Preventing cyberbullying requires a multi-pronged approach that addresses both individual behavior and systemic factors. Educating individuals about the consequences of cyberbullying and promoting empathy and kindness online can help foster a culture of digital civility. Technology companies can also implement measures to combat cyberbullying, such as developing algorithms to detect and remove harmful content and providing resources for reporting abusive behavior. A thorough and cooperative strategy including a range of parents, educators, elected officials, tech companies, mental health specialists, and the community at large—is needed to prevent cyberbullying.
In addition to teaching students how to use technology and observing techniques, schools can put anti-bullying policies into place and offer victim support services. In addition to creating positive online communities, technology companies can create devices and algorithms that detect and lessen cyberbullying. Parents and other adults need to keep an eye on their kids’ internet activities, keep lines of communication open, and offer guidance and emotional support.
Furthermore, addressing the underlying causes of bullying behavior and fostering a more secure and welcoming online community for everyone are necessary steps towards developing a culture of absolutely no tolerance for cyberbullying. We can stop cyberbullying and advance an online community that values kindness, respect, and empathy by working together.
Technology impact is really a serious matter on youth. While radio and television affected their decisions, social media creates anxieties that it greatly and negatively affects their mental health. When mental health is concerned, it’s a bit difficult to combat potential harms teens may face when using social media.
Yet, despite these concerns, teens themselves say that their lives were not complete without social media. They have a deep connection with certain social platforms, that they neck-deep into it, just like being buried in a quicksand.
They need social media because it provides connections and support network when they need it, thinking that the positive impact has more to offer than the negative impacts.
Social media makes the teens feel more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives. It makes them feel that they belong. It makes them feel like they have a place where they can show their creative side. It also makes them feel that there are people who can support them through tough times, though with just a comment in the chatroom. A simple greeting like “good morning” or “happy birthday” makes a difference. They feel more accepted, or maybe, more “in.”
Teens often say that the overall impact of social media on them is actually mostly positive. True, as not everybody cannot fight cyberbullying by themselves. A person with high emotional quotient can easily combat any emotional difficulty. Of course, not everybody can do it, but the largest share of teenagers say that the impact of social media with them is rather in neutral terms – meaning, it has neither a positive nor a negative effect on them. Sure, there are negative impacts, but they are outweighing by the positive impacts such as maintaining friendships, building connections, or easily accessing information. And true, social media connects us with the world. It helps us to have an outlet to access things. It even helps to discover and explore anything that interests them, even the thing he/she never though before that he would be interested in.
Notice that many teens don’t often post many personal information on social media out of fear of it being used against them. Most of the time, they post selfies or ‘my day’ or just some unimportant things in their lives. Truth is, there are so many things that they want to share on social media, but for fear of having a negative effect on others and themselves, they opt not to.
This leads us to a bigger question. Do certain platforms or sites have special impacts on today’s youth? Be it positive or negative, social media has greatly affected their lives. That’s why suicides are now connected with cyberbullying on the negative side, and on the positive side, online learning is very much appreciated. Still, many teens believe that the effect of social media is neither positive or negative, regardless of whether they are assessing the impact on themselves or others.
Parents play important role in the challenges their children may face when using social media. Children naturally fear their parents. The parents’ reaction towards what would be posted in social media affect the teens, especially if the posts are embarrassing. Sure, not all parents are extremely worried about their children using social media, but somehow, there are parents who are concerned, – not just for the sake of their own children, but for the reputation of the family as a whole.
But the teens say that they can handle social media better than what their parents think. Yes, they had negative experiences, they actually have more experiences than their parents, and whether there are positive or negative impacts, they know how to deal with it personally. If the parents are confident that they have reared their children well, using these platforms is actually not a problem.
How the teens see social media’s effects, whether it is positive or negative, is very much different from the perspective of their parents. Truth is, parents’ views stack up to reality. Social media is a teenage Gen Z’s way of life, and they believe that despite the many negative impacts, it had a mostly positive effect on them. Teenage life is the age of rebellion. They would rather tell their secrets on social media rather than discussing them with their parents.
There are even times when they would just rather write it down in social media rather than talk with their friends. In the olden times, teenagers used diaries and journals. Now, diaries and journals are already digitalized. They use the computers. Teens who have a more positive view of social media’s effect are those who think first before they click. Therefore, we conclude that a little brain is necessary to have a positive impact on social media. Meaning, whether the impact is positive or negative depends on how a teenager manages his/her account. Of course, social media is created to help people out and not to make them miserable. It helps to make people feel a lot more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives. It also helps to show a person’s creative side. And most of all, it makes a person feel that there are people who can support them in tough times. Due to anonymity, shy teens feel a lot more accepted in social platforms. What more could they ask for?
Teens like to explore how different platforms serve different purposes. Now, TikTok is one of the most popular platforms, but tomorrow, there might be another. Social media is very unpredictable. Consider that just a couple of years ago, Skype was the most popular platform of social media communication. But now, who uses Skype? They would rather use messenger video call or Viber or Zoom or Google Meet, especially if it is for school purposes or large-scale meetings.
We could say that pandemic played a very special role among people – not only teens – to be drowned in the social media. Being unable to communicate with the outside world, group chat became prevalent among peers. Those who were not very well inclined with the technology were forced to learn to be able to communicate with friends more often. Zoom, video calls, Instagram, even YouTube and TikTok or whatever platform is available, it became the source of entertainment that they look forward to. You see, being stuck at home for many months is horrific. There are negative comments or stuff like that that they receive, but it’s better than nothing. As what the entertainment industry says, bad publicity is still publicity. In the case of social media, bad comments are still comments. It’s up to the recipient whether he will take it seriously or not. — ROSE CATHERINE LEANNE BILOG
