullying safety tips will just put your child, or the victim regardless of age, at more risk. So before we delve any deeper into the tips to stop cyberbullying, you must first acknowledge this fact: Cyberbullying is a serious issue!

What Is Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a new twist on an old act of terrorism. In conventional bullying, you will see an antagonist make someone’s life miserable solely because they want to. This can include verbal threats, harassment, and mockery. In severe cases, this bullying can even turn physical. In these situations, you will see a bully lay hands on his or her victim in order to physically hurt or intimidate them. When this was the only sort of bullying around, it was a little bit easier to disengage and get out of the situation. After all, a child could simply go home or to an authoritative figure to deal with their bully. Cyberbullying has made it to where there is no freedom from the terrorizing figure.

Cyberbullying exists in the digital plane. It is the act of harassment, mockery, and cruelty put forth via computers, telephones, and other digital platforms. This kind of bullying is ultra-popular on social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook. A bully in these situations can cause a lot of emotional pain by broadcasting their bullying to the world. This cyber stage gives the bully more people to be mean in front of, which can cause the horrors of the victim to be compounded. This article on DeleteCyberBullying.org discusses why people cyberbully.

Tips for Identifying Cyberbullying

The traits of someone who has fallen victim to cyberbullying can vary. There are no hard and fast signs or symptoms that you can use to diagnose your child. There are a few behaviours, however, that are more common. Let’s look at some signs of bullying abuse in the digital realm.

  • Do you find that your child is typically reclusive, upset, or otherwise bothered after using a computer or telephone? This could be played out by a red face, irritability, depression, or even his or her own brand of antagonism.
  • Do you find your child spends way too much time online and is always typing away, presumably chatting with people? They could be defending themselves online by fighting their bully.
  • Is your child typically depressed whenever he or she is dealing with technology?

Tips on How to Stop Cyberbullying

Now that you have identified that cyberbullying is occurring in your child’s life, it is time to make sure that it stops. There is no time when you will feel more raw and angry than when you see just how awful children are behaving towards your child. This could become a difficult stage for you to progress through, but it is imperative that you keep a level head. For those that need them, here are some tips on how to stop bullying:

  1. One of our first tips on cyberbullying is to come to the rescue of your child. Your child may feel embarrassed because of the way they are being treated. They may not want to ask for help or show you the hurtful things that are happening. By pushing the issue and showing them that you are there, you have gone a long way towards helping them already.
  2. The next step that you need to take is to cut off wherever the cyberbullying is coming from. If they are getting bombarded on Facebook, for example, then have them log off and quit using it. Don’t delete the page or the bullying comments, though.
  3. Now that you’ve removed your child from the immediacy of their bullying tormentors, you can start to make a plan to fix it for good. If the bullying in this situation occurred online, you should have some sort of history. Find the bullying evidence and then print out copies of it for your records. You will need these later as the case progresses.
  4. You should have your child in a calmer state of mind, now that they have been removed from immediate contact with the bully. You also have a host of evidence of the bully’s actions. Now take this information to the figurehead in charge of your children. The principal, or HR department, should take down your concerns and begin to help you on the long road to resolution.
  5. Finally, you should always be ready to file a police report. Bullying is one of the leading causes of suicide among young adults and it is definitely not something to be brushed aside. In the rare scenario that the school refuses to act, you can push the case forward to law enforcement.

If you want to read more about reporting cyberbullies, read our article Learn How to Report Cyber Bullying.

Resolution

Hopefully, you will have pushed the cyberbullying issues out of your child’s life by this point. They should not have to live in or deal with such terror in their day-to-day lives. Bullying in any shape or form is a degenerative act that slowly erodes a person’s mental and physical well-being.