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Bullying is a common occurrence that many kids and teens face at their school. Fortunately, there are teachers to constantly monitor classes and take action against bullying to prevent your kids from facing harassment. However, the case is completely different when we talk about cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is online bullying that kids and teens have to face when they are online on social media platforms or instant messaging apps. Unfortunately, due to lack of parental monitoring, cyberbullying can lead kids and teens into a dark world of depression and suicidal thoughts.
Parents need to monitor their kids as well as their phone activities. By monitoring, parents can detect the signs of cyberbullying and take action accordingly. In this article, we will explain in detail the warning signs of cyberbullying that every parent should know about. We will also recommend parents to install KidsGuard Pro for Android on their kids' phones. The app lets parents do complete remote monitoring on all their phone activities and detect cyberbullying incidents for providing parental guidance.
- 1. What Are The Signs of Cyberbullying
- 2. What Causes Cyber Bullying
- 3. How to Protect Your Child Away From Cyber Bullying
- 4. What Should You Do If Your Kid Is A Cyberbullying Victim
1. What Are The Signs of Cyberbullying
Parents need to watch out for the following signs and symptoms of cyberbullying in their kids to find out if they are victims of cyberbullying.
1.1 Sudden Change in Social Behavior
Cyberbullying brings about a sudden change in social behavior among the victims. If you find that your child has suddenly started showing disinterest in socializing, you can take it as a sign of cyberbullying. Your kid may like to avoid his friends by not going to school or tuition classes. In fact, he may not want to hang out or play with his friends after school hours. There will be a total transformation in his interaction with his friends in the physical and digital world.
1.2 Withdrawing from Family Members
When a kid is getting bullied in the physical or digital world, he tries to hide it from the family members to prevent face loss. When under the influence of cyberbullying, a kid may appear to be secretive and try to avoid family members and interactions with them. In fact, he may appear to be total withdrawn out of nervousness and distraction. Parents can easily detect their kids trying to hide from them and take action to know what is going on in his life.
1.3 ShowingLack of Interest In Everything
Victims are always occupied with the thoughts of cyberbullying, and they spend more time in their deep thoughts. Thoughts like what to do now, what will happen next, how to escape cyberbullying, whom to talk to, and how to face the cyberbullies constantly bother the victims. That is why they always show lack of interest in everything starting from interactions, having food, going out, playing, watching TV, and even studying.
1.4 Deleting and Creating New Social Media Accounts
Cyberbullying is most common on social media platforms, where victims are trolled heavily. The trolling is to such an extreme extent that the victims are forced to deactivate their accounts. In fact, some victims delete their social media accounts completely and create new accounts with different identities so that the bullies cannot trace them back. Therefore, if parents are monitoring their kids' online activities, suddenly deleting social media accounts and creating new ones are signs of your kid becoming a victim of cyberbullying.
1.5 Exhibiting UnusualMood Swings
Cyberbullying victims are always occupied in their own thoughts of worry and this makes them depressed and agitated. If you notice that your kid is getting angry and agitated for no reason and this sudden mood swing has come over suddenly, it is a red flag that your kid is suffering from inside. Your kid may also complain about not feeling well and feeling low quite often which could be true as well as for avoiding friends.
1.6 Expressing Unusual Emotional Reactions
If you notice that your child is expressing unusual emotional reactions like getting angry and upset while texting or surfing the internet, you need to talk to him. It is quite common for cyberbullying victims to be highly anxious and showing emotional outbursts like laughing hysterically or crying profusely. That is why it is important for parents to watch their kids' phone activities to know what is going on in their lives.
1.7 Avoiding Hanging Out With Friends
If your kid is a victim of cyberbullying on social media platforms, it is very likely that his friends know about it all. Hanging out with friends is more likely to get further bullied as friends will bring up the incident and embarrass him. That is why a victim of cyberbullying avoids hanging out with friends. In fact, it could be his few friends how are responsible for his cyberbullying.
1.8 Change In Sleep Pattern
When a person is depressed, agitated, anxious and suffering mentally, it is not possible for the person to continue with his usual sleeping pattern. It is very likely that the victim cannot sleep well at night. This could be highly prominent when he feels sleepy and lethargic during the day time. If you notice your kid sleeping late, getting at day time, looking tired and sleepy, you should check if he is truly a victim of cyberbullying.
1.9 Sudden Physical Changes
This may not be a very prominent sign of cyberbullying, but you should not neglect it. When a kid is facing cyberbullying, he stays nervous and worried, and stress level in the body spikes up. This leads to lack of appetite, erratic sleeping patterns, lack of physical movement, and sudden loss or gain in weight. Besides, headache, abnormal perspiration, indigestion, and mental issues could lead to unusual physical changes.
