Cyberbullying During COVID-19

The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of kids and teens using digital devices for school, not just for their personal use. Kids are learning virtually online through various suites like Microsoft Office 365 and Minecraft Home Schooling, google meets and zoom. Zoom has been in the spotlight for the recent disruption of strangers, who have hacked online business meetings, classroom teaching, and kids and teens emails with hateful and inappropriate comments. If Zoom is that easy to hack into, it’s likely to expect kids and teens trying to follow. While cyberbullying is a great concern, kids who can’t sleep, or who have completed home studying may find additional screen time appealing and if the opportunity presents itself, cyberbullying can become one of their activities.

A study by the American Adolescent Psychiatric Association, “stress and mental health may be exacerbated by cyberbullying, particularly among those who have experienced emotional abuse.’ Many parents are now stressed out from having to teach their kids in the home schooling arena on top of working from home and parents may be exhausted and will overlook what their kids are doing online, during non-school hours and weekends. Although cyberbullying has been around for a long time, we’re living in unprecedented times and when kids are stressed out and bored the opportunity to cyberbully is present.

Here’s some Warning Signs Bullying that your child is being bullied:

Depression

Grades drop in school

Name-Calling

Unexplainable injuries

Self medicated

Change in their eating Habits

No Sleep

Always talking down on themselves

Skipping school

Run away from home

Suicide thoughts

Fake sickness

Always wants to stay to themselves

No extra activities

Different Types of Bullying:

Verbal, Social, Physical

Hitting/kicking/pinching someone

Spitting on someone

Tripping/pushing someone

Taking or breaking someone else’s things

Leaving someone out on purpose

Inappropriate sexual comments

Taunting someone

Telling other children not to be friends and or talk to someone

Spreading rumors about someone

Embarrassing someone while in public