"Sticks and stones and mobile phones"
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is the use of technology to bully a person or group with the intent to hurt them socially, psychologically or even physically.
Cyberbullying can occur in many ways, including:
- abusive texts and emails
- hurtful messages, images or videos
- imitating others online
- excluding others online
- humiliating others online
- nasty online gossip and chat.
How much of a problem is it?
ONE IN THREE !!!
One in three teenagers will experience Cyberbullying and around 15% say it has happened to them in the last 30 days.
Around 75% of all teenagers have witnessed Cyberbullying.
What are the signs?
Signs for parents to watch for:
- being upset after using the internet
- being upset after using their mobile phone
- changes in personality
- becoming more withdrawn, anxious, sad or angry
- appearing more lonely or distressed
- unexpected changes in friendship groups
- a decline in their school work
- changes in their sleep patterns
- avoidance of school or clubs
- a decline in their physical health
- becoming secretive about their online activities
- becoming secretive about their mobile phone use
What can I do about it?
This is where we step in.
Our solutions package is a great place to start - click the image in this section for more information.
There is, of course, some very good information below.
However, for parents, nothing beats talking to someone about it - and the best place to do that is at one of our Information Nights.
Not only will you be fully informed about the latest issues and risks, we will provide the solutions to the challenges we are all facing.
Talk to your school or your Parents and Friends Committee and ask them to give us a call.
Where can I get more information?
The Australian Government has set up the "Office of the eSafety Commissioner" which provides some excellent material in this area.
They provide information on Support, more details on Cyberbullying itself, how to report a case of Cyberbullying, a "Frequently Asked Questions" section and much more.
