How To Prevent Cyber Bullying Before It Strikes

Cyber bullying is now a crime in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, ever since one young girl killed herself because of it. Everyone was understandably shocked upon hearing about her sad story. People from all around the world mourned over this girl's tragic death. Parents were sent into a frenzy while the question on everyone’s mind was 'How do we prevent it?'. Of course, we can't bring back the teen suicides that were directly caused by this senseless crime, but we can look to the future and learn as a community how to prevent cyber bullying. We really need to. Our kids need us to.

It is estimated that one third of teens between the ages of 13 and 18 have either been a victim of Internet harassment or have known someone who has. The news headlines all report that it's a problem, but they don't explain that Internet harassment is occurring in epidemic proportions. Teens and their parents must learn how to prevent cyber bullying before even more young people get hurt or commit suicide.

One thing that teens do very well is engaging in social interactions involving a lot of gossip. Usually, where gossip is concerned there will be trouble. Using the Internet to pass harmful information back and forth, especially the kind that victimizes any one person or group, may actually be a crime where you live. Even if that information is erroneous or based on hearsay; “he said, she said,” it is still meant to hurt the victims of the gossip. Your first step in learning how to prevent cyber bullying begins with avoiding such gossip. Don't engage in it.

Another suggestion is to temporarily have your kids avoid the chat groups and forums such as MySpace and Facebook if the lies, accusations or gossip is specifically addressed towards them. These online bullies must have a response and that response is what fuels the fire to continue the harassment. For example, if the victim is called a derogatory name, any response will usually lead to more harassment. Although defending yourself is normally considered a good thing, in this case it will likely cause the bullying to continue or possibly even escalate into threats. Remember, you are trying to prevent cyber bullying, not make it worse . Once the bullies know that their victim is getting stressed out, they begin to feel power over them, making the bullies more confident and even harder to deal with.

For a more complete cyber bullying prevention strategy, click here now.