In 2002, a breakthrough service called “Friendster” was released. Since social netowrking was relatively new, a few people decided to make their own versions of Friendster. Brad Greenspan (founder of eUniverse) oversaw a social networking project that eventually turned into Myspace. Mark Zuckerburg, a student at Harvard, created a site (called “Facemash”) that compared photos of other Harvard students, which eventually grew into today’s Facebook.
For many teens, social networking is a way of life. However, recently using social networks has progressed past the adolescent crowd, and advanced to include mothers, fathers, grandparents and even company CEO’s. For many people, using a social network is a comprehensive and inexpensive way to keep in touch with people they care about. For others, it represents an effective way to market a product, service or business brand name. Three of the most commonly used social networks are Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.
Children as young as 9 are now making their own social network pages, as the internet reaches new levels of accessibility. However, with these changes, there are also significant risks. Younger children may not be able to handle negative attention, which often is projected over the internet. Cyber bullying has recently received a lot of media attention, due to the four bullying-related middle school child deaths in 2009 alone.
What is Cyber Bullying?
Cyber bullying is defined as any situation in which a child is bullied over the internet. This may be through chat programs, social networks, emails or other methods. In 2006, a thirteen year old girl was incessantly bullied by an ex-friend’s mother, who made a fake account pretending to be a sixteen year old boy named Josh. The mother gained the girl’s trust as Josh, then proceeded to begin bullying her incessantly by sending insulting and negative messages. In 2009, an 11 year old boy endured harassment from other students at his school, who frequently called him derogatory names over the internet. Both of these cases resulted in the children in question committing suicide. As you can see, the problem of cyber bullying can be extremely dangerous to young children.
How Does Cyber Bullying Occur?
In some cases, a child will be bullied from anonymous comments, chat messages and emails. Since the internet provides a level of anonymity, some children may use this for malicious purposes. Services such as Formspring allow people to ask another person anonymous questions, which may sometimes be hurtful or insulting. In some cases, a child will be bullied directly by comments on their Myspace, Facebook or other social network account. Open chat rooms are also another place where cyber bullying is common.
Can Cyber Bullying Be Prevented?
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely prevent other children from bullying your child. However, there are measures that you can take to help minimize the effects of cyber bullying. While the arena of parental observation is somewhat disputed, it is recommended that you keep an eye on your child’s social network accounts. Also, be wary of your child frequently going into any public chat rooms, or staying up late on a regular basis to use their computer.
What Should I Do if My Child is Being Bullied?
First, identify the source of the bullying. If the bullying is coming from students that attend school with your child, contact your school’s administrative department. Since cyber bullying is no longer viewed as “harmless” by many schools, this can help you to get the bullies in question disciplined.
Where Can I Find More Information?
There are several organizations that have become devoted to providing information about cyber bullying, as well as tips to help you to prevent your child from becoming a victim. For more information, you can go to:
Related posts:
- How to Tell if Your Child is the Victim of a Cyber Bully
Cyber bullying is a topic that has recently received a lot of attention from many media outlets. Due to the popularity of the internet, many...
- Bullying Statistics [Infographic]
“1 in 4 boys who bully will have a criminal record by age 30.” – American Medical Association Bullying is a big problem. The United...
