Get to Know Your Child’s Online World

How Parents Can Help Children Tackle Online Bullying

Children’s Experiences of Online Bullying

In my research on school bullying I have found that online bullying is usually a continuation of the bullying which children experience face-to-face which means that children are usually bullied online by the same people who bully them in school. What is posted online can remain indefinitely and have a wide audience. Children are in a difficult position because they can feel peer pressure to have a strong online presence but experience bullying when they are online. Adults are not always fully away of the ways in which children are bullied through social media. In one of my studies at Birmingham City University I found that whilst teachers thought children were being bullied on whatsapp, the children actually were being bullied whilst they were gaming.

What to do to Help

It is important to know what social media platforms your child is using. Try to keep up with ever changing technology and ask children to talk to you and show you how they are communicating with others online. Ask children to also stop and think about what they are posting online and reflect on how it can be perceived by others. Support children to have a more balanced view of social media and to be engaging in face-to-face activities and have a switch off point from social media so that most of their interactions are face-to-face. If children are being severely bullied online then you can use the evidence to send to school/and or the police. Teaching children about how to interact with others online is best taught face-to-face and this means teaching children how to communicate respectfully online as well as being careful not to make themselves vulnerable to bullying online, for example, by sharing too much. The information posted online is published and open to interpretation so am very careful about what I post online and share. Children would benefit from learning boundaries of an online and offline life where there are things that can be said and done offline which are not appropriate to share online. Talk to your children and ask them what kinds of experiences children have online through social media, ask them if children are bullied online and what kinds of bullying they might experience. Ask your children if they have ever been bullied online and ask what support they would like. Get to know your child’s online world. Ask them to show you what they are doing online and how they are engaging with others. You could also speak with other parents and children to learn more about how children are communicating online and work together to help those who are bullied online.