Cyberbullying: The Tell-Tale Signs And How To Help Your Child

Cyberbullying is an extremely obnoxious experience. Since the rise of social media and internet, it has drastically increased in numbers. In a report by Cyberbullying Research Centre, around 67% students reported that they were cyberbullied in their lives.

Although there is no single definition of cyberbullying, it occurs when children, adolescents or adults use digital devices, such as smartphones or computers, social networks or other digital platforms to intimidate, threaten and harass someone in an aggressive or intimidating way, usually at someone from their close environment.

Cyberbullying occurs over time and includes (but is not limited to): text messages, instant messages, pictures, videos, bad, nasty or threatening emails that are sent directly to a person through a mobile phone or Internet.

Types of Cyberbullying

The Internet, social networks and digital devices have led to the development of different types of cyberbullying, we will see each of them below, to help recognize these practices.

Doxing

Doxing refers to the act of openly revealing sensitive or personal information about someone without their consent in order to embarrass or humiliate them.

Fraping

Fraping is when a stalker uses another's social media accounts to post inappropriate content with their name on it. It may be harmless when friends write funny posts on each other's profiles, but it has the potential to be incredibly harmful.

Trolling

Trolling is when a stalker intentionally seeks to annoy others by posting inflammatory comments online. It is quite common on social networks, since it benefits from the anonymity they offer.

Flaming

This type of online harassment constitutes the publication or direct sending of insults, humiliations and slander to its target. Flaming is like trolling but will generally be a more direct attack on a specific victim to incite them to fight online.

Phishing

Phishing is a cyberattack that uses email disguised as a weapon. The goal is to trick the recipient of the email into believing that the message is something they want or need (a request from your bank, for example, or a note from someone in your company) and click on a link or download a file. Attached. There are tips and tricks that help you stay away from these scams.

Grooming

Grooming is a process used by adults with a sexual interest in children to prepare a child for sexual abuse. It is often planned very carefully and can take place over weeks, months, or even years.

Dissing

Dissing refers to the act of a stalker who spreads cruel information about his target through public posts or private messages to ruin his reputation or his relationships with other people.

Deception

Deception is like doxing, with an additional element of deception. In these situations, the stalker will befriend his target and mislead him into a false sense of security.

Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is harassment carried on the Internet. In this case, the stalker, who is called a cyber-stalker, becomes obsessed with a single person, whom he harasses wherever he has a presence on the Internet, mainly social networks, email or instant messaging applications.

Masking

Masking occurs when a stalker creates a fabricated profile or identity online for the sole purpose of intimidating someone.

Cyberbullying by Exclusion

Although harassment by exclusion is more common in harassment in person, it can also occur in the digital realm following the same pattern, which consists of leaving the victim out of group conversations and chats (in the same way that they are left out group events such as parties or outings).

Happy Slapping

Happy slapping (which we can translate as "happy beatings") is a frequent cyberbullying practice nowadays and occurs mainly among adolescents, where victims are beaten up and are videotaped which is then shared online on social media to ridicule the victim.

Harassment

Harassment is a broad category that includes many types of cyberbullying, but generally refers to a sustained and consistent pattern of hurtful or threatening messages sent in line with the intent to harm someone.

Cyberbullying by Notifications

Notification cyberbullying occurs when the harasser uses the victim's email address or phone number to subscribe to different services and platforms, so that the victim receives notifications from these sites.

How to Detect Cyberbullying?

The first step towards preventing cyberbullying is knowing how to detect it, especially when the victims are children or adolescents. The manifestations in children and adolescents who are victims of cyberbullying are:

Changes in Habits:

Changes in Mood:

• Fundamentally in humour.
• Moments of sadness or apathy and indifference.
• In attitudes of relaxation and tension, even of unusual aggressive reaction.
• Excessive reservations in communication.
• Loss of pleasure in activities.
• Mentioning suicide or attempting suicide.
• Depressed, withdrawn, or antisocial behaviour.
• Insomnia or sleepiness.

Changes in Social Network:

• Absence of friends and social relationships.
• Lack of defence against alleged public jokes or public remarks.
• Fear of or opposition to leaving home.

Physical Changes or Changes to Belongings:

• In body language - hunched shoulders, bowed head, lack of eye contact, rejection of public presence.
• In the occupation of school spaces - closeness to adults, fear of recess, occupation of corners, walls and protected and visually controllable spaces.
• Special concealment when communicating over the Internet or mobile.
• Momentary aggressive explosions.
• Loss or deterioration of physical belongings, frequent physical injuries without reasonable explanation.

