Effects of Cyberbullying- Awareness and Prevention with SecureTeen

Bullying, no matter traditional or cyber, is dangerous for people of any age. Everyone who is bullied at one point or another feels distressed and alone. Since it has increased with the rise in internet technology, it is affecting our kids at an intense level. The moment they start using the internet, all their excitement vanishes when they face rude and hurtful comments. Because of their highly impulsive and emotional state, they tend to face a bigger impact.

The negative effects of cyberbullying are disastrous in so many ways. It is literary disturbing the psychological peace of kids and making them alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cyberbullying affects 16% of all the high school students. Also, surveys were conducted where the students from 12-18 age reported that they were bullied at least twice a month.

Recent statistics showed that:

• 20% of the students reported that they were reluctant to go to school because of cyberbullying.
• 3% reported a direct attempt at suicide because of cyberbullying.
• 5% showed self-harming behavior.
• Young people are seen being bullied on FB more than any other social platform.
• 28% have reported cyberbullying on Twitter
• 36% of young people have told that they faced cyberbullying on Ask.fm

Effects of Cyberbullying- Noticeable by Parents

If you are worried that your child is behaving differently these days and there is something going on with them, you can look into these changes. If they are expressing these behavioral changes, then cyberbullying is the reason. Following are the signs that show how badly cyberbullying affects a kid:

• Their self-esteem keeps on reducing. They don’t feel worthy or important. They think that they aren’t capable of doing anything good.
• They have started spending a lot of time alone and lesser time with family.
• Whenever you try to look in to or even touch their mobile, they show reluctance.
• They find excuses not to go to school.
• They hardly agree to go to a social event. Most of the time they just don’t to confront any of their friends. As a result of this, their friends’ circle is reduced.
• They have started losing a lot of weight.
• They are doing things to change their appearance and style to fit into society. Every day they are changing themselves.
• There are fresh marks on their skin or they have just started wearing full-body covered clothes to hide any self-harm marks.
• There has been a big change in their personality. They are shy now and have started showing a lot of anger.
• They will often feel like they are exposed. They become more vulnerable than ever. That’s why they start hiding even the smallest stuff to save the embarrassment.
• They show no interest in their studies anymore. They lose their passion for success and better achievements.
• You might find dangerous weapons or tools in their rooms that show their self-harming behavior.

Know more about the short term and long term effects of cyberbullying on the victim and the bully. Once you are sure your child is being bullied by someone online, there are some things that you need to do immediately.

How Do You Support Someone Who Is the Victim of Cyberbullying?

Here are multiple ways of handling this situation wisely. Let’s get to them:

• Tell them that they don’t deserve to be treated this way and it is not their fault. They haven’t done anything wrong.
• Make sure that they know that they can come to you whenever they need help.
• Encourage them to confide in the teacher they like the most so that they can go to school with a peaceful mind.
• Teach them about the privacy settings of the social media platform they are using. Show them how they can ‘report abuse’ there.
• Encourage them to write their feelings. Give them a diary and a peaceful place to write about their thoughts and feelings at the moment.
• Don’t lash out on them at once after knowing their part of the story. Give them time and a good response so that they can trust you.
• Go to their school in person and report the issue so that they can make the necessary arrangements for this.
• If needed, consult a counselor to maintain the mental peace of your kid.
• Always be with them so that they can know they are not alone. Make them feel confident about who they are.

Using SecureTeen- A Parental Control App

You can make the necessary changes in their lives to make them feel better, but what if they don’t tell you anything? Most of the times kids are so embarrassed or shy that they hardly share with their parents. And, as a result, they end up being stressed out and depressed on their own. A parental control app can help you overcome this issue.

Once you start monitoring their devices, you can know what is going on with them on social media platforms. SecureTeen lets you monitor all their social media activities along with their messages and call logs. You can know what sort of trouble they are facing and how intense it is. You surely don’t need to jump in, but you can get help from SecureTeen to know the scenario.

Once you know what is going on, you must encourage your kid to share it with you. You must teach them how to handle the situation and fight on their own. You definitely don't need to jump into the scene and save your kid. The basic education lies in teaching them and making them confident to tackle such sorts of situations.

Follow the steps mentioned above and use SecureTeen to establish a better relationship with your kid. The closer you are, the more you can protect them. And one must not forget, that communication is the key to a successful relationship with a teen. They hardly understand restrictions and instructions; they want to be respected. They want you to treat them like adults having opinions. Though it is difficult, SecureTeen can make things easy for you. Happy Parenting!