Cyberbullying, regular bullying, both the same and both horrible. They have been on the uproar since technology has excelled in its finest. Personally, I could not tell you how many times a week I hear my daughter upset because of a friend’s Tic Tok or Instagram post, or how they message her through Snapchat or via text and are mean. Or to say the least when they hang out how she gets ditched for no reason. Now of course I have taught my daughter to try and be tough, try not to let things bother you but as a parent you can only succeed so much. Since I myself and a parent who intervenes a lot, I feel that an intervention for this type of behavior is well called for. A prime example that I can use is just last weekend my daughter came down crying because her friend made an appreciation video on Tic Tok but used a bad photo of her, of course I thought she was being dramatic like any pre-teen girl would be. However, there was more to the story of how the other young girl knew it was a bad photo and told her that she knew she would get upset, that’s why she used it. So, me as the mother I am, “involve parental engagement (Hendry et al., 2023)” to the point that I called the girls’ mother, and we had our own discussion about it. We felt that intervention for the two girls regarding bullying behavior, which can “include teaching social skills such as friendship, empathy, and anger management in one-on-one settings, not in a group setting. Discipline should be addressed in private. Interventions focus on identifying the expected behaviors. (Bullying prevention and intervention strategies)” but all in all, I felt the initial intervention of parental engagement was appropriate.
Reference
Bullying prevention and intervention strategies. Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies – Nebraska Department of Education. (n.d.). https://www.education.ne.gov/safety/bullying-prevention-and-intervention-strategies/#:~:text=Bullying%20behavior%20interventions%20may%20include,on%20identifying%20the%20expected%20behaviors.
Hendry, B. P., Hellsten, L. M., McIntyre, L. J., & Smith, B. R. R. (2023, February 13). Recommendations for cyberbullying prevention and intervention: A Western Canadian perspective from key stakeholders. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1067484/full#:~:text=When%20cyberbullying%20instances%20occur%2C%20it,technology%20used%20by%20their%20youth.
I completely empathize with you, having raised two kids, and now raising a pre-teen, I can understand how difficult it is to navigate through teenage years with the presence of social media. Just a few years ago it was much easier to keep an eye on kids, and control bullying to a certain extent, but now with all the kids on Instagram and Tic Tok, it is near impossible to see what kids are posting, and who they are talking about. As parents we need to walk a very fine line, on when to interfere, and when to let kids resolve things themselves. I agree with you some times kids overreact too, at little things, and we need to encourage them to be strong, and not let every single thing affect them, but it is also important that kids are aware and know that, they can openly come to us, and we will validate their feelings, we will stand by them, and help them if and when needed.
https://www.unicef.org/end-violence/how-to-stop-cyberbullying