(ThyBlackMan.com) Girls of all ages are involved in online communication that has exceeded face to face communication. They are sharing photos, videos, emoji’s and other graphical
displays of emotions and friendships. BFF is a new word in the English language.
The increase of a girl’s social life has transitioned to digital relationships that travel across the digital languages of Social Media sites.
Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and other forms of digital communications are dominated by the chatter of digital words, phrases, acronyms and the occasional use of profanity and sexual dialogue.
A girl or young ladies, digital life is different than how they are in real life situations. Direct interaction creates opport
unities for dialogue that can be respectful and caring. Technology has opened a Pandora ’s Box to potential vicious Bullying, Cyberbullying, Cyberstalking and Sexting. These actions have created a change in the education of digital interactions and etiquette. It is dangerous not to know what Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking are.
Girls must be taught how to “talk” digitally to each other and not to bully, or in the case of technology Cyberbully. Brooklyn a 5th grade student says that, “Parents need to observe their child’s accounts to see what they are doing to keep their children especially girls safe from predators and others that would do them harm.”
The end of each school year is creating fear, apprehension and even causing parents pulling their children out of school early because of fear from violence as retribution of past offenses even if it is a minor verbal altercation or a digital misunderstanding.
Children and teens do not value life as it should be valued and their natures are more violent and less compassionate. Communication with wireless devices has created a paradigm shift for parents, educators, and even law enforcement in the attempts to monitor, educate and prevent bullying actions by girls and women.
Statistics show that girls will bully using technology more than boys and a girl’s online activity is more vicious. Even television media has shown true to life movies about girls bullying in the traditional sense in the school environment and also through digital means. The unfortunate deaths by suicide and attempted suicides are reported weekly on national news stations that bullying and cyberbullying creates havoc emotionally and psychologically for girls.
Girls as they mature into women have stated that they suffer from PTSD because of the stress resulting from bullying through middle and high school. This cannot be discounted and it cannot be laughed at because girls are committing suicide because of bullying.
The reality that many parents do not understand or are in denial is girls are more likely than boys to participate in cyberbullying, (cyber-bullying via text messages on the internet).
Sharing information to empower and engage parents as the school year comes to a close, parents need to check their children’s Social Media accounts and their digital devices. Parents need to understand their children, who their friends are and even associates. The recent deaths of girls from fights have made national attention and a warning sign to parents. It cannot be said that this is a surprise because there are signs, parents just may not recognize them.
Schools cannot be fully blamed for bullying, because at the end of the day, girls go home to their parents, seclude themselves in their rooms and use their digital devices to make the lives of other girls and even boys hell on Social Media. Parents are accountable and
responsible because they are paying for the very devices their children are using to bully with.
The consequences of bullying do have serious emotional and psychological consequences that can last a lifetime. Girls who are bullied have a greater risk for depression which can lead to drug dependency, alcohol and other substances. As a teacher in elementary and higher education here are some tips that may help protect kids from cyberbullying, but it takes parents being active, engaged and involved.
Reinforce in your children not to give out personal information online, when engaged in online don’t fill in personal information. In online profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or on web site surveys be careful what personal information you provide. Not all sites are honest and beneficial.
Don’t ever tell anyone your email or instant messaging passwords, even your friends or BFF’s. If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don’t respond, get a screen capture and save it to report to school administration or law enforcement. Don’t be a cyberbully, because you may find yourself on the other end of being investigated by law enforcement and school officials. Laws are enforced where all digital devices can be taken from the home and searched for “evidence” for cyberbullying.
Knowing the definition of bullying and cyberbullying is not enough, knowing that anyone can be a bully or can be bullied is important. Prevention and protection is the goal of my blog, to empower and educate parents. Parents need to read student policy and procedure books, they need to read Internet policies for the school district.
The end of the school year should be a calm transition, not one filled with dread for the summer, fearing being bullied, harassed and stalked.
Staff Writer; William D. Jackson
Find out more about this talented writer over at; OCS For Education.