Unlike what a lot of people think, cyberbullies don’t take the summer off like most other teens do after school ends. They actually have more time than they did before to keep their hands on their computers and phones to harass others. There are, however, three tips that Kay Stephens and Time Warner Cable came up with to prevent cyberbullying as much as possible.
Tip #1: Photos: “Pays to be Paranoid”
Get used to the two most commonly used photo sharing websites/apps: Instagram and Snapchat. Kids may believe that it’s fun to put up silly or sexualized ‘selfies,’ but unless they have their privacy settings set to the extreme, their photos are viewable by anyone. These photos are the currency for anyone with a grudge, an ex-friend, ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, or even jealous or insecure strangers. Kids who use Snapchat believe that they’re safe, since their photo is only ‘online’ for 10 seconds after they put it up. Others have already used screenshot features of their phones to save pictures that they see and that is a major breach of the idea of ‘privacy’ on Snapchat. In order to be able to prevent cyberbullying, one must know how it occurs and what methods cyberbullies use to bully others.
Tip #2: Don’t Feed the Trolls
Teens often misinterpret others’ comments and statements, and out of rage, fight ‘fire on fire.’ Instead of solving the problem, fighting ‘fire on fire’ only provokes the problem more, fueling more and more hate, causing more issues than wanted.
Tip #3: It’s Your Digital Footprint: Monitor It
Photos can be misused. Think about what you post and what others post about you. Cyberbullies can use any photo of you against you and it may hurt you in the long run if you don’t pay attention to your photos.
To see more details about each tip, visit:
http://www.boothbayregister.com/affiliate-post/3-tips-minimize-summer-cyberbullying/15731
