As many children go back to
school, experts recommend to parents how to keep them safe online
According to the Cyberbullying Research Center,
cyberbullying cases in US schools continue to rise.
“This growth in cyberbullying has mainly happened
because of the pandemic, which increased kids’ screen time by around 17%. Even
though we cannot make mean kids nicer, we can teach our own kids how to keep
themselves safer on the internet and avoid cyberbullying,” says Daniel
Markuson, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN.
Cyberbullying is any form of online abuse that
makes someone feel worthless and vulnerable. Researchers from the Journal of Health Economics say
cyberbullying increases suicidal thinking among victims by 14.5% and suicide
attempts by 8.7%.
Most common types of
cyberbullying
-
Harassment/Cyberstalking:
These forms of cyberbullying are perhaps the most similar to
physical/real-world forms of bullying. Harassment involves someone
targeting your child’s online identity (email inbox, social media, etc.)
with hurtful comments or images. It can come from one assailant or many,
and it can leave victims with deep emotional wounds if it isn’t stopped.
-
Outing:
Outing is the practice of publicly revealing sensitive or
embarrassing information or files. This is a common form of abuse used to
target gay youth who have not yet revealed their orientation, but others
can be targeted as well. Examples include bed-wetting, embarrassing
medical conditions, or embarrassing mistakes your child would rather
forget.
- Exclusion:
Often seen in children and teenagers, it involves actively excluding
the victim from social groups and activities.
Protecting your child from
cyberbullies
As a parent, you can't protect your children at
all times. However, Daniel Markuson recommends some steps parents can take
today to lower the online risks their kids face.
-
Make
sure their devices and accounts are secure. Strong passwords can prevent bullies from
accessing a victim's social media accounts or even a stolen device. A good
password should be at least twelve characters in length, contain a mixture
of letters, symbols, and numbers, and avoid any recognizable dictionary
words.
-
Make
sure to adjust privacy settings. Teach your child to adjust their privacy
settings on social media. They can decide who gets to see certain images,
stories, and snaps and who gets to view their profile. Settings can be
changed at any point.
-
Give
them other safe spaces to vent. Young people sometimes use online spaces to
open up emotionally, which can attract unwanted predators. Encourage them
to express themselves to you or their close friends privately to avoid
them giving ammunition to online attackers.
- Advise
them against using their real name for online accounts. Creating a moniker for online accounts can
help protect your child's true identity should things get complicated. It
may also prevent bullies from using their real name to find out where they
live, what school they go to, or who their family members are.
NordVPN is the world’s most
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NordVPN provides double VPN encryption and Onion Over VPN and guarantees
privacy with zero tracking. One of the key features of the product is Threat
Protection, which blocks malicious websites, malware, trackers, and ads.
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