Cyberbullying and how you can help your child

Did you know that one in five Australian children between the age of 8 - 15 experiences cyberbullying at some point? This is the devastating result of a UNSW Social Research Policy Centre study.

Bullying is a serious offence that can lead victims to physical and mental stress, anxiety, depression and even suicide.

The internet and social media elevate bullying to another level that is commonly referred to as cyberbullying.

Our modern communication technologies enable impersonalised, anonymous, quick and easy forms of cyberbullying, which have caused forms of harassment and slander to become more extreme and damaging.

Reach Out (reach out.com) summarised what cyberbullying can do to you

Feeling guilty like it’s your fault.
Feeling hopeless.
Feeling alone like there is no one to help.
Feeling as if you don’t fit in.
Feeling depressed.
Feeling unsafe and afraid.
Stressed out wondering what to do and why this is happening to you.

The Harvard Medical School published an article on the troubling correlation between cyberbullying and youth suicide. Television celebrity Charlotte Dawson’s suicide is one of the most famous and sad cases of how a cyberbullying story can end.

As you don’t have much control over your child’s online activities you might want to ensure that he/she neither bullies other people nor gets bullied himself/herself.

Go through the following with your child and make sure he/she understands everything.

The Australian Human Rights Commission states to stay safe from bullies online one should:

Not share your private information like passwords, name and address, phone numbers with people you don’t know. This can also include sharing of photos of yourself, your friends and your family.
Not respond to messages when you are angry or hurt - either to strangers and also to people you know. This will often encourage them to continue or increase their harassment of you.
Log out and stop messaging if you feel you are being harassed.
Remember you have the option to block, delete and report anyone who is harassing you online and on your mobile.
Find out how to report bullying and harassment on each of the different social networks that you use.
Keep a record of calls, messages, posts and emails that may be hurtful or harmful to you.
Remember to set up the privacy options on your social networking sites like Facebook in a way you are comfortable with.

Cyberbullying.org published the following tips for parents: