McAfee Cybermum Talks About Cyberbullying

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 02 Jun 2011

As part of yesterday’s Children’s Day Special I posted an article that focused on security and I mentioned a few security solutions parents could use to ensure their little ones are protected from various online threats, including cyberbullying. Today I stumbled across an article posted by McAfee India Cybermum Anindita Mishra in which she talks about how parents can deal with cyberbullying.

Anindita Mishra explains that cyberbullying can have a deep impact on children. A child who has been cyberbullied can present various symptoms, such as turning into a recluse (becoming a loner that avoids society and looks scarred and fearful all the time) or becoming increasable irascible (and for good reason, since the child feels frustrated and humiliated and tension keeps building up).

If a child has been cyberbullied it is important that the parent shows the child lots of love. “Naturally, the most important thing is to be a friend to the frightened/depressed child and show lots of love. Try to win the child’s confidence and learn all you can of the matter. If you guess the bully to be a schoolmate, involve the school authorities, if feasible,” explained Anindita Mishra.

It would be better if children are not cyberbullied. The parent has a very important role in this situation. The parent must teach the child to:
- Not befriend or communicate with strangers or people they do not know in real life.
- Not respond to provocations; ignore the bullies and not reply.
- Record cyberbullying (take screenshots, things of the sort) and report such accidents.
- Remove cyberbullies from friend lists and report the cyberbullies.

It of course helps to have parental controls and security software installed that will help the parent protect children from cyberbullies and other security threats. “Not only can you control what sites your child access, you can also block mails from strangers and keep track of chatroom activities. This can prove invaluable in identifying if the child is being bullied on the net and, in taking necessary actions,” added Anindita Mishra.


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