Everything a Teenager’s Parent Need to Know About Social Media and Bullying

February 15, 2016

The digital media has been in rise in our modern generation today. Thus, we can’t deny the fact that children and most of the teenagers nowadays are very exposed to using social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr in order for them to share information, to communicate and interact with family and friends or simply to show out what they do and feel.

However, as these have been considered as a growing trend from teens, cyber-bullying has also grown as a high case in teenagers’ dilemma nowadays. In fact, it has been a very growing concern in teens from the United States. 

Social media bullying or most commonly known as “Cyber-bullying” occurs when a person uses technology in order for them to harass, intimidate, embarrass or write hateful words against another person. Just same as when a person is bullied in real life but this time the bullying is done online. 

Based on surveys, it is approximately 80% of teens uses the smart phones regularly while 92% of teens go online at least once a day and 56% go online several times in a day. With a very high rate of online activities, teens are bound to experience cyber-bullying, witness it or become the executor.

One of the common venues for cyber-bullying is with the use of social media in which one easy move could put a person to shame in a lot of people since social media is a very public thing. It is devastating that while this case is on the rise; its impact is often taken too lightly.

With this, parents should be watchful and cautious to what their children do with their social media accounts and how they handle this. 

Here are some of the things and statistics that parents should about cyber-bullying.

1. 71% of teenagers use more than one social media network.
2. More teens are often the victims than being and executor.
3. 21% of the teens said that the main reason that they get in to their social media accounts very often is that to make sure no one could say hateful things about them online.
4. 95% of teens witnessed bullying on social media but have ignored the behavior, 90% of the teens say that they have seen someone becoming mean to another person on social media, while 43% of teens said that they’d find it hard to support a friend being bullied online.
5. Most of the teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining in.
6. Facebook is considered to be the most dangerous channel for teens to experience cyber-bullying.
7. 81% of teens say that bullying online simpler to get away with when unknown.
8. Some forms of cyber-bullying are CYBERSTALKING, EXCLUSION, GOSSIP, TRICKERY, HARRASSMENT, IMPERSONATION, CYBER THREAT AND FLAMING. 
9. 66% of teens have responded to cyber-bullying while 15% opted to skip school each month.
10. 1 of 6 parents is aware that cyber-bullying is happening.
11. Most of the teens don’t report cyber-bullying because they are scared that their parents would get involved.
12. Major consequences of cyber-bullying for teenagers are depression and suicide which is the top 3 killer of teens in the United States.

You’ll know when your children are experiencing cyber-bullying when:

1. They are starting to lose friends.
2. They start skipping meals.
3. They are faking illnesses or they always feel sick.
4. They become upset or anxious after using their computers or phones.
5. They experience sleeping difficulties.
6. They tend to become tense when they receive messages.
7. They are solitary to their common friends and family members.
8. They start doing self-destructive behaviors.

What parents can do:

1. Discuss social media and cyber-bullying with teens and start communicating with them. 
2. Explain what are the right and wrong things to do in their social media accounts or anything online.
3. When a teen experience cyber-bullying, keep the messages as much as possible to make them as proof especially when languages are becoming worse.
4. Keep the computer in a common area and limit their online access as much as possible.
5. Encourage them to speak out when cyber-bullying is happening.

 Parents, if you need help to supervise your child phone device, check this App: TEEN SAFE - http://teensafe.com

#BESTRONG and make sure your kids are using the social media safely !

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