Cyber safety for children from 10 to 16 years

This behaviour is not only agressive but also repeated with the expressed intention of controlling others and creating an imbalance.

Examples of cyberbullying :

• name calling
• excluding people from social activities
• embarassing pictures, videos
• false profiles
• repeated unwanted pictures

All of this is quite similar to bullying in the school grounds but the big difference being that there is a screen or that you do not know who the bully is.

Firstly, if you think that you are a victim of online bullying, it is essential to talk to a responsible adult or and adult you can trust.

However, this notwithstanding, there are a number of things you can do if you feel uncomfortable/bullied.

Most social networking sites allow you to report content, block and unfriend people. If you are not sure how to visit the safety centres of social media platforms for guidance.

You can block phone numbers that are sending abusive/bullying/threatening messages. You can find instructions online. For example search how to block phone numbers on Samsung Galaxy S7. Your service provider may also help you.

It is essential to talk to your parents, teachers or a trusted adult and don’t be nervous it happens to more people than you might think.

If you see someone being bullied online, you can report the problem anonymously to the website/application.

You can support the person by :

• Asking if they are okay. This helps the person being bullied to feel less isolated
• Advise them not to reply as this only puts oil on the fire
• Save evidence – Encourage your friend to save the messages, take screenshots of websites or chat abuse
• Report it if the online bullying is happening on a social media site – encourage them to report it as abuse

The most important aspect is to make sure that you look out for your friends and that your friends do the same for you. In this way you protect each other and if you experience cyber bullying you won’t feel so isolated as isolation is one aspect that these bullies love to make sure. They control you. It’s your life – you keep the control.

Try these five tips over a period of time coupled with encouraging your child to sleep enough and having healthy nutritious food and you should see the benefits.

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