This post's topic is centered around cyber bullying, known as the act of adolescents bullying other teens through online harassment and humiliation. Bullying itself has started to become more prominent within America; cyber bullying even more so. CHildren who are bullied can suffer from low self-esteem, poor academic scores, and an unwillingness to attend school. Cyber bullying is different from physical bullying in the sense that it can happen at any time, some times anonymously. Adolescents can be harassed through texts, email, and social media sites such as Facebook and Ask.fm.
Cyber bullying is linked to many things, one being suicide. Rebecca Sedwick, a young pre-teen girl raised in FL, committed suicide after being bullied online and in real life for over a year by multiple girls. She was mainly bullied by two girls; ages 12 and 14. The bullies were instantly arrested once one of them had made a Facebook post bragging about harassing Rebecca after she found out Rebecca had taken her own life.
In such a tragedy, I think it is very important to look at the parents of the bullies, their environment, and their upbringing. Parents provide examples for children in what is acceptable and what is not. One of the bullies stepmother, Vivian Vosburg, was arrested for child abuse and neglect shortly after her daughter was detained once several community members sent the police department an online video of her repeatedly punching her sons.
When Sheriff Judd examined the video he found that "They were all laughing, cussing and throwing F-bombs everywhere, which clearly indicates to us that this is a normal way of life."
There are many preventative programs happening all over the country to combat bullying. October happens to be Bullying Awareness Prevention month and many schools have started bullying prevention programs. Due to the amount of suicides occurring because of bullying, the government has gotten involved as well by funding schools to promote positive environments and relationships. In my opinion, bullying prevention needs to be more local at home and in schools. Parents should talk to their children about bullying and the consequences of it and teachers should be more watchful in hallways and lunch breaks to prevent physical bullying acts. More authoritative adult supervision is need in schools during social settings. When it comes to cyber bullying, it is very hard to catch which makes it easier. It may be beneficial for social media moguls to promote reporting cyber bullying or students to face school discipline when caught bullying online.
Prevention Tips
What are some suggestions to help curve cyber bullying?
Have you ever been bullied?
I have never been in a bullying situation myself but I think a really good prevention technique to combat cyber bullying are parents. Since kids have access to social media so early in life now it is imperative for parents to keep a watchful eye out for what their kids are posting as well as what their friends are send to them. I think the word "privacy" has been stretched entirely too wide. I do not understand why a 12 year old has a facebook page or a twitter, that never made sense to me just because I feel they are still children. However that is the world we live in and parents need to have a more active role in their kids internet use. Kids also need to be involved in what their peers are saying. If they held each other accountable then they would be better prepared to fight it.
ReplyDeleteI think bullying is so sad. I don't understand why people (especially young children) have the need to make someone else's life miserable. Parents really need to monitor their children on what they are doing on the Internet. Something drastic needs to be done because young people are committing suicide because of bullying. I also agree that sometimes, children are neglected and don't feel any love from their parents so they have to take their attention somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI think Bullying Awareness month should be every month. The attention shouldn't be brought on this topic just to that one month. It should always be monitored. Besides parents monitoring their children's internet, it is really hard to diminish the chances of them cyberbullying or being cyberbullied. If they can do anything, I would say they should set ground rules and punishments if they are using their internet privilege in a negative way, and explain why they are in trouble. I have been bullied and cyberbullied, and as a victim, I understand how hard it is to seek help over something that seems like nothing.
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