Why Is Cyberbullying a Problem? Know More About It

Internet – The technology that has promised to reduce the distances, to keep yourself informed, to entertain you along with several other perks. By the time you are a parent, you know very well how to put this technology to the best use. But, can we say that about our kids? For kids, every new thing they come across is an adventure, and they surely want to explore everything. This is the same with the internet. They are new to it and they want to do everything they could to explore and be adventurous.

Recent studies have found that kids often use the internet and technology to get closer to their friends, get past anything that irritates them, educate themselves, and entertain of course. Often the internet plays the role of escape from reality for them. Happy or sad, they like to post everything as if they have a new family there. But, how well has it been till now? With many other threats hovering around their heads, cyberbullying is the most hurtful one. Let’s find out why is cyberbullying a problem for our kids.

Why Cyberbullying?

For the past decades, teasing someone in the school, eating their lunch, or calling them names have been a normal practice among kids. Either in fun or for some other purpose, there has been always a chain of bullies and victims. But, now as the world has advanced, the ways of humiliating someone have also changed.

With smartphones and the internet in their hands, kids are already exploring everything that they could. When they are angry or want some revenge, they seek several ways. One of these ways is to use the internet to humiliate the other person. The worst part of cyberbullying is that it can happen in secrecy or public, and it is 24/7 with the victim.

Why is Cyberbullying a Problem?

If you have ever experienced online trolls – someone who calls you by names, post weird stuff about you, criticize you on your every post – then you have a very good idea about how things go wrong just after posting a single post. In several cases, people are forced to leave social media entirely because of the mental torture they face every time they open up their accounts.

Though this is happening with adults as well, kids are at more danger. They are emotional and weak. The moment they start facing such things, it leaves them all confused. It might be because someone had a grudge on them, or they had a recent fight in the school, or they are just shy and people like to pick up on them. In any way, it is very disturbing for kids when these things follow them everywhere they go.

Here are some of the real-life stories that answer the question ‘why is cyberbullying a problem?’: https://www.puresight.com/Real-Life-Stories/real-life-stories.html

How Does It Affect Your Kids?

Kids go through many changes in their tween and teen period. They are growing hormonally, their body is changing, they are experiencing unexplainable mood and behavior changes. In this scenario, being bullies and tortured is a big addition to their ongoing problems. This is how cyberbullying can affect our kids:

Physical Changes:

Suddenly the kids lose their appetite, lose interest in the things that they used to enjoy so much. Often they face insomnia or it is the other way around. Physically, they can become very weak or can deliberately make changes in their body to fit in the society because of the shame they face. You can see clear physical changes in them if they are suffering from this. Being a parent, you must be aware of the changes they are going through.

Emotional Changes:

Emotionally, they are devastated when they listen to the things that were never true about them. They might have shared some personal information with a person who used to be their friend, and then that friend is posting about that everywhere. This hurts them and they start thinking that everyone around them knows their deeper secrets and insecurities.

These feelings make them lose their self-worth and they stop talking about anything that matters. They don’t like to go to the gatherings that used to love. They want to be left alone most of the time and worse, they fall into depression.

Read more about the effects of cyberbullying on kids: https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-the-effects-of-cyberbullying-460558

What Should Be Done?

By now, you must have realized how important it is to consider cyberbullying a serious life-threatening issue, especially for the kids. Most of the parents take it for granted and regret later. Mostly, this is because they think that their kids are going through some normal changes and there is nothing to worry about.

Kids, on the other hand, feel reluctant in sharing this with their parents as they fear that they will face shame and embarrassment. They feel shy about everything that is happening to them where in fact, it is not their fault. Parents must come forward and give them the environment that they deserve. A family where they are encouraged to talk about their worries and stress. They must feel open and relaxed when they talk to you.

Another thing that can be very helpful for the parents is using parental control apps. A good parental control app with let you know what is happening with your kid when he is on the phone. SecureTeen is by far the most effective parental control app that lets you monitor your kids’ messages, call logs, social media platforms, and also lets you manage their screen time.

Kids are emotional, they might not see the danger coming. But, with you on their side, there is a good possibility that you will know the intentions of the stranger they are talking to. Even if they are not telling you anything, you can be there for them and guide about the best use of smartphones and the internet for their own sake. Using a parental control app promotes smart parenting and let you be the parent your kids deserve.