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Fight Against Cyberbullying: Programs & Laws That Help Protect Your Children
The Internet is closely integrated into the academic and social development of today’s youth. This resource provides ample possibilities for development and growth, though can also pose a threat to our children’s safety and well-being. Your child’s online activity engenders the risk of identity theft, exposure to indecent materials and cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying emerged as a malignant and obscured byproduct of social media and online interaction, which led to baneful and even fatal incidents, before it was fully acknowledged. Today, there are a number of preventive programs and government-driven initiatives that aim to prevent cyber bullying, through family education and political legislation. Here are some of the best programs you can be involved with, so you can actively protect your child from cyberbullying:
StopBullying.gov
This site extends beyond the realm of cyberbullying and provides a definitive overview of how bullying presents itself in its many forms. This site is the perfect place for you to begin your education of bullying, as it provides you with a breakdown of what it means to be the perpetrator or victim in a bully situation. Stopbullying.gov classifies the various roles kids may have in a bully situation, which ranges from kids who “bully,” “are bullied,” “assist,” “reinforce,” “defend” or are the “outsiders” who witness. This information hopes to inform kids and parents that all children who witness bullying are involved, therefore have the power to prevent it.
STOP Cyberbullying
STOP Cyberbullying is an organization that equips parents with a wide array of information around the subject of cyberbullying. This site posts material and resources on cyberbullying laws and methods of prevention. Their “How to Take Action” section provides parents with the most effective verbiage and techniques, so you may teach your child about the dangerous consequences and harmful effects of online bullying. The site will let you classify which age range you’re hoping to educate, and adjusts their material into three age brackets of “7-10 years-old,” “11-13 years-old” and “14-17 years-old.”
Safe School Ambassadors Program
The SSA program is one of the most effective bystander educational programs, which engages students and empowers them with the knowledge of bully prevention methods. This program has an “inside-out” approach, where the students have the power to improve the school social environment from within. SSA recognizes that kids are privy to situations that adults aren’t always aware of, and are more likely to have first-hand witness to all forms of bullying. The program trains student ambassadors and thoroughly teaches them how they can stand up for themselves and others, in the event of bullying or cyberbullying. The federal agency of SAMHSA has included this program in the National REgistry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
Cyberbullying Research Center
This valuable online resources provides you with all the federal and state laws that concern cyberbullying. There is an easy-to-read list of all the states and how they regard cyberbullying in their state legislation system. The research center has been conducting surveys from 2004-2014 within 97 different schools and among 15,000 middle school students. Twenty-five percent of the students, who surveyed over the company’s last eight studies, confirmed they have been cyberbullied at some point in their life. About 9 percent of those same students, stated they were cyberbullied in the 30 days prior to the survey. This site is full of all the facts you, so you may have a better understanding of cyberbullying and informed of how you can take action.