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Loading...Cyber Bullying: A Dangerous Trend
- Megan Zehnder
- March 10, 2010
- 11:07 am
- 87 comments
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The effects of cyber bullying are far-reaching and sometimes deadly. Kids feel more empowered to be as mean as they want because the words are not spoken but instead are typed. With just a click, the attacker can post or send harassing and threatening information to multiple people. Also troubling, the attacks can be anonymous if the aggressor chooses to make a false email address or profile. Attacks can also seem inescapable, and as a result have led to far too many suicides.
Teachers and parents need to educate themselves on this topic and communicate with their children about all types of bullying. Parents can find resources online, and can take many precautionary measures to protect their children from cyber bullying.
Parents should monitor their children’s use of the Internet and phone. Both parents and teachers need to educate students on the steps that can be taken if they are being cyber bullied. Ensuring there is an open line of communication will enable children to confide in adults with these issues. Victims should not react to an attack but take on preventative measures to prohibit another attack from taking place. Kids can block a bully from their buddy list on certain social networking sites and tell an adult about the incident. Also, kids need to be more discreet when it comes to sharing information via digital devices. They need to ask themselves if they would be embarrassed if the contents of their message reached someone other than the intended recipient.
Coming together as educators and parents is necessary when it comes to battling the war against cyber bullying. There are numerous online resources available that can educate you on this topic. As technology becomes more prominent in our lives, it is important that this growing epidemic is addressed so no more children suffer at the hands of cyber bullies.
Judith Gulan is a DePaul University graduate student studying Elementary Education.
Resources:
http://www.ncpc.org/topics/cyberbullying
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
Read more Care2 articles on bullying:
Turning the Tables on the School Bully
Sticks and Stones Can Break My Bones, Cyberbullying Can Potentially Kill
and sign this pledge to end Cyber Bullying today!
Video by Helen and Nick Lazaris:
Do you have any experiences with cyber bullying? Did you find any particular tactics effective in combating the attacks?
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Read more: Children, Community, Do Good, Family, General Health, Healthy Schools, Life, cyber bullying, internet communication
Megan Zehnder
Megan is an editor and producer for Care2's Healthy Living. Her main priorities are to live simply and build meaningful relationships with the people in her life. She loves to write and talk about environmental issues, healthy living, and women's rights. Beyond that, her interests change daily, but eating and cooking vegetarian food is always a favorite.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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87 comments
+ add your ownExcellent article.
exclusion and torument is part of peoples cultures, but when done here to peers it is a crime.
after we fix this, we must abolish(BY FORCE) any nation or culture with caste systems. who snub the sick and deformed, and kill people who they think are witches.
this is a good thing. it is a necessary sacrifice. no mater how it is done.
won't the world be better?
and what if some people deserve to be bullied? won't you all be happy if some dimwit who is into bestiality was tormented to death?
what about all you/the animal rights people who "want to hunt humans" all you misanthropes "there are to many of us, kill some, only let some people have 1 child, Mother Earth is suffering"
you can't have both.
to those people, bullies may be heros. if making 40 people snuff them-self saves a rain forest, 40,000 cows, 1,000,000,210 fish and cuts down on 40 tons of garbage
"necessary sacrifice"
it's a shame this cannot be applied to ware fare.
if tyrants were able to be "assassinated" by a few words
I also think that, among teenagers, the response should be even more severe--particularly when their cyberbullying results in their victim committing suicide. People aged 16 and older, and perhaps even those as young as 14, are beginning to be faced with real world issues--and at that age tend to be faced with more adult treatment. So why shouldn't they be given adult consequences with this sort of thing? Yes, 15 might sound a bit young, but they're approaching adulthood--and if we don't give them the "welcome to the real world" now, when are we?
This sort of bullying needs more attention. There is something about anonymity that opens the door to meanness. Wouldn't it be great if we were more apt to show acts of anonymous kindness? As another article says, the key is in the model that's seen all around us. As adults and parents, how do we handle anger? How do we show forgiveness? How often do we perform acts of kindness?
As if bullying isn't enough now there's cyber bullying! When is it going to end? Not until people GROW UP!
Thank you for the article!
thanks for the article
This is a sad situation but it can be dealt with and doesn't have to end tragically. Parents need to just get less busy and more involved. Parenthood doesn't stop at birth.
How did the children learn to be so hateful. It's scary cause when they grow up is this bullyong behavior gonna continue. It needs to be stopped.
I'm a teacher and have recently been informed of cyber-bullying being concentrated on a particular student. Thanks for the suggestions on how to deal with it.
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