Cyberbullying: What It Is, How to Prevent It, and What to Do If It Happens to Your Child

In this current age, social media use has generated an adverse impact on people`s lives. Cyberbullying is one such impact that continues to threaten the mental well-being of children and adolescents within the social media community. In essence, cyberbullying encompasses any intimidation of shaming of one person to another or group of people through digital technologies. Recent digital trends showcase how cyberbullying through social media platforms has increased over the past few years (Van Hee et al., 2018). While bullying is not a new phenomenon, cyberbullying took over once social media tools became the primary form of communication. From a negative perspective, social media platforms expose children and adolescents to threatening situations that lead to depression, antisocial behavior, or suicidal thoughts. With anonymity as a virtue of social media, cyberbullies can remain invisible, allowing them to target their victims without any fear.

A huge number of children facing cyberbullying do not inform their parents about such events. Therefore, it is critical for these parents to spot any warning signs that are indicative of cyberbullying behavior on social media. For instance, uneasiness or nervousness by children to go to school can indicate cyberbullying. The behavior shows that the child feels uncomfortable being around the school environment. Additionally, an upset or frustrated child, more so after using a social media platform, is indicative of a cyberbullying experience (Van Hee et al., 2018). A sudden loss of interest in engaging in favorite activities can signal that a child is undergoing cyberbullying. Other warning signs include trouble sleeping, antisocial behavior, and withdrawing from close friends and family. Pinpointing these signs can help discover the source of the distress before it impacts the victim`s well-being.

Reference 

Van Hee, C., Jacobs, G., Emmery, C., Desmet, B., Lefever, E., Verhoeven, B., De Pauw, G., Daelemans, W., & Hoste, V. (2018). Automatic detection of cyberbullying in social media text.  PLOS ONE ,  13 (10), e0203794.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203794