What Happens When Kids Get on Computers & They Get Bullied?

Cyber bullying occurs through the computer and can have damaging effects on children.

Children who are bullied online experience cyber bullying. It is a form of bullying that occurs through social networking sites, instant messages and e-mails, and can have long term damaging effects on children. Know what to look for and how to block a bully on the Internet and prevent cyber bullying. It has become a new generation of bullying.

Identification

The Internet opens up a huge virtual world for children to enter. Although it is a great learning tool and can provide educational materials and social networking for children, the Internet can become an unsafe, scary place. When children are being bullied through the Internet it is called cyber bullying. Even though children are not coming face to face with bullies, they can be emotionally hurt and mentally abused through cyber bullying.

I-SAFE.org found that most parents were not familiar with the term cyber bullying and what was going on with their children, but students and children knew of the problem firsthand. I-SAFE.org states, "The physical assault has been replaced by a 24 hour per day, seven days a week online bashing. Savvy students are using Instant Messaging, e-mails, chat rooms and websites they create to humiliate a peer. No longer can parents count on seeing the tell-tale physical signs of bullying---a black eye, bloody lip, torn clothes. But the damage done by cyber bullies is no less real, and can be infinitely more painful."

Statistics

According to I-SAFE Inc., a total of 42 percent of kids have been bullied online and one in four have had it happen more than once. I-SAFE Inc. reports that 35 percent of kids have been threatened online, 21 percent have received threatening or mean e-mail messages, 53 percent have admitted to saying something mean or hurtful to someone else online, and 58 percent have not told their parents or an adult that something mean or hurtful has happened. The statistics are scary when more than half of children don't tell their parents what is going on.

Types

A mean message or rumor may be posted on a social networking site, such as facebook.com, for everyone to see, or hurtful things can be said through instant messaging. Bullies often feel they have invincibility because they are not face to face and can easily say whatever they want over the Internet. If children post pictures on social networking sites they may be scrutinized, called names and more. Stopcyberbullying.org lists four different types of cyber bullies: the vengeful angel, the power-hungry revenge of the nerds, the "Mean Girls" and the inadvertent cyber bully, "Because I Can."

Consequences

Although children are not physically getting hurt, the emotional effects from cyber bullying can be detrimental and long lasting. Emotional effects, consistent bullying and harassment, not wanting to attend school, and even suicide and murder can all be potential consequences from computer bullying.

Prevention/Solution

Here are some great tips that will help children avoid cyber bullying and deal with a cyber bully. I-SAFE Inc. suggests that children ignore and not open messages from cyber bullies and to never meet someone in person that they have met online. I-SAFE states that most people can be blocked from a child's instant messenger or social networking site. Make sure your child knows how to use this feature.

Stopcyberbullying.org writes that education can be a big key to preventing and dealing with cyber bullying. Children should know what to look for and how to avoid being bullied. Stop Cyber Bullying suggests that if a child sees hurtful messages they should stop, put the mouse down and do an activity to get their mind relaxed and away from the problem. Stop Cyber Bullying states that schools and local community organizations might be able to get involved and shut down a site that is considerably bad with cyber bullying.

References

• Stop Cyber Bullying
• I-SAFE Inc.