How to stop cyberbullying and empower children: A full guide

While online harassment has become a serious problem for millions of young people all over the world, parents are left wondering, “How to stop cyberbullying?” In 2023, 26.5% of teenagers in the United States reported being cyberbullied in the last 30 days – nearly twice the amount of a decade ago. This form of digital harassment continues to take place outside the walls of school, and it penetrates into children’s homes and private spaces 24/7, making it an especially harmful experience for children’s mental health and development.

This guide examines the many forms of cyberbullying, offers practical ways children, parents and educators can try to address cyberbullying and speaks about how to keep it from happening in the first place. Families can help to provide safer digital spaces to the youth by being aware of the issue and using evidence-based interventions to improve the situation.

What is cyberbullying and its impact?

Cyberbullying is harassment that is transmitted through digital means. This includes social media, text messages, gaming platforms, or emails. Unlike traditional bullying, it has three important characteristics:

• Repetition: The harassment occurs regularly over a period of time.
• Intent to harm: The perpetrator has an intent to harm – to hurt, humiliate or intimidate.
• Rapid spread and publicity: Content is widely spread and permanently exists online.

Common types of cyberbullying

There are many ways that cyberbullying occurs in a very harmful fashion:

Cyberbullying takes place in a range of different places where young people gather,

• Social media – Instagram has the majority of victims, with the rest divided among TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter/X.
• Gaming platforms: Discord, Fortnite, Roblox, PlayStation Network.
• Text messaging apps.
• Online forums: Reddit, 4Chan, community spaces.

Impact of cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can have serious, long-lasting effects on children and teens.

• Psychological and emotional effects: Cyberbullying is documented to lead to increased cases of anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Victims suffer from long-term feelings of shame, false self-image, and social withdrawal.
• Physical symptoms: The stress caused by cyberbullying manifests physically in the form of sleeping disorders, insomnia, headaches, stomach aches, and changes in appetite. These psychosomatic complaints are indicative of the suffering experienced by the victims, who are in chronic stress.
• Academic decline and school shirking: Teenagers who were cyberbullied skipped school. This avoidance behavior results in academic disengagement, falling grades, and social isolation.
• Social isolation/withdrawal: Victims isolate themselves from their peer relationships, losing their friends and support systems at the very time they need them the most. Isolation adds to depression and loneliness.
• Extreme cases: Cyberbullied youth are 2.5 to 3 times more likely to think about or attempt suicide. Severe cases lead to self-harm behaviors, post-traumatic stress, as well as long-lasting trauma to adult relationships and mental health.

Signs of cyberbullying

Early detection enables timely intervention. Parents, teachers, and caregivers should watch for behavioral and emotional changes that may indicate involvement in cyberbullying – either as a victim or a perpetrator.

Signs a child or teen is being cyberbullied

Behavioral changes:

• Fear of using phones; fear of notifications.
• Secrecy; unwilling to discuss phone/ computer use.
• Abruptly quitting school, social or other activities once enjoyed.
• More time alone in their room; Isolation from family
• Refuse activities that they formerly loved

Emotional and physiological Indicator:

• Abnormal anxiety, nervousness, or tension.
• Moodiness, withdrawals, depression, or tearfulness
• Low self-esteem and self-depreciation.
• Distress when using or after using the device.
• Sleep disturbances, a change in appetite, or eating patterns.
• Complaints of headaches, stomachaches, or unexplained physical symptoms.

Signs a child or teen might be cyberbullying others

Behavioral red flags:

• Making several accounts or using a fake identity.
• Defensive reactions when asked about Internet activities.
• Increased aggression towards peers (on and offline).
• Sudden lack of interest in real-world social activities.
• Lack of empathy or lack of caring towards other people’s feelings.
• No remorse after aggressive cyber behaviour.

Academic and social changes:

• Decreasing performance in school, along with spending too much time in front of a screen
• Association with peers who bully or engage in delinquent behavior
• Participating in offline bullying or risky behaviours

How to stop cyberbullying and support children: Parents’ practices

Parents play a very important role in helping children navigate online challenges and stop cyberbullying effectively. The following evidence-based strategies reduce the harm and aid recovery:

Don’t engage or retaliate

The first instinct is often to respond with aggression. Revenge puts conflicts to an even greater level. It gives the bully weapons to fight, and it can even expose the parents to lawsuits. Figure out what exactly happened and take further steps.

