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
Hitting/kicking/pinching someone
Spitting on someone
Tripping/pushing someone
Taking or breaking someone else’s things