Kids & Cyberbullying: 5 Reasons It Is Important to Prevent Cyberbullying & Online Fraud by 30Seconds Mom

It’s easy for parents to give their children access to the internet, knowing they’ll keep themselves occupied for a long time. While using the web has become a standard for today’s kids, it’s essential to keep track of their internet activity. It’s the only way to prevent them from dangers like cyberbullying and online fraud. 

Here’s why parents should be more involved to help kids steer clear of these internet threats.

What Is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying includes sharing or sending demeaning, harmful, false or otherwise negative content about a person. This bullying form occurs online, and the actual places vary from social media to messaging apps, emails and forums. Gaming websites are a common place where children could be exposed to insulting messages. The statistics indicate that about 16 percent of high school students have faced cyberbullying.

What Is Online Fraud?

Online fraud is a wide term for fraud that occurs on the internet. The idea is to use fraudulent activities to achieve a certain goal, which often includes stealing someone’s personal or financial information.

Some online fraud examples include:

• Phishing emails that gather information about your friend’s email addresses when activated by clicking on a link.
• Installing a virus on a computer by convincing you it’s safe to install a suspicious app.
• Using social media or other messaging forms to trick you into sharing sensitive personal or financial data.
  

Why It's Important to Prevent Your Child From Being Exposed to Internet Threats

Online threats could have short and long-term consequences. They could put your child and others in immediate danger. These events could affect your kid in the long run, especially if they continue for a while. Here are the main reasons you should do everything to keep your child safe from internet threats:

1. It Could Affect Your Kid's Self-esteem and Lead to Depression

Cyberbullying means children read negative messages about their physical and mental capabilities or actions. It could make kids insecure and compromise their self-esteem.

If they don’t know how to respond appropriately, children might isolate themselves from friends and the world. That could trigger anxiety and depression, so it’s essential to act on time and prevent the long-term influence of cyberbullying.

2. Your Child's School Performance Could Suffer 

A stressful event, such as online fraud or bullying, could affect your kid’s academic success. They might have problems focusing on learning and even start skipping classes. If they end up in bad company, becoming violent or using alcohol or drugs is among other risks. Some kids might find it hard to make their way back after a stressful event, which leads to self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

3. Kids Might Even Exhibit Physical Problems

Changing their physical behavior is a frequent sign something is wrong with your child. For example, if they stop eating like before, they could be worried about something. Gastrointestinal stress, such as vomiting or nausea or trouble sleeping, is another sign to talk to your kid immediately. It might be necessary to consult a doctor or a medical professional.

4. It Could Destroy Their Reputation Permanently 

Cyberbullying could include sharing sensitive content about someone without their approval. Your kid might misjudge who they send personal info and photos, and provocative content could end up online.

The problem is this could affect your kid’s reputation permanently. Besides being bad-mouthed at school, they might have issues with college admission and finding work in their desired industry. That’s why parents should do their best to protect their kid’s online reputation.

5. It Could Put Kids and Your Entire Family at Risk 

Your child might be excited about vacation and share the info that you are leaving for another country tonight. If the profile is public or they have someone suspicious among friends, your kid revealed the house would be empty. Sharing current or future locations online is never wise since you never know who might be reading. Helping your child understand this and keeping their social media profiles private is imperative.

Stay on Top By Monitoring Your Children's Online Activity 

It’s better to be safe than sorry. As a parent, you must frequently discuss potential internet dangers with your child. It helps to install an iPhone parental control app for parents and monitor your kid’s internet activity. These tools keep track of everything, from messages to websites visited. You can even limit apps and functions available on the device and receive alerts if a suspicious word appears during your kid’s texting. Monitoring phone activity will ensure you have all the information, ensuring you can act quickly if a problem appears.

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