Cyberbullying is defined as, “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.” Cyberbullying has been a frequently discussed issue over the last decade. Bullying has been taking place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets on apps such as SMS, Text, and social media, and has had a direct impact on teenagers all over the world for many years.

Like all forms of bullying, cyberbullying causes psychological, emotional, and physical stress. Each person’s response to being bullied is different, but research has shown that there are some general tendencies, including, sadness, loneliness, changes in sleep patterns, changes in eating patterns, loss of interest in activities, and other health complaints. In some cases, youth that are bullied may also struggle in school, which could cause them to miss or skip school, receive poor grades, have low self-esteem, and use alcohol or drugs. Clearly, these are things that must be avoided at all costs, so it is very important that people are aware of the issue that is cyberbullying. 

There are a couple different ways of battling against cyberbullying. Research has shown that the most effective strategies to combat cyberbullying are not responding, saving the evidence, trying to tell the person to stop, reaching out for help, using social media tools (block the person), protecting accounts, and just overall taking action. It’s a lot easier said than done to avoid being bullied, especially through the internet, but when these actions are taken, there is a great chance that a step will be taken in the right direction. 

When it comes to parents helping their children through cyberbullying situations, there are also a few different ways to combat the issue. Some of these combative methods include, working with your child, responding thoughtfully and not fast, and providing multiple perspectives can help get your child going in the right direction when it comes to battling cyberbullying. In the end, there’s one ideal outcome from helping your child through being cyberbullied, and that’s restored self-confidence. 

Along with teaching children how to avoid cyberbullying and helping them through being cyberbullied, a big part of ending this issue is preventing it from even happening. This strategy of combating cyberbullying has proven to work the best, as numbers show that over the last five years cyberbullying has been on a steady decrease. There have been many different ways that people have tried to stop cyberbullying from occurring, but one of the most effective methods that have been used is educating the youth about cyberbullying and the possible consequences.

A local middle school, Olympia Middle School, recently had a week dedicated to teaching their students about the dangers of cyberbullying. They had set aside time each day during the week to talk about different ways of avoiding cyberbullying, consequences of cyberbullying, and how cyberbullying could affect another person. This was a great effort by OMS to try to combat cyberbullying and make the Olympia community feel like a safe place for their students. 

I’ve talked to multiple teachers at Olympia Middle School about their cyberbullying lessons and all of the responses have been very positive. Many teachers even say that they have noticed a change in behavior from the students since then. They say that there have been much more friendly encounters in the halls than in the past. Even though the students may not notice this subtle, yet significant change, their change in behavior could impact their classmates in a big way. 

Cyberbullying has recently been an issue in the world, but not an issue that cannot be stopped and prevented. There are many ways that people are trying to prevent cyberbullying from happening and help stop it when it does happen. The biggest thing in battling against cyberbullying is overall awareness of the issue.