Are your kids getting bullied while online, probably so! When we were kids, our parents only had to worry about bullies in our own school. Today, parents better watch out and stay vigilant to how their kids interact and behave while online. The bad part is these bullies are very hard to find! You will have to sharpen your "cyberspace" savvy and use technology to catch these bandits!
In one article, two phychologists recommended that “Parents need to know that when school ends, your children are not free from the danger of online predators (Cohn & Canter).” If your kids have cell phones, home computers, access to online chat rooms at school or at the local coffee shop that they attend at lunch time, they are at danger. They are either being bullied, know someone that is being bullied or are acting as a bully on line.
Do you remember the fatal story of a girl who hung herself over a boy that never existed? Well, let me remind you of it and bring this topic back to real life. According to a news report, “In 2006, 13-year-old Megan Taylor Meier opened up a Myspace account. Shortly after activating, she received a friend request from a boy named Josh. They began to exchange messages, and quickly became online friends. Family and friends reported that Meier had been feeling depressed, but it was accredited to typical teenage stress. When she started messaging Josh, her spirits were lifted.
However, in October of 2006, Josh sent a message to Meier that had a significantly different tone: “I don’t know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I’ve heard that you are not very nice to your friends.” Hurtful bulletins and public posts were made about her. Josh sent Meier another message saying “You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a bad rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.” Meier replied, “You’re the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over.” Her body was found twenty minutes later, suicide by hanging in her bedroom closet only three weeks before her fourteenth birthday (Martel & Grace).”
I have children that are very computer savvy and while I have conducted the research for this article, I know that I must make changes to "computer time" in my household. I recommend to those of you who have children or know someone that does, become aware of your child's internet exposure and habits before a life changing event occurs right beneath your eyes!
Sources:
Cohn, Andrea & Canter, Andrea Ph.D., NCSP National Association of School Psychologists, Bullying: Facts for Schools and Parents, http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/bullying_fs.aspx
Kaleighrae44, Glogster.Com, http://kaleighrae44.glogster.com/
Martell, Bradford & Grace, Brad, PearAwareness.Com, Cyber Bullying, http://www.peerawareness.com/services/cyber-bullying/
1 comment:
I agree parents need to be aware of what their children are doing on the internet. The parents of the bullies and the bullied. I am a friend on my daughters facebook page and some of her friends pages and try to check it daily or every few days. This does not monitor chatting but does help. I would hope if someone was to bully my child on facebook they would be blocked from her page. Parents need to keep theirs eyes and ears open at all times to keep our children safe. Are there other ways to help protect our children from online bullying?
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