Is your child being cyberbullied?

Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through the use of electronic technology. According to StopBullying.gov,cyberbullying can include均值短信或电子邮件，谣言在社交媒体网站和其他网站，冒充和假冒社交概况的创建，以及妥协或令人尴尬的照片，视频和消息。通过对您孩子的指尖的互联网，网络欺凌可以随时随地发生，即使在您家的舒适。

Cyberbullying is more prevalent than you might think. For instance, the 2013-2014School Crime Supplementsuggests that 7% of students in grades 6-12 experienced cyberbullying. And the 2013Youth Risk Behavior Surveyindicates that 15% of students in grades 9-12 were electronically bullied in the past year.

Cyberbullying can have a significant impact on your child’s health and well-being. Kids who are the victims of cyberbullying are more likely to skip or be unwilling to attend school, use drugs or alcohol, receive poor grades, have lower self-esteem, and have more health problems.

Because many kids and teenagers are hesitant to confide in their parents, it may seem difficult to figure out if your child might be the victim of cyberbullying. Here are a few things to look out for that could indicate a problem like cyberbullying is affecting your child:

• Your child is unwilling to go to school, gets into trouble at school, and/or their grades drop
• They seem nervous when receiving text messages or emails
• They show signs of stress, depression, or aggressive behavior
• They are unusually secretive about their online activity
• They seem particularly moody, angry, or sad, especially after going online
• They ask to have one of their social media sites shut down
• Strangers have opened social media accounts in their name
• Many new email address, phone numbers, or texts appear on their phone or email account
• 他们在现实生活中退出了朋友或家人，或者他们曾经享受过的活动
• They suddenly change groups of friends
• They have trouble sleeping
• They experience unusual weight loss or gain
• They suddenly stop using the computer—or are using it much more than usual
• They hurt themselves, express suicidal thoughts, or make suicide attempts

StopBullying.gov recommendsthese best practices:

• Avoid responding to cyberbullying messages
• Record evidence of cyberbullying that occurs. For example, record times, dates, and descriptions of incidents; save and print emails, screenshots, and text messages.
• When possible, block people who are cyberbullying you/your child
• Report cyberbullying to web and cell phone service providers, as well as to your child’s school
• If the cyberbullying involves the following activities, it is considered a crime and should be reported to law enforcement: threats of violence, sending sexually explicit messages or photos, taking photos or videos of someone in a place where they should be able to expect privacy, stalking, hate crimes

Also,take steps to prevent cyberbullyingfrom affecting your child:

• Be aware of what your child is doing online—talk to your child about what sites they visit and what activities they engage in
• Set rules about technology usage
• Remind your child to be smart about what they post on social media
• Ask to friend or follow your child on their social media sites
• Encourage your child to tell you immediately if you or one of their friends is being cyberbullied
• If necessary, consider asking your child for their social media passwords to monitor their accounts, or install parental control filtering software on the computer and other devices