Technological
advancements of the 21st century have added convenience in our world
in a multitude of ways. With the use of the internet, friends, family and
customers on the other side of the country and the other side of the world are
able to communicate or transfer information with relative ease. With the
invention of social media, millions of people communicate and share everything
from helpful tips on cooking and auto repairs to personal matters such as
infection of venereal diseases, extramarital affairs and employee
dissatisfaction. Many people communicate about very private matters openly and
with little forethought. In many cases the actions of others (thought to
private or for public consumption) whether innocent or otherwise comes with
great consequences.
Prior to the 21st century and the
invention of social media, bullies were once thought to be dull brained fear
mongers whose sole reason for existing was to strike fear into individuals they
viewed as easy targets. The harmful effects of bullying cannot be overstated.
Reports of bullying in the 1990s showed that, in extreme cases, victims may
face shooting or severe beatings and may even turn to suicide (Rigby and Slee,
1999). The National Association of African American Studies reports that An American Justice Department study shows 1 in 4 youths are bullied.
Thirty percent (30%) of U.S. students in grades six through ten are involved in
moderate or frequent bullying — as bullies, as victims, or as both (2004).
In the 21st century bullies has taken to the
internet as cyber bullies. The National Crime Prevention Center suggests more
than half of students report being bullied online and as many have bullied
others. Cyber bullying is especially alarming since the bully is in most cases
able to makes threats or derogatory comments to their victims with anonymity. The
effects of cyber bullying as with any other kind of bullying has long term
implications on the development of children and their psyche. In the short term
however, many bully victims (25%) indicate they have been threatened or
harassed over their cell phones or the internet repeatedly. Some 160,000
students report feeling anxious about attending school following an incident of
cyber bullying and fail to report to school. Incidents of cyber bullying have
no boundaries. People of all races, backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses are
susceptible to being victims of bullying.
The
alarming rate of incidents of cyber bullying has caused parents to ask for
stricter laws protecting children. A concern however, only 1 out of every five
cases of cyber bullying is actually reported to authorities and in some cases
parents are unaware that their child has been victimized. Evidence has shown
that many victims of cyber bullying are hyper-networking teens, those are individuals
that spend 3 hours or more per day on social media. Hyper-networkers are 110%
more likely to be victimized than children that are not online nearly as much.
The
best measure a parent can take to prevent or minimize incidents of cyber
bullying is to be active in the lives of their children. Work to be someone a
child can feel comfortable turning to when incidents occur. Limit access to the
internet and in particular, social media. Invite friends over, understanding
them, their behaviors and attitudes. Stay informed about aspects of a child’s
life outside of school. Keep an open dialogue with school officials, teachers
and other parents. Nothing can prevent bullying, but the more a parent knows
the better equipped they’ll be at addressing it when it occurs.
References:
2006 Harris Interactive Cyberbullying Research Report,
commissioned by the National Crime Prevention
Council. Retrieved: www.ncpc.org.
Rigby, K and Slee, P. (1999). Vol. 29 Iss. 2. Suicidal Ideation
among Adolescent School Children, Involvement in Bullying-Victim Problems and
Perceived Social Support. The American
Association of Suicidology.
I think your last paragraph sums things well. The key is to be proactive rather than reactive. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dr. W.
DeleteHumble Bee,you write, "The best measure a parent can take to prevent or minimize incidents of cyber bullying is to be active in the lives of their children," and I cannot agree more. As a school administrator, I have been dealing with the effects of cyberbullying for years now. The only common denominator I have been able to identify is that most of the victims' parents had NO idea what was going on. Worse, most of the parents didn't have a clue that their children were even on social networks. I realize that having informed and active parents is not a guarantee that a child will not be cyberbullied. However, if I were a potential cyberbully, I would sure think twice about posting hurtful posts against a child whose parent was either a friend (FB) or follower (Instagram). Cyberbullying certainly is a bi-produce of the "flattened" world, but so are the many protective softwares that allow parents to monitor their children's online activity. For example, many of the parents at our school have software that filter their children's social networking/email through their own email. I guess our job as educational leaders is to educate and train parents on these protective measures, just like we would for any other type of new danger or trend.
ReplyDeleteI read, your post and I agree as well. From personal experience, I was not aware that my son was on Facebook and I consider myself to being very involved in the lives of my children.Thanks for you input.
DeleteAs a 55 year-old person, I have never been cyber bullied that I am aware of. It could be that I don't really know what cyber bullying is, or folks my age do not cyber bully, or I'm overly thick-skinned (certainly my wife's view). Is cyber bullying related only to the young millenials, or to teenagers, or to pre-teens. I've read of suicides committed after breaches from illegally obtained video or from someone, for example, being outed. I can only imagine the hurt. So, I can understand bullying such as this. I can also understand that bullying between Facebook friends totalling in the hundreds creating an invasive, multiplier effect. What I don't understand - and please share if you have the info - is whether the issue is really just bullying writ large or whether we as a society are attempting to manage-away the normal affronts, for example, that teenagers do between teenagers. I'm not meaning to be provocative, only to understand. Interesting read. Thnanks. Best, Rope
ReplyDeleteRope, I am not certain of why teens bully and I would certainly imagine incidents of bullying are far less frequent for adults. I think many people use social networking, texting, emails etc to do most of their heavy lifting because of cowardice. I'm 40 years old and the thought of breaking up with someone via text message seems cold, callous and downright asinine yet it is relatively common amongst millenials. Cyberbullying is merely an opportunity to engage in cowardice acts and hide behind a user ID or an Avatar.
Delete