Category:
Cyber Rescue
Just like bullying in person: victims appreciate having friends who understand, and take action to protect them. Do the right thing by at least reaching out to support the victim, and offering to be present through the process of taking action, whether that means accompanying him/her to the local police department or encouraging the use of the IT Helpline, if he/she is a Cyber Rescue client. If you’re a parent and the ‘someone else’ who’s being bullied is your child, it can be a very delicate situation, so here’s our advice:
- Of course we recommend getting Cyber Rescue so that you have a dedicated IT Helpline on call, for such situations. You can call for help and advice on your child being cyber bullied through a personal device.
- First do no harm. If your child is already being bullied online, taking a hard or stern approach is likely to increase his/her anxiety, which is the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
- Have compassion. Before launching into an emergency response plan, show your child compassion. A long hug or embrace can work wonders, and inviting your child to talk about the issue can help him/her vent, too. This brings us to our next point…
- Be considerate and patient when asking questions. It’s good to get information, but remember that your child could have a bruised sense of self esteem so tread carefully. Accept and respect when he/she feels uncomfortable with talking about something and offer support by either allowing him/her to speak to a therapist about it or jump onto a call with the IT Helpline if you have Cyber Rescue – sometimes an independent listener is all a young mind is looking for.
- Suspend judgement. Sometimes it’s hard for children to talk about cyber bullying with parents because they assume that they’ve triggered the bullying and that parents will chide them for the trigger instead of helping them solve the actual problem of cyber bullying.
- Get down to your child’s level. Use vocabulary and analogies that you know your child will understand, and break things down into manageable chunks of conversation to avoid your child being overwhelmed. If you need to break up the conversation over a few days, do that, but make sure that your child is not in any physical danger first – this should always be your priority.
- Know what to report, to whom, and when. Legally and ethically, if your child is being cyber bullied and the nature of the activity is extreme or threatening physical harm or violence, you’re obligated to report the matter to authorities. This may be challenging if your child is so petrified of the cyber bully that he/she insists this isn’t an option, but it’s a must: it’s the right way to respond so that your child and your family can be protected. If you’re unsure of who to speak to about such matters, it’s worth getting Cyber Rescue so that you can always start by contacting the IT Helpline for further advice on reporting cyber bullying.
- Accrue evidence. Open and healthy communication in a family setting is important, but in terms of cyber bullying it also helps if your profile is connected to your child’s, be it on email or social media. This way you can take screenshots to be used as evidence of cyber bullying.
- Teach your child that he/she has the right to stop responding to messages and/or comments that appear as acts of cyber bullying.
- Be mindful of your own conduct online, and that your own children may be impacted by any actions you take to cyber bully other people. Leading by example is one of the most effective ways to prevent cyber bullying from taking hold of your child’s life.
- Address difficult subjects in the family setting, such as blackmail, sexting and other behaviours associated with cyber bullying, as we mentioned earlier in this article.
- Talk about technology as a family, and new features that get introduced. This is a great opportunity to educate your child and yourself about privacy settings, rights and responsibilities all associated with managing an online presence.