Body Changes:

• Rapid weight gain or loss resulting from changes in eating behaviour - poor appetite or compulsive eating.
• Manifestations of frequent illness or ailments.
• Frequent dizziness with unusual symptoms.
• Headache or stomach pain.

In cases of digital harassment of minors, if that minor is the harasser, we can detect it by paying attention to the following aspects of the minor's behaviour:

• Urgent need to dominate others - they like to use physical force.
• Low academic performance.
• Impulsiveness and low tolerance for frustration.
• Difficulties to assume and comply with the regulations.
• An attitude of greater tendency towards violence and the use of violent media.
• Little empathy towards victims of assaults and a relatively positive opinion of himself. In boys there is a model of aggressive reaction combined with physical strength.
• Relationships with adults tend to be aggressive.
• They are protagonists of both proactive (deliberate in order to achieve a goal) and reactive (defensive when provoked) attacks.

Consequences of Cyberbullying

The consequences of cyberbullying are never good, especially in the most vulnerable people, although anyone can be negatively affected by these practices, especially those that involve the public exposure of private and intimate content of the victim.

Today's society is based on technology. It is often difficult, or impossible, to avoid using the internet, email, or social media apps every day for work, school, or personal reasons. But people who have dealt with bullying online can feel anxious and stressed when they must do these ordinary activities. This distress can decrease performance at school or work.

Severe or persistent bullying can contribute to depression, suicidal thoughts, and even suicide attempts. People who have experienced abuse online say it can have serious consequences for their well-being. This can hurt their self-esteem, many fear for their lives, and others are afraid to leave their home.

In fact, cyberbullying can have a devastating impact on vulnerable teens who may end up taking their own lives. Children who are bullied online are three times more likely to contemplate suicide.

Cyberbullying, How to Prevent It?

Fortunately, there are solutions to curb cyberbullying. Thus, to the question of how to avoid it, we can answer with the application of technical, educational and physical measures.

G.E.T.R.I.D Steps

If children and teenagers are being bullied online, it’s great for them to feel they have some power to resolve the problem themselves. These six steps are a good way for your child to G.E.T.R.I.D. of cyberbullying:

• G- Go and block the cyberbully

This is to keep them from causing any further harm to the child as they will not be exposed to his bullying.

• E-Ensure to keep proof

Make sure to take screenshots and keep all kinds of proof of cyberbullying with yourself to show it to relevant authorities when making your case.

• T-Tell it to somebody

Sharing is always a great outlet to gain support and get help for the issue. Only 1 in 10 teen victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse

• R-Report it

Make the effort of reporting the case to relevant authorities which can help you out in delivering justice and stop the cyberbully from causing more harm to others.

• I-Initiate control

Inform the victim of the benefit of taking control of their situation. Once the child understands this and does not react to the cyberbully, the victim is taking their power away.

• D-Delete the posts

Once you have saved all the proof you need, make sure to delete everything related to it so that it may never be used against you anywhere else, as someone may still share it on the internet.

Training Measures

It is necessary to have knowledge on the part of students, parents and teachers about these cases of bullying and how they should act.

Students must know how to respond affirmatively to a case of cyberbullying. Parents and teachers should be aware of the existing protocols in case this situation occurs. Among these measures are:

Talk, treat, stage and debate the nature, risks, management and consequences of these cases during the school year, in class, among students and teachers.

Adopt methodologies such as case analysis, roleplay, narrative techniques, as means that facilitate this insertion in the training of students by teachers in their classes.

Organizational Measures

Among the organizational measures, are:

Proper Case Management

For this, measures such as:

Avoid Risk

The measures to adopt to avoid the risk of cyberbullying are:

• Implement actions that make it difficult for people with these intentions to reach minors, who go through educating the minor in what has to do with the management of communication, their personal data, image and privacy, who knows how to react (what not to do) and whom to turn to when there is a suspicion that this could be happening.

• That they know the risks of addictive practices online and affiliation to risk communities.

Identify and pursue people who seek these situations.

Help Search

The steps to take to seek help are:

• The development of a network in the school community that performs preventive tasks against cyberbullying, promoting cyber mentors or help teams among the students themselves.

• Family meetings that address these issues.

• Advice at higher levels or outside the school.

• Logistical support and technical advice in the cases that require it.

Conclusion

Cyberbullying is an increasingly obvious problem and that, along with traditional bullying, we should not ignore, since it can lead to serious consequences for its victims. There are many types and ways to carry it out, it occurs mostly among adolescents, but children and adults are also victims of these harmful practices.

However, it is in everyone's hands to stop it, detect cases, prevent it and, above all, help victims to stop being so. If you witness a case of cyberbullying, report it and, above all, do not become a stalker or just look the other way.