Cyberbullying is steadily tightening its grip on our vulnerable young netizens and the shocking case of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old from Canada who was cyberbullied to death, is a disturbing
example. Amanda posted a video on Youtube describing how she was bullied for years and was eventually forced by a man to expose her breasts online. He clicked a photo and posted it for the public to view!
What followed was a heavy dose of bullying at school, coupled with relentless cyberbullying, all resulting in anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and finally self harm. Amanda succumbed to the ever increasing pressure and commited suicide a month after her photograph was posted online. When reflecting, Amanda was a bright, young, enthusiastic teenager, whose life was extinguished simply because some sick minds decided to have some fun with her!
Some Shocking Eye Openers!
According to the 2012 cyberbullying statistics provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Health and Human Services, Cyberbylling Research Center:
- 52% students reported being victims of cyberbullying!
- 33% teenagers had experienced cyber threats online!
- 25% teenagers had been bullied repeatedly either through the internet or through their cell phones.
- 52% teenagers do not share incidences of cyberbullying with their parents.
- 11% teenagers reported that their damaging or embarassing pictures had heen taken without seeking their permission, often by using their cellphones.
Research has also gone on to reveal that females were more at risk of cyberbullying in comparison to males. What has also emerged from the above research findings is that our youngsters do not wish to share their online experiences with their parents, in a bid to guard their privacy. And, this lack of adult intervention is making matters riskier than ever before.
What can be done to protect the youth?
Well, parents could consider undertaking the following measures to ensure that their children have a safe online experience:
- Guiding children on social media behavior is important. For instance, they should be told never to befriend strangers or share photographs with them. “Friend requests” sent from strangers should never be accepted and the same must be reported instantly. Privacy settings need to be perfected as well.
- Parents could become members of the same social networking platform their children are on. This would be a great way to monitor their whereabouts, the kind of photos they are sharing on common walls and so on.
Most importantly, it is essential for parents to maintain a good rapport with their teens so that they share their problems before its too late. Otherwise, there will be many more Amandas ending their lives in dire distress and despair.
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