Cyber Bullying is A Growing Problem in the Online Community
Posted by admin
The presence of online sexual predators has been receiving national attention for years, but a recent trend of online bullying is starting to spread throughout the country. A number of media stories have raised awareness about the devastating affect this abuse is having on young children, in some cases even leading to suicide. The younger generations in our society have access to a plethora of social networking sites. MySpace, Facebook, and AOL Instant Messenger are all mediums for kids and teens to communicate with each other. These sites can be great tools for sharing ideas and staying in touch, and while this usually starts as a harmless activity, when unsupervised, these sites can also be used to abuse and humiliate one another. A 2004 survey conducted by I-Safe.org reported that of 1,500 kids in grades 4-8, 42 had been bullied while online and 35 had been threatened while on the internet. One of the reasons this is becoming such a widespread problem is because of the anonymity a bully can hide behind. Unlike face-to-face bullying, there is no immediate risk of physical retaliation by the victim. There is also the problem of a lack of supervision by parents of their children’s online activity. Furthermore, because this is a generation that has grown up using the internet, they may actually know more about it than their parents, making it easier to get around restrictions. Discussing the consequences and effects of cyber bullying is one way to prevent your child from being either a victim or perpetrator of this type of abuse. Many Internet companies are now coming out with more advanced ways for parents to monitor and regulate what sites their children visit. Limiting time spent online is another preventer of cyber violence. Most importantly be aware of the signs of this issue and know what steps to take if you suspect your child of being on either end of cyber bullying.