Access to the Internet has opened many educational opportunities.

Children can freely find useful information, download textbooks, visit online writing services. But apart from the advantages, there are also dangers.

The development of information technology, the involvement of children and adolescents in the network provoked the emergence of a new type of school violence – cyber-bullying, a persecution of children with the use of different mobile devices.

It is important to understand why students become victims of harassment in the network and how to protect them from virtual attacks.

How do children react to harassment in the network?

Bullying can take various forms. There are cases when classmates make videos and threaten to publish them on the web. They say: “I will spoil your reputation” and then drag money or other resources from a victim. The video can be of different content. Attackers may run into the toilet and film someone there, take off his pants, etc.

According to psychologists, kids are very sensitive to such threats. Many of them literally live on the Internet. For them, the network is a social world where they want to get recognition among the peers. It seems to them that if a video with unpleasant content would get into the network, life will collapse, shame will remain forever, and this will never change. The child’s world narrows at such moments, and he thinks only of this problem.

Parents usually find out about the cyberbullying only when the student has problems with money or academic performance. And only later it becomes clear that he was harassed and blackmailed for a long time.

What is the danger of cyber-bullying?

Cyber-bullying is an attack on a person in a virtual space, the purpose of which is to cause the psychological harm. Aggressors can use e-mail, instant messaging services, chat rooms, social networks, various portals, forums, and communities. According to most researchers of this problem, bullying always includes deliberate, regular, aggressive behavior, which occurs because of the power imbalance in the group.

The main dangers of cyber-bullying are lightning speed and totality. One click is enough to let a huge number of recipients see the humiliating photos or videos. Attacks by classmates in the schoolyard end when a child comes home from school. Cyber-bullying continues all the time.

The Internet allows an aggressor to remain anonymous. Victims cannot determine who is the source of their torment. They are afraid of revenge for attracting parents and teachers to the problem.

Why do children become victims of harassment?

According to psychologists, those kids who have problems in communicating with peers in the real world most often suffer from harassment in the network. The reason may be that the child does not know how to build social contacts. For example, he does not listen to others, cannot find common interests with peers, is often embarrassed, resentful or has problems at home that do not allow him to communicate peacefully at school.

It is usually advised not to transfer the child to another class or school, because the traumatic situation can recur. The only exception should be made if there is a threat to the physical health of a student in the classroom. In this situation, the parents must first transfer the child to another school and then understand why the bullying began.

To reduce the harm that the harassment inflicts, one must either begin to react to the offenders less emotionally (and then they may stop attacking) or increase own strength and capabilities in order to be able to resist them. But to solve the problem, the administration of the school, the class teacher and parents should interfere in the situation.

To recover the psyche after an attack, the child needs to get into a peer group, where he will be accepted. For example, in a class, he has problems with other students, but in a football section, he is a good and respected player.

7 steps to prevent cyber-bullying:

• Children and parents should take these helpful recommendations into account:
• Adults have to explain to kids that they should be friendly while communicating on the network. First of all, they should not be rude and insult other people.
• Teach children how to properly respond to offensive words and replicas on the web. Total disregard is the best way.
• If you have information that one of the classmates of your child was subjected to cyber-bullying, you need to inform the school administration, the class teacher, parents and the school psychologist about it. Take all measures to protect the child.
• It must be remembered that all personal data that is published on the Internet can be used by attackers against you.
• If someone started bullying you, you need to block the offender, tighten the privacy settings and document the virtual attack. If someone on the Internet threatens you physically, then you need to take snapshots of messages and contact the police.
• Maintain a trusting relationship with the child so that he may turn to you for help in a difficult situation. Observe the mood of the kid when he is using a computer.
• Make sure that insults in the network did not reach the real life.

Some schools teach ethics of using the Internet. According to experts, it is enough to hold several meetings with children to tell them how to cope with difficult situations. There are special helplines, telephone and online counseling services that provide psychological and informational support to kids and adolescents facing various problems in the network.

Of course, the school administration should be sensitive to such situations. The best thing they can do to prevent further problems is to expel the bully from an educational institution, thus, showing a threatening example to other hooligans.

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