Cyber-bullying has in the past ten years, evolved in to a very serious issue, for young persons, for parents, for teachers and for state services. Cyber-bullying is defined as the use of electronic communication to bully a person, usually by sending messages which are intimidating or threatening to another person.
From looking at statistics at http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html it can be shown that Cyber-bullying is more of a problem among teenagers. Cyber-bullying can take many different forms. Unlike standard bullying, it can affect its victims anywhere and anytime. The victim may not know who is sending the abusive or threatening messages.
The forms of Cyber-bullying can include
- sending mean or threatening messages to a persons email/mobile telephone
- spreading rumours online or via text messages
- posting hurtful or threatening messages on social media sites e.g. Facebook,Twitter,snapchat etc.
- stealing a persons account in order to send abusive or threatening messages
- pretending to be someone else to hurt another person online.
According to Cyber-bullying statistics gathered in America from the I-Safe Foundation, over half of teenagers or adolescents have experienced online bullying and about the same percentage have also admitted to having engaged in cyber-bullying to any degree. The study found that at least 1 in three teens or adolescents have received cyber threats online. A worrying statistic revealed by the research of the I-Safe Foundation was that well over 50% of young victims do not inform their parents that they are or have been bullied online and instead have suffered in silence.
There are many avenues open today to assist parents, adolescents and teachers to reduce the rate of cyber-bullying
- Talks can be given to teenagers to explain the impact of cyber-bullying and by explaining the serious consequences of cyber-bullying for both victims and perpetrators.
- Encourage victims to open up and tell parents or appropriate adults about their problem.
- Teens should retain the offending messages as proof and show them to their parents.
- Efforts should be made to block the sender of the offensive messages by changing account details etc.
- Teenagers and all users online should keep their online passwords private and only divulge to their parents.
- All online users should not upload any information which they would not to be made public knowledge.
- Teenagers should not have access to online activity in private spaces at home but only in open family space in the home.
- Parents should supervise teenagers online activity and limit the level of access to adult sites with locks etc.
In respect of this last point, Primary and second level schools in Ireland were recently issued advice from the Irish government to look at the issue o students being denied access to smart phones etc at school.
This area of the debate on cyber-bullying may prove very contentious and we await further developments.https://www.webwise.ie/parents/ask-fm-a-guide-for-parents-and-teachers-2/https:
Really good insight into this growing problem Thomas. Not just in Ireland, but worldwide. Cyber bullying should definitely be taken more seriously. Some of the statistics shocked me to be honest. For example 1 in three teens or adolescents have received cyber threats online. People need to be more aware that it can also lead to certain disastrous implications like suicide or depression. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to reading the rest.
ReplyDeleteExcellent take on the devastation that is cyber bullying. Many sites are still up and running that have led young people to suicide and this is a disgrace. Fair that websites should never let 'mean comments' affect them but if it goes so far as risking someone's life it's a serious matter. You definitely put notice to this in your post and I think it is something that needs to be more recognised and taken care of so I enjoy your attention to the subject.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Thomas. This can be a very sensitive topic and you conveyed your points in a nice manner. From reading your post, more people need to be talking to their parents if they are being cyber bullied, and as you said parents and users can be made aware of how to deal with the issue.
ReplyDeleteVery Interesting topic choice. I think this is a very big problem in our society today where social media is such a big part of our day to day lives. I think of a lot of parents are unaware of what can be said and done on these sites and it is a matter that should be brought to their attention. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think that it's a very interesting topic yet challenging as cyber- bullying is becoming a very big problem. In today's society internet is one of the most important things to have, everyone is on it, our information is visible to anyone and unfortunately a lot of people can take advantage of it. People feel stronger and have more courage to bring someone down when they're sitting behind a monitor. Again, very nice blog post!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. As much as I adore the internet I admit it can be a very toxic place. I don't know if trying to keep access to smartphones restricted from youths would work though. Teens like to have technology and people can still get bullied in school. I think people should teach teens to screenshot harassment and keep records to give over to the police if it serious enough. Cyberbullying can go pretty far and if people are leaving hateful messages online you can capture and use to press charges, they'd think twice before using technology for such as petty reason.
ReplyDelete