The week commencing 12th November 2018 marks the beginning of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, the theme of which is ‘Choose Respect’.
The idea behind this theme is to show that bullying is a behavioural choice. From there, we can encourage people of all ages to be respectful instead of hurtful.
One of the biggest types of bullying in modern society is cyberbullying. It is almost commonplace with the new type of behaviours that have formed online, such as ‘trolling’ and ‘stan’ cultures.
Nowadays, it is very easy for someone to post hurtful content online without any repercussions because they can do so anonymously. It can also come from any person with access the internet at any time of the day – meaning that it can be difficult for people to escape online harassment.
However, modern technology can now help keep people away from harmful content, so we’re going to take you through some ways that you can protect yourself, your children or others. Whether it be routers, software or handsets, many technologies now often include screen time limits or application restriction features. Most notably, Apple’s iOS 12 now has a new Screen Time function which encompasses these elements.
Settings like this allow you to limit how much time is spent on devices and how much time is spent using individual apps. This is a great way to manage how much media you (or your children) are creating or exposed to.
Additionally, the content that is displayed when accessing the internet can also be restricted often using age ratings or by banning ‘explicit’ content.
If you have a child whom you feel is a victim of cyberbullying or is bullying others, you can limit their internet access with parental controls. This is a great way of making sure that either a person or device within your household can’t access the internet unsupervised.
It is great to see that businesses are taking into consideration some of the dangers of the internet and placing controllable limits on their products; take a look at the features your router and/or smartphone offers – it could all lead to a reduction in cyberbullying.
In the meantime, if there is anyone you know that may be being bullied, always remember to reach out and support them. Also, if you have noticed any online bullying, be sure to report it as most sites have policies against a cyberbullying.