Bullying as a pandemic

Bullying comes in many forms, including physical, psychological, emotional, and cyber. Cyberbullying is the form that I believe is worthy of the pandemic title. Cyberbullying is the “easiest” form of bullying to commit, being that the aggressor doesn’t have to be present but rather hides behind a username and a screen. For this reason, cyberbullying is one of the most prevalent forms of bullying and the most dangerous. 

Children and adolescents who are cyberbullied have many of the same adverse effects as victims of other forms of abuse, but these effects are amplified. The feelings of isolation, vengefulness, worthlessness, and so on are much more powerful. This is because cyberbullying episodes tend to be more frequent and closer together than other forms of bullying.   

Fighting Against Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is also a pandemic level threat due to the ever-increasing time children spend on some form of a screen, be that of a phone, tv, video game, or tablet. The recent change to the education system has also lent to this increase in screen time, making it even easier for cyberbully aggressors to find victims. The trend of screen time increasing doesn’t show any signs of changing shortly, nor does the education system, which leaves us asking what we can do to help prevent or reduce the new pandemic that is cyberbullying? We will be sharing just that with you in our next post.