Cyberbullying: What it is how to prevent it?
All human inventions have at least two sides: they can be extremely useful and pleasant, or they can be dangerous. It all depends on how we use them.
In this digital age, communication favors electronic means and is done through social networks, SMS, and WhatsApp, among others, which has somehow changed social relationships.
Today it is possible, for example, to find people lost in the time and space of our lives, to establish and maintain contact with those who deserve our affection, but also to defame, ridicule, intimidate, mistreat, and there we are facing a new form of bullying - cyberbullying.
Photos in acts of intimacy, alone or with another, when shared with someone on the internet, are easily viewed and shared with the entire internet community and can even go viral. The same happens with what is shared through the cell phone, smartphone, or any other device that allows the dissemination of written, oral, or image information.
To keep the moments that we consider full of happiness but which are intimate, we don't need to put them in photos, just as those who love us don't need intimate photos or films to remember us or love us more.
Memory is the best and most faithful repository of these moments, with the advantage of having access to it at any time and for as long as we want, without running the risk of being ridiculed, humiliated, or intimidated.
Some measures that can minimize/avoid cyberbullying situations:
For parents:
- Negotiate internet usage rules. We don't let our children play in the street, go to school or another place alone, even in adolescence, so we can't leave them at home with a wide-open door to the world, without any protection.
- Alert to the dangers of the internet and, if possible, show real examples of these dangers (news in the media, for example).
- Place the computer connected to the internet in a common location.
- Know the password of social networks. Young people have the right to their privacy but also to be protected, a duty that is the prerogative of the parents.
- Save the messages to serve as evidence.
- Change mobile number, email, and passwords, if you suspect or suffer from these situations.
- Consult cyberbullying expert witness as early as possible.
When you first experience cyberbullying, talk to your parents, bullying expert witness, or teachers and ask for help.
Like all types of bullying, this too brings atrocious suffering and, in its most extreme forms, can lead to depression and even suicide. That said, do not post or disclose negative information about anyone.
