As much as parents and teachers would like to believe that children are safe within the four walls of the school, that’s often not the case. Vices in a school are countless ranging from ragging, harassment to bullying and deliberately making the students’ life hard just for the sake of some twisted pleasure.
And with the advent of the Internet, Cyberbullying is the new way of harassing someone using the internet as the medium. It is especially difficult to deal with cyberbullying because it is not limited within the confines of a school but it is encouraged that one seeks the help of a cyberbullying lawyer if they believe their children or students are victims of cyberbullying. And this begs the question-
Why would someone resort to Cyber Bullying?
It is really difficult to pinpoint the exact reason behind someone bullying some other person over the internet. Various triggers lead to such behavior. However, the most recognized cause is peer pressure and even introverted individuals who seem terribly meek and well behaved in person turn out to be a cyberbully.
This may be a resulting cause of the anonymity that internet offers. Hiding behind an online username and having an “I won’t get caught” attitude is perhaps the biggest contributor to this kind of behavior.
Not all only negative messages, however, can be considered as bullying. If however there is a prolonged campaign against a particular individual or individuals, it is cyber bullying.
Often children forget to stop and think about the effects their actions might bring about. They fail to realize that maybe they are only “messing” or “kidding” or “having fun” with someone by bullying them, but the kid on the receiving end of this negativity may be considerably hurt.
Also, there is this belief that is internalized from home or from school that the internet is separate from the real world and the behavior of children online cannot be scrutinized or reprimanded.
What are the Effects of Cyber bullying?
The initial effects of cyber bullying are on the well being of a person on persons who are bullied. As opposed to physical bullying someone that bears physical effects, cyberbullying affects the mind and the child is pushed to a state of constant paranoia and anxiety.
The child might not be able to concentrate on academics and their grades might start dropping, they might become increasingly reclusive; their former areas of interest may get lost and finally, all of this may lead to depression.
In worst-case scenarios, all of these might lead the child into self-harm or suicide chiefly because the sense of safety one is supposed to feel at home is lost. Cyber bullying may originate in a school but it definitely follows the victim to their houses and everywhere.
The most dangerous aspect of this situation is perhaps the fact that the bully needs not to be present in person to fatally and mentally harm someone. All in the span of a few seconds and clicks, a nasty message, a photo can be released into the web traumatizing a person forever.
What can we do to respond to cyber bullying?
Many or most schools now have an anti-bullying policy and counseling cells to combat any type of bullying. However, as a parent or a teacher, it is their responsibility to recognize cyber bullying and find effective ways to help the children.
Being supportive of a bullied child is very important. They need to be constantly assured that they are not at fault and did the right thing by telling and reporting.
Helping the child to put together and preserve the required information and evidence against the bullies helps in case the matter is left to a cyberbullying attorney.
Assisting the child to the right course of action can prevent further such cases. It may include changing online profile or blocking profiles, changing passwords or reporting accounts and profile that bully.
Since we are dealing with children here, yes even the ones in high school, the children shouldn’t respond to the messages.
Investigation of the claim of cyberbullying is of utmost importance and the perpetrators if and when known, should be held accountable for their actions.
Reporting the bullies not only helps the victim but also in most cases the bully to better themselves. And reporting must be done both to the school and to the website authorities.
How can we prevent cyberbullying in schools?
Anti-bullying policies of schools have to be implemented properly. Since this happens online it is difficult for the police to trace evidence. Awareness about cyberbullying laws among students is also important. Also encouraging a “telling” atmosphere where students will report cyberbullying occurring to them or someone else can also prove to be benefitting.
