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Cyber Bullying is nothing but social terror by technology. Sad to say, the numbers are on the rise. When a child of any age, up until the age of 18, is threatened, humiliated, or harassed through the use of technology, this is called Cyber Bullying.
Cyber Bullying is used in many different ways such as: E-mail, pager text messages, cell phones, instant messaging, websites and more. This is done repeatedly and deliberately by kids and is used either by an individual or a group whose sole purpose is to harm other kids and teenagers. Cyber Bullying uses the perfect tool – the Internet – because in this way they remain anonymous. Because of this, the Cyber Bully does not fear punishment. It also becomes very easy for them because they do not come face-to-face with their target(s). There are many ways that kids and teens can bully online: 1. Instant or text messaging harassment – The Cyber Bully can send threatening or hateful messages to other kids. This can even include death threats. Kids can gang up on their unsuspecting victim in text wars or attacks. Hundreds or even thousands of messages are sent to the victim's mobile device resulting in a huge bill for the parents who have become, I might add, quite angry! A Cyber Bully may also create a screen name that is very much like some other kid's name. They then pose as the unsuspecting child to say disparaging things to others. 2. Websites – Cyber Bullies can create websites that could endanger or humiliate another child. 3. Cyber bullies may send pictures through cell phones and e-mail – Some cyber bullies have even posted pornographic pictures so that anyone may download them. 4. Impersonation – The Cyber Bully poses as the victim so that he or she may post sexually oriented messages in the chat room of a hate group thus inviting an attack against the victim. 5. Sending malicious code – Kids can send spyware, viruses and hacking programs in order to destroy their victim's computer or even spy on their victim. If a Cyber Bully chooses to use a Trojan Horse program, he or she can control their victim's computer by remote control and virtually erase the hard drive. 6. Sending porn, junk e-mail and IM's – Cyber Bullies may sign their victim up for pornographic sites or for mass e-mailing programs. 7. Blogs – Sometimes a Cyber Bully may set up a blog, pretend to be their victim and say humiliating things about him or her. 8. Stealing passwords – Cyber Bullies are able to steal a victim's password and lock him or her out of their own personal account. These are just some of the ways that Cyber Bullies operate. If you think that it is just not possible for a child to be so cruel then think again. There are some reports of Cyber
Bullies being as young as seven or eight years old! If parents learn that their child is a victim of Cyber Bullying, they should definitely be aware of the situation and get involved! There is not just one, easy solution to this problem, but you should try to learn as much as you can about the Internet and what it is that your children do online. Parents and schools must address the issue of Cyber Bullying just as much as they have to deal with face-to-face bullying. Most children will not bring up the subject of Cyber Bullying with their parents because they are very afraid that this will make the situation worse. If your child happens to be a victim of Cyber Bullying, it is your job to be as supportive as possible. Just don't tell you child to get tough! Cyber attacks can easily harm your child and it may have a very long lasting effect. If your child has been humiliated by a Cyber Bully, then the emotional scars can run very deep. Do not ignore this situation! There must be a NO TOLERANCE policy for any kind of bullying whether it is through the use of technology or if it is face-to-face. If we teach our children to be kind, compassionate and respectful, then we can put an end to all kinds of bullying. If you cannot help your child stop the Cyber Bullying then you should:
>> Contact your police department.
>> Contact a lawyer or file a suit in small claims court. A bully or the bully's parents can be sued to recover damages.
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I did some research to find a good social network that was safe for my son. I found an age appropriate, socially responsible website for children ages 5-18. This site requires a child's school verify his or her identification before they can become a member. This site is content monitored, cyber bullying controlled, even has tutoring available. My son can still play games, im, create a webpage, and email all on a safe and monitored site. Children are on different ilands according to their ages, creating ilands of safety for children.
All the employees must have a level 2 background check. This makes me feel real comfortable.
Both sites are totally free to its users.
The site for parents, teachers, law enforcement is www.safewave.org and the site for children is www.iland5.com