Article
Prevent Cyberbullying Before It Starts
Now that you took our quiz, you know whether or not you might be at risk for cyberbullying. You may have even learned a thing or two about how to protect yourself. But here are a few things you probably didn't know about cyberbullying.
- 85% of the middle schoolers polled last year said they had been cyberbullied at least once.
- 70% of 13-16 year olds polled said they had cyberbullied someone else at least once.
- Cyberbullying starts as young as in second grade and peaks in 4th grade and then again in 7th! Now that's young!
- Only 5% polled would ever tell their parents and only 25% told anyone.
Are you surprised? We know we were. So now we have to band together to stop cyberbullying before it starts! Here are three ways…
1. Be more careful with personal information and passwords. Don’t share them with your friends, since most cyberbullying occurs with friends or people you know. You'll learn more about this in the privacy section.
2. Avoid provoking others, since fights turn into cyberwarfare pretty quickly. This includes not answering back if something upsets you. They want you to react. Don’t feed the cyberbullies!
3. Be more careful about what you send, how you send it, and where. Check and make sure you sent it to the right place and to the right person. What is for your BFF may not be for your 45-year-old dad who gets it by mistake when you clicked on the wrong name in your buddy list.