With online education becoming the norm, teenagers now are more in ‘contact’ with the online world than ever. A survey conducted in the United States indicates that teenagers are moving from using the ‘additional’ source of information to the ‘primary and essential’ mode. In fact, with 95% of teens connected to the Internet, the shift is more on ‘online communication’ than face-to-face communication. While this has its rewards, the ‘harms’ caused are hard to ignore too.
At KPS- one of the top CBSE school in Sahibabad Ghaziabad, this issue remains our area of focus too. While there are increasing chances of students returning to classrooms soon, we cannot let them silently fall prey to the work of cyberbullying and Internet harassment.
What Do We Mean By Cybercrime Incidents?
Cyberbullying refers to the incidents of bullying using digital technologies. Such incidents can occur on social media using messaging platforms and also on gaming platforms or mobile phones. This takes place due to recurrent behavior to scare, frighten, or shame the targeted people. Examples include:
There is a significant rise in reporting of incidents related to bullying, harassment, invasion, fear, and violence these days. Children can also become a victim of child pornography and cyberstalking- two of the most common examples of cyber-crimes related to children. The idea is not to scare students and parents, but to help them identify some of the best strategies to deal with and avert such unwanted situations. But before we discuss these strategies in detail, let’s first explore the effects of cyberbullying.
Effects Of Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can affect the mental health of an adolescent. Various studies done in this field indicate that cyberbullying resulted in feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and insomnia. On the external front, it led to the incidents of substance use and crime.
Whom To Talk To When You Are Being Cyberbullied?
If you think you or someone you know is being bullied, the first step is to seek help from a trustworthy person such as your parents, a close family member, or any other adult you can trust. If this is happening in school, you can reach out to a counselor or the sports coach, or your favorite teacher. If you are experiencing bullying on a social platform, you may even consider blocking the bully reporting their behavior on the platform itself. Do you know it is a social media company’s responsibility that their users are safe while using social media? For any emergency, you can immediately contact the police or emergency services in the country.
How To Stop Cyberbullying?
Your online presence has risks and rewards too! If you are experiencing cyberbullying, you may consider deleting certain unwanted apps or stay offline for a while unless you fully recover from its impact.
Though not using the Internet may not be a long-term solution, but you may get time to contemplate your next move such as getting in touch with an elder, counselor or reporting the crime to the social media account you are using.
Also Read: Steps to help kids to find a balance and purpose in life
Are There Any Anti-bullying Tools To Deal With Cyberbullying?
Almost every social media that you use provides a tool to restrict those who can comment on your posts or connect with you. Alternatively, you can even report the cases of bullying to them. Some simple steps include blocking, muting, or reporting the bully. It is important you do some research about the tools and techniques to prevent cyberbullying in teens.
You Are Your Best Defense Against Cyberbullying
Don’t shy away if you are being cyberbullied. Raise your voice, block the people, report them and talk to people around. You can even create awareness around cyberbullying to help those, who may be suffering in silence.
At KPS- one of the Best International Schools in Ghaziabad, we take our student’s safety quite seriously. We have an educated and informed team of teachers, counselors who are ready to help students all the time. If you are being cyberbullied by other students, you need to immediately report this to your school. You have the right to justice and respect. Just know how to exercise it well.
