In 2014, “25 percent of teenagers report that they have experienced repeated bullying by their cell phone, or on the Internet.” Overall, “52 percent of young people report being cyber bullied.” Sadly, of the reported 95 percent of teens that witnessed bullying on social media, they admit that they turned a blind eye.
Of course, there are levels to cyberbullying. Defined as mocking or criticizing someone’s body shape or size, there’s been a huge uptick in body shaming. Both men and women, young and old, whether thin, thick, or rocking a little extra to love, individuals from all walks of life are being attacked on apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. It’s a big problem. One which studies indicate have impacted 94 percent of teenage girls and 64 percent teen boys, leading to a host of eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, body image disorder or worse, attempted suicide.
What does this mean for parents with young children and teens?
Whether you believe your child is being cyberbullied or not, there is no better time than now to stay on top of their online activities. While the mama and papa bear in you may be tempted to lash out in your own way, experts over at PBS suggest doing the following:
- Don’t respond. Engaging with a bully only fuels the fire. Plus, any response could be circulated immediately.
- Sign off and block the bully. Get offline, and use your instant messenger’s blocking features. On cell phones, only answer known numbers.
- Change contact information. If someone is pretending to be your kids, have them change their passwords. If someone creates false profiles, contact the company that hosts the site and report the cyberbullying.
- Save all bullying emails. Send them to your Internet service provider.
- Don’t assume your kids will talk to you about being bullied. Often, they feel guilty, ashamed, or that it’s too painful to bring up. Or, they may not want to cop to the fact that they’ve been somewhere forbidden online.
- Make sure your kids know you won’t judge them; you just want them to be safe.