St Patrick’s University Hospital (SPUH) is Ireland's biggest independent mental health service provider. In recent months, they've noticed the increased effects cyber bullying has been having. Four out of every five teenagers seen by SPUH were recent victims of cyber bullying.
The problem, as Prof. Jim Lucey notes, is that cyber bullying could worsen pre-existing mental health problems. And that, unlike bullying in schools, there's no escape. Once something is online it's there for good. Just a week ago a teenager from Leitrim country, Ireland took her life. The investigation continues looking into bullying comments made about her on the social media site "ask.fm".
Below are some tips that can be found in the article from the Irish Examiner.
Online Safety Tips:
* Open conversations from an early age about responsible use of the internet are key. Young people are the experts and the internet is no longer based on a desktop.
* Talk to young people about the impact of words written online. Explain hurtful things have just as negative an effect online as offline.
* Build up trust with young people, so they know they have a trusted adult to talk to if they come across something online that upsets them.
* You won’t be able to control everything young people do and say, so ensure they know how to stay safe and are aware of dangers such as sharing too much information or in-person meetings with strangers they met online;
* Teach children about responsible commenting that respects others’ rights not to be harmed.
* Ensure they can block/report.
Click Here for the original article
No comments:
Post a Comment