Cyberbullying is a term you come across very often in your daily lives. It is often termed as cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. Cyberbullying, however, occurs mostly among kids – teens, and pre-teens. It happens when someone sends, posts or shares harmful, insulting or negative content about another person. Cyberbullying usually occurs in Instant messaging apps, SMS (Short Message Service), social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat . The Cyberbullying Research Center provides data that shows the number of people who faced it at some point in their lives was 18% in 2007 and 34% in 2017 – almost double. Another survey claims that 15% High school students and 24% Middle school students are victims of cyberbullying. In this age of digital media, kids cannot stay away from technology. But parent’s must acquaint themselves with the cyber world and warn their children.

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How can it affect kids?

Cyberbullying has a strong effect on children since the victim knows that the social media platforms are open to the entire world.
• Staying away from family and spending most of their time with their phones or laptops.
• Suffering from low self-esteem.
• A drastic change in personality like anger, depression etc.
• Sudden loss of weight or appearance.
• Trying to harm themselves physically.
• Substance abuse.
• Sudden deterioration in school grades and performance.

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What can you do to help as a parent?
As a parent, you have a critical role to play. Here are 3 ways to stop cyberbullying that might affect your child.

Prevention
Teaching your child how to keep himself safe and away from cyberbullying

Identifying Cyberbullying
Help your children identify cyberbullying.

Helping victims cope with it
Providing your kids constant support and encouragement to get over cyberbullying.

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Here are some online safety tips that might help parents to understand cyberbullying:
• Be a friend to your pre-teen or teenager, make them comfortable enough so that they can discuss all their issues with you.
• Tell them about some experience of bullying that you faced so that they understand that you truly empathize with them.
• Before meeting up with school authorities and reporting the problem, observe everything and document it well. Take screenshots of hateful messages or posts. Also, document your child’s description of any incident involving cyberbullying.
• If you are monitoring your child’s online activities, it is best, to be honest about it and tell them.
• Help your children understand the online world better by reminding them that nothing is private out there. Teach them about social media etiquettes, such as to think before they post and also how to handle communication with people whom they have never met.
• Teach your kids that it is neither healthy nor good manners to be engaged with your phone. Children must learn to keep their phones away at the dinner table, or when you are having a conversation with your children. Stress on the importance of face to face conversations.
• To save your teen from bullying, block the bully and limit your child’s internet access for at least a little while.
• Ask them to never share the password, even with close friends.
• Finally, if your child is suffering, take help from a professional psychiatrist. Support him/her through all the sessions and keep motivating them.
Cyberbullying has already created a ripple across the world. It is now your responsibility as a parent to spread awareness and stop it.

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