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Wed
Dec 26, 2007
School
life is being transformed by the Internet and mobile phones. Kids as
young as six years old are learning and playing online, teenagers
are speaking a new language through test-ing, and students now have
an entire World Wide Web to draw from when doing homework. While the
majority of these interactions are positive, there is a dark side as
well: some children are using these communication tools to
intimidate and threaten others.
Bullying is an age-old problem for schoolchildren, but the anonymity
of Internet communications is bringing the harmful practice of
bullying online. A Media Awareness Network survey in 2005 showed
that 27 percent of kids who were bullied, were bullied over the
Internet. And a December 2006 Kids Help Phone survey found that an
astonishing 70 percent said they had been cyber bullied. With this
in mind, many Internet Service Providers, like Bell, are working to
put a stop to this destructive behavior.
Here are some important tips to help protect your children from
cyber bullies:
• Learn everything you can about the Internet and what your kids are
doing online.
• Talk to your children about responsible Internet use and ask them
about the Web sites they visit; where necessary, use parental
control software to block specific sites.
• Teach them to never post or say anything on the Internet that they
wouldn't want the whole world – including you – to read.
• Create an online agreement or contract for computer use, with your
kids' input.
• Encourage your kids to come to you if anybody says or does
something online that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened.
• Watch out for the signs; a reluctance to use the computer or to go
to school may be an indication that he or she is being cyber
bullied.
• Take action if your child is being bullied online; report any
incident of online harassment and physical threats to the local
authorities.
• If the bully is a student at your child's school, meet with school
officials and ask for help in resolving the situation.
More information is available on these key sites: safety.sympatico.msn.ca;
bewebaware.ca;
kidshelphone.ca.
- News Canada
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