Child Safety
Online Cyber Bullying – Why “Turning it off” doesn’t work
When many of us were kids, there was no such thing as the internet, and even if there was, there was no such thing as Facebook, SnapChat, or Instagram. If bullying happened, it often happened at school and came in the form of spitballs in the classroom, locker shoving, choice words, or even being ostracized. Very little of this actually followed a child to their home life. Sure, sometimes the neighborhood kids would be rotten, or maybe prank calls would come in at the worst examples of bullying, but when it came to continuing bullying with a parent in the way, it didn’t happen often.
Nowadays, the internet is absolutely everywhere. Kids, in order to fit with their peers and social groups, need to be up on the latest and greatest social network, have the latest phone, and have the same one as their friends. With these avenues also comes the opportunity for children to use these same paths as ways to torment their fellow kids. The problem is with the internet everywhere, it makes it hard for children to escape schoolyard bullying and develop a healthy social circle.
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