Document any evidence & report

Good documentation is a must for reporting to platforms and authorities: Screenshot of all abusive messages, posts and comments with the date and time stamps. Backup evidence on different devices. Once documented, make a report to the platform using built-in reporting tools.

Block and cut off the cyberbully

Take protective measures to block the bully’s account on all platforms soon. Restrict messaging from unknown accounts. Besides, disable location sharing.

Encourage open communication with children

Studies have shown that good communication in a supportive way reduces long-term psychological damage:

• Be an active listener, without judgment; give your child a chance to tell you everything about their experience.
• Authenticate the child’s emotions; convince them that it is logical to feel this way. And reassure them that they are not to blame.
• Make regular check-ins about their state of mind.
• Discuss coping strategies together: exercise, creative outlets, and time with supportive peers.

When law enforcement should be involved

Report to the police where cyberbullying includes:

• Continuous stalking, threats of violence.
• Sexual exploitation/ sextortion/ inappropriate pictures.
• Hate crimes
• Identity Theft or Unauthorized Access of Accounts.
• Defamation that Results in Documented Damage.

Document it all and call your local police department or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in the U.S.

Professional support and resources

In case of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts, seek professional assistance. When you notice these symptoms in your child, call local therapists, school counselors, or crisis hotlines:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S): 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• International resources: Lifeline Australia 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

How to prevent a child from being involved in cyberbullying?

It’s never easy to stop cyberbullying once it happens. But prevention is proactive protection. To prevent such issues, you need to nurture empathy in your kid. These strategies constitute a basis for responsible digital citizenship.

Set clear boundaries and rules

Establish expectations for screen time, online behavior, and device use. Discuss what responsible digital citizenship looks like. Age-related restrictions of screen time (1-2 hours a day during school days in teens). Introduce what problematic social platforms are and why they should be blocked. Rules against making mean comments, circulating rumors, or being exclusive.

Monitor online activity with parental controls

Install reliable parental control software such as FlashGet Kids. Be transparent on the purpose of monitoring. FlashGet Kids is a robust parental control tool that can help you keep an eye on what your child is involved in online and take action in time. It helps:

• Monitor online chats for keywords relating to cyberbullying and/or self-harm.
• Monitor app usage and set screen time restrictions.
• Access the browsing history and social media activity.

Teach online and offline empathy and kindness

Explain how the screenshots are spread indefinitely and how comments have effects on real people behind accounts. Be an excellent example, be courteous on social media. Accountability in teaching.

Empower children to be upstanders, not bystanders

A study points out that bystanders are the key to stopping bullying. You can learn more about the role of peer bystanders and their relationship to the incident from further research. Guide your child to learn about wise interventions through role-play. Praise examples of peer support. Discuss how bystander silence defends bullies, while intervention saves the victims.

School intervention and education

School education and activities play a key role in lowering cyberbullying among children and teens. Promote anti-bullying policies and digital citizenship curriculum. Teachers should learn and train in recognizing and responding to cyberbullying. Conduct school workshops and parent engagement programs.

Strategies for students to stop cyberbullying

Children and teens should be equipped with practical ways to protect themselves from cyberbullying.

If you’re being cyberbullied:

• Don’t fight back with hostile reactions.
• Save evidence: take a screenshot of messages with time and date.
• Immediately block and mute notifications.
• Report to an adult who should be trusted: a parent, a teacher, or a school counselor.
• Report to the platform via built-in tools.

In case of witnessing cyberbullying:

Do not exaggerate: never like, share, or repost bullying content. Be brave to speak up and say no to any bullying actions. If possible, offer friendship and reassurance in a private message to the target. If needed, report to the platform, school, or responsible adult.

Establishing Internet resilience

Make the accounts private and limit followers to your acquaintances. Think before posting. Never share personal information, locations, or passwords with online strangers. Get support instead of being withdrawn.

Conclusion

Cyberbullying is a complex problem to guard against and stop that needs the collective efforts of individuals, families, schools, and communities. It causes serious psychological, physical, and social harm. Luckily, prevention and intervention approaches have a clear and positive impact on reducing both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization.

A multi-faceted approach to stopping cyberbullying includes:

• Individual responsibility: Digital citizenship, empathy and upstanding behavior.
• Parental direction: Open communication, boundaries, monitoring, and professional assistance.
• School intervention: Policies, curricula and evidence-based prevention programs.
• Support in the community: Platform responsibility, Government regulation, and easy access to resources.

With the help of our collaboration, people will be able to create a safer online environment where every child will feel cherished, secure, and enabled to succeed.