How Teens Can Protect Themselves From Cyberbullies

December 7, 2007

Photo by Neohippy
Cyberbullying can drive depressed teens to suicide.

That is a tough fact to swallow, but it’s true nevertheless. Having just read a post by Wendy Piersall regarding a depressed 13-year-old girl who committed suicide after being a victim of cyberbullying, I am convinced … cyberbullying can be devastating. In this young girl’s case, the bullying was done not only by the cyber “friend” but by the friend’s parents as well. Please do read Wendy’s post if you haven’t already.

Cyberbullying occurs in many different places online, not just social networking sites. It is done by adults as well as teens. It is usually done by strangers, but on many occasions it is done by acquaintances. People you know and who are nothing but sweet to your face may turn absolutely cruel on the Internet. I personally have seen young girls from my daughter’s school … whom I always considered polite … turn revengeful, filthy mouthed, hateful, and even life threatening on the Internet. And when the victim is already suffering from depression, the bullying may be enough to lead the victim to make a horrible decision, as was the case with the mentioned 13-year-old.

What Can We Do To Protect Our Teens?

All parents should be aware of who their children are communicating with on the Internet. But depressed people are especially vulnerable as they may be seeking a social life or even help on the Internet. Below is a list of precautions to take. These do not apply only to cyberbullying but also to protect against predators on the Internet.

Things a parent can do:

Respect your children’s privacy, but never allow them to have Internet access in their bedroom. Monitor the websites they visit.
Be a part of your children’s online experiences. If they have a blog, join in on the conversations occasionally. If you are not Internet lingo savy, you can go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children site and print out a list of acronyms commonly used in instant messenger and chat rooms.
Communicate with your children. Talk to them about the dangers and let them know you will help them out of a bad situation.
Discuss online etiquette with your children so as not to instigate bullying. For instance, tell them that if something is too mean to say to someone’s face, then it probably is not appropriate to say online.

Things teens can do:

Beware of chat room “friends” and “buddies” as they are not always who they say they are.
Guard identity information (name, age, sex, school, address). Do not open attachments from cyber “friends” as they may contain viruses which can provide identities to hackers.
Know that responsible adults do not pursue relationships with kids and teens.
Make sure your username is anonymous.
Know how to recognize an inappropriate chatroom and exit when necessary.
Never send pictures online that you wouldn’t want your classmates to see. Pictures can be altered and used to harass people via the Internet. Once it is there, it never goes away.
If one of your friends is bullying someone, ask them to stop. Let them know it is not normal or okay.

What to do if you are cyberbullied.

If you are a victim:

Ignore the person or log off if the harassment is bothering you.
If it is happening in a social networking site such as Myspace, block their username or delete them from your buddy list.
If someone has hacked into your profile, change your password and possibly even your username and email address.
If someone has created a profile about you without your permission, contact the site owner and request that it be removed.
Talk to someone you trust. If you feel scared or trapped, you should talk with an adult, such as a parent, aunt/uncle, teacher, school counselor, or church youth group leader.

If you or a friend is depressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 188-273-TALK.