1.10 Surfing and PassingStatements AboutSuicide
It is quite common for kids who are victims of cyberbullying to entertain suicidal thoughts in their minds. This is because cyberbullying impacts their social lives negatively, and everyone in their friend circle starts to look down upon them. If you find that your kid is surfing about suicide or texting about suicide, you should take immediate steps. This is where parental monitoring of kids' phones is so crucial.
2. What Causes Cyber Bullying
There are various reasons that make cyberbullies target their victims.
Different Background – Cyberbullies target victims who are of lower castes or races or who have not-so-well financial conditions. By bullying them online, the bullies want to showcase their superiority. The victims can be bullies due to their dresses, not-so-big house, lack of expensive gadgets, color of skin, and likewise.
Weaker Personality – Cyberbullies target victims who have weak personalities, and this is because weak people cannot fight back and give a strong reply to bullies. Weak people are those who are introvert and do not have many friends to support them against cyberbullies. They can also target girls and bully them based on their dressing sense, appearance, and mannerism.
Ego and Jealousy – Most online fights spark up due to ego clashing. Thereafter, the person having more friends on his side will gang up on the other person in the fight. This leads to constant cyberbullying and the downfall of the victim. Besides, revenge and jealousy are two powerful factors that can cause cyberbullying.
3. How to Protect Your Child Away From Cyber Bullying
One of the ways to protect your child from cyberbullying is through constant monitoring of all his phone activities. That is why you will need a complete parental monitoring app. KidsGuard Pro for Android is the best parental monitoring app. You can check on his calls, messages, social media activities and browser history to understand his state of mind and if he is a victim of cyberbullying. Here are all the features KidsGuard Pro has to offer for parents.
Features Of KidsGuard Pro For Android:
- Track Social Media Apps – Cyberbullying is most common on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and likewise. KidsGuard Pro lets parents monitor every activity done by their kids on these popular social media platforms including reading their conversations.
- Check Messages and Record Calls – Parents can easily detect if their kid is a victim of cyberbullying by reading his messages and listening to his conversations. That is why KidsGuard Pro allows parents to record calls and listen to them later. Apart from that, they can also read messages and come to a conclusion.
- Inspect Browser History – If your kid is depressed and suicidal thoughts are coming to his mind, he should be surfing about them on the internet. By checking the browser history, parents can understand their kid’s state of mind and provide parental guidance.
- Other Important Features – You can track your kid's location in real-time as well as check location history. Besides, you check his saved photos and videos as well as calendar. Moreover, you can track app activities to understand what he is doing on his phone and whether he needs proper guidance to handle the situation.
Steps To Install KidsGuard Pro On Your Child's Phone
Step 1: Sign up by creating an account for KidsGuard Pro for Android. Select a suitable plan and thereafter, check the Setup Guide on My Products and Orders Management page.
Step 2: On your child's phone, open the web browser and visit the download website. Download the app and install the APK file.
Step 3: Open the installed app and log in with your account credentials.
Step 4: Come back to your phone or computer and visit your account's dashboard to start monitoring.
4. What Should You Do If Your Kid Is A Cyberbullying Victim
Once you detect the symptoms of bullyingin your kid, you should approach him and talk to him about cyberbullying. Instead of directly asking him questions about who is bullying him and what he has done, you can explain what is cyberbullying to him and what it leads to. This is to give him space so that he opens up and explains to you what is going on in his life. If he opens up to you, here are the steps you can take.
Talk To The Bullies Directly – If someone or a group is cyberbullying your kid, most of them are of your kids' age. Therefore, if you step up and face them, they are going to get scared due to parents' intervention and stop doing it.
Talk To The Parents Of Bullies – If your kid knows the bullies well enough, you can talk to their parents and explain the situation. Their parents will definitely do the needful from their end to stop cyberbullying.
Lodge A Complaint – If nothing works or the bullies are unknown to your kid, in that case, you can lodge a complaint at the local police station. You will have to provide the necessary evidence to prove your case. The authority will do the needful to stop the ongoing cyberbullying and set an example for others.
Conclusion
If your kid is a victim of cyberbullying, it is very likely that he is not going to discuss and disclose it with you. That is why parents have to be vigilant and monitor all the phone activities of their kids’ smartphones. KidsGuard Pro for Android is the best app for complete parental monitoring. You should install it on your kid’s phone and track their social media activities and check browser history. With constant monitoring, you can easily detect the signs of cyberbullying and take action promptly.
