Bullying/Cyberbullying

What is bullying?

Bullying means verbal or physical attack, aggression or harassment done to somebody in an exceedingly repeated manner. Most of the teens, around twenty-eight per cent have been victims of bullying.

Bullying could be a serious threat, it can leave the child with depression, anxiety, or maybe suicide. But there are ways to protect the child from these bullies. In most cases, someone who is quiet or shy is being bullied, they may do it just to make them look cool, powerful, for pleasure or to take revenge in front of others.

(Source: thriveglobal.com)

What is cyberbullying?

It means bullying through texts, calls or social media, they harass, threaten or humiliate others. Cyberbullying doesn't need to be face to face. Almost anybody who has an internet connection and a mobile phone can easily cyberbully others without revealing their identity.

Cyberbullying even makes it hard to feel safe in your own home. Some bullies may even create fake accounts just to humiliate or threaten you. They'll try to break into your social media accounts, steal your personal information, and do unwanted things with your identity.

Since you’re not revealing your identity you can easily change roles. These bullies nowadays harass or threaten somebody by sexting, i.e; messaging sexually and trapping them.

(Source: blog.microfocus.com)

Results / Effects of Bullying & Cyberbullying:

• It affects your behaviour badly. You may always feel hurt, afraid, hopeless, and may isolate yourself.

• It may lead to mental health diseases like depression, anxiety, etc. You may start to feel low all the time.

• It affects your education, you may take several leaves or avoid going to school, or may even drop out in fear of being bullied.

• Since cyberbullying can happen anywhere at any time, you're not going to feel safe or happy anywhere, not even in your home. It makes it difficult for you to live in peace for at least a day.

How can the parents and professionals help a victim of bullying?

If you’re a victim, the first thing to do is talk to and share it with your parents. Yes, and if the parents think that their child is acting strange or is always sad, encourage them to talk about it. This is serious and they should make their child understand that it is not his/her fault, support them in every way, make them feel comfortable, and try to gain as much information as possible. Just let them know that no matter what you are always there to listen to them.

The chances of being bullied are less if the child spends more time with the teachers and other students in school. It will also make them feel relieved and confident.

Apart from this, these victims can gain confidence or be happy by engaging themselves in activities that they love like dancing, painting, listening to music, or watching movies. By doing what they love, at least for a while, can calm their minds. The victims could also seek professional help if necessary, some children are being bullied so badly that it affects their mental health. Consulting a psychologist is the best option and it is nothing to be ashamed of. CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is one effective way to help these victims. This therapy gradually makes them better.

How to prevent cyberbullies?

• Never share your personal information online like your phone number or address, it can easily make you the target.

• Avoid posting or sharing pictures of everything in your life online and do not share your matter via social media, only share it with your friends and family.

• Never share your passwords or other financial details with anyone.

• Educate your child about cyberbullying and its consequences. It will help them cope with such situations and make them aware of what is wrong and right.

• Do not click on any unwanted links, it may be a scam.

• In most cases, young people are found to be cyberbullies, make sure that parents know what their children are doing with the internet and limit their usage.

• If you happen to be cyberbullied, don’t take it lightly and please report it immediately.

(Source: quotemaster.org)

Cyberbullying is dangerous. It affects the mental health and life of a person. It makes a person weak, even suicidal. Please make your child aware of it from a very young age and stop sharing your personal life online.

Social media platforms use several tools to prevent cyberbullying like for example, on Instagram, we have options to restrict who can comment, like, etc. If you find anyone’s post or anything offensive, please feel free to block them.

Also, never stop yourself from defending against cyberbullying, you can sure make a change in at least one person’s life by raising voices against these cyberbullies and creating awareness about the topic.

If you have ever been bullied or cyberbullied, just remember that you are not alone, everybody is with you. If you feel hurt or are worried about your safety, please consider talking to a trusted adult. Consider informing the police of further actions. There is no need to feel bad about yourself, it's not your fault. Now, many countries even have helpline numbers to whom you can call for free and talk about your problems and there are several organizations for the same.

“It is our choices that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

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Author - Fiza Fathima

Content Writer at Escribo