CYBER-BULLYING
AND ITS EFFECT ON OUR YOUTH
Between cell
phones, social media Web sites, and online gaming, children today seem to have
more outlets for interacting with each other virtually than they do for
interacting with each other in person. However, with all of the good social
interaction that is done as a result of these technologies also comes the bad. In
addition to the physical and verbal bullying that may take place at school,
cyber-bullying in the form of harassing text messages and derogatory posts on children’s
Facebook pages is now commonplace. Even though it may not take place in person,
the emotional and psychological effects of cyber-bullying are just as
destructive. Since new media and cell phones are harder to track and monitor,
parents need to take preventive measures that can help minimize the effects of
cyber-bullying on their children.
Kids that are
bullied are likely to experience anxiety, depression, loneliness, unhappiness, and
poor sleep. Making the issue worse is the fact that such negative effects of bullying often go unnoticed,
as many victims feel the need to conceal the fact that they are being bullied
because they are embarrassed or afraid of further bullying. More often than not
victims respond passively to bullying. They tend to act anxious and appear less
confident. They may become quieter in class and, as a result, the bullying can
become a hindrance on their academic success. Therefore, bullying is a problem
that, if left unattended, can become a significant hurdle in a child’s
development.
Yet while the victim might be passive, it is imperative
that the parent is not. In order to
prevent cyber-bullying, parents must be actively involved in their children’s
cyber lives. Communication with one’s children is the key to bully prevention.
So send them a friend request on Facebook. Play some XBOX Live—or another
system with online gaming—with them. Parents who are proactively involved with
their children’s interactions online are subsequently able to monitor these
interactions more closely. Therefore, such parents will be exponentially more
informed with regard to what bullies, if any, exist in their children’s lives,
both online and off.
In addition
to interacting more with their children, parents should also take the necessary
preventive measures to create safe places for their children to get away from
cyber-bullying. The home should be a safe place where open discussion is not
only allowed, but invited. Parental supervision and involvement in a child’s
social interactions allows for a sense of comfort and protection from bullying.
One must not
forget about the bullies themselves. Often, bullying is a cry for help and can
usually be traced to a time when the bully was in fact a victim of this type of
behavior. Thus, creating a safe environment where one’s child feels comfortable
enough to talk about being bullied can help put a stop to bullying before it
ever starts.
Preventive
medicine is just one aspect of care osteopathic physicians (DOs) provide. DOs
are fully-licensed to prescribe medicine and practice in all specialty areas
including surgery. DOs are trained to consider the health of the whole person
and use their hands to help diagnose and treat their patients.
*The
contributing physician to this article was Jennifer N. Caudle, DO, an AOA
board-certified family physician and director of Family Medicine at