Bullies have been around for
decades. Before the Internet, bullying
was limited to the school yard or neighborhoods. The victim was confronted by the bully and a
group of his or her friends and taunted.
A lot of times, after the last school bell rang, the taunting became
physical and the victim was beaten up.
The reasons for the bullying were varied. Maybe the victim was from a poor family and
couldn’t afford all the newest clothes.
It could have been because a child wore glasses, or braces, or had
freckles. It could even have been
because the teacher singled out one child to always help pass out test papers
or to answer questions in class.
Whatever the so-called reason was, bullies were an ever-present threat
to the happy childhood of many kids.
Today is no different except that in this age of technology, most of the
bullying happens over the Internet.
Welcome to the age of the cyber-bully.
Bullying is no longer confined to
the school yard or the neighborhoods. Now,
a cyber-bully can hide behind a computer and remain nameless and faceless. The attacks no longer happen just at school;
they are carried out over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Since most kids today have cell phones that
also take really good pictures, it’s easy for one to snap an unflattering
picture of a classmate and send it over the Internet for all to see. Captions are added to make the pictures even
more humiliating. In the movie “Mean
Girls”, the group of “cool girls” had a “burn book” with photos and comments
about those they hated. Today, that
“burn book” is a Facebook page made for the sole purpose of hurting others.
During the last few weeks, I have
seen quite a few stories on the news about kids, some as young as 10, killing
themselves because they were cyber-bullied.
Why? Because some nameless,
faceless cowards started rumors about them online, or posted pictures of them
that they were embarrassed by. And, yes,
these cyber-bullies are cowards. They
don’t have the nerve to say something face to face, but behind a computer
screen, they’re brave. A very unnerving
facet of all this is that the cyber-bully could be the victims best friend in
real life; the friend that he or she confides in and who pretends to give
support.
Parents need to talk to their
kids about this issue. Kids need to
understand that what happens online is unimportant. What’s important is real life. Those who know you know what is true and what
is false. The kids also need to know
that they have to confide in a parent or teacher if they find themselves in a
cyber-bullying situation. How many lives
could have been saved if these kids knew they could talk to someone about what
they were going through? The schools
need to be made aware of any instances of cyber-bullying. In some cases, the police should get
involved. If things get out of hand, the
police will be able to track down a cyber-bully.
Above all, the victims of
cyber-bullying need to know that suicide is never the answer. It may seem like all is hopeless, but it’s
not. Dear Abby once said that suicide is
“a permanent solution to a temporary problem”.
This is so true. Parents should
monitor their kids’ social media pages.
They can’t let this go on until it’s too late. Let your kids know not to give a cyber-bully
the power to control their lives.
Cyber-bullies and real life bullies truly are just cowards who act tough
to appear brave. The only way to stop
them is to take a stand and show them that their words can’t hurt you. Hold your head up high and don’t listen to
the whispered comments or read their hate on social media. If everyone took a stand against these
bullies, they would continue to move on to the next victim and the next until
they realize that no one cares what they have to say. It’s up to the parents to teach their kids
the art of ignoring.
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