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Still, I Rise: Youth Cyberbullying Epidemic
During these difficult times, it is essential to think of young people. Cyber-bullying was a pandemic pre-COVID, which like most things, has expanded during these trying times.
One of my favorite figures growing up was Maya Angelou. She was a figure larger than life to me, someone, who survived so much and maintained a beautiful way to articulate that pain and poise through her writings. One poem that echoes in my mind to this day is “Still I Rise.”
Here is an exert:
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Our young people today know all too well the bitter truth this poem deals with, staying confident, sane, and whole in a world that sometimes can seem to only want to tear you down. As both a parent and cyber professional, it is often painful to realize whether it is House Party, TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram. Children can find themselves identifying with the pain of being bullied, look down upon, and preyed upon in cyberspace on a 24 x 7 basis. A few statistics to consider how this problem has expanded right before our eyes, especially as our young people are online more:
It doesn’t take long to get a picture as caregivers and parents; this is not your schoolyard bully scenario from 20 years or more ago. Our children are experience trauma at the hands of each other and adults. I invite you to join our #WeAreOne campaign and take steps to make our internet village a little safer for even the youngest of our members. Below are a few resources to help identify and stop cyber-bullying.
Stop Cyber-bullying Website:
During these difficult times, it is essential to think of young people. Cyber-bullying was a pandemic pre-COVID, which like most things, has expanded during these trying times. In the midst of all the pandemic stress, don’t forget to cherish and protect our young people. They will inherit a post-COVID world, and we want them healthy, strong, and confident to steer us into a better future.
Thank you for reading, and I invite comments and ask you to share.
Full Poem, Still I Rise located here: https://poets.org/poem/still-i-rise
We are all in this together..#Weareone #covsec Sources:
[i] Cyberbullying Research Center: https://cyberbullying.org/new-national-bullying-cyberbullying-data [ii] Cyberbullying Research Center: https://cyberbullying.org/new-national-bullying-cyberbullying-data [iii] Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2018 : https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-factsheet508.pdf
Here is an exert:
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Our young people today know all too well the bitter truth this poem deals with, staying confident, sane, and whole in a world that sometimes can seem to only want to tear you down. As both a parent and cyber professional, it is often painful to realize whether it is House Party, TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram. Children can find themselves identifying with the pain of being bullied, look down upon, and preyed upon in cyberspace on a 24 x 7 basis. A few statistics to consider how this problem has expanded right before our eyes, especially as our young people are online more:
- In 2020, 73% of students felt they have been bullied in their lifetimes, and 44 % say it has happened in the last 30 days. [i]
- 64% of people who have been cyber-bullied say it affects their ability to learn and feel safe at school. [ii]
- Students who experience cyber-bullying are more likely to have social, mental health, and behavior problems, particularly in school. [iii]
It doesn’t take long to get a picture as caregivers and parents; this is not your schoolyard bully scenario from 20 years or more ago. Our children are experience trauma at the hands of each other and adults. I invite you to join our #WeAreOne campaign and take steps to make our internet village a little safer for even the youngest of our members. Below are a few resources to help identify and stop cyber-bullying.
Stop Cyber-bullying Website:
- Getting Urgent Help Resources: https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/get-help-now
- How to Deal with Haters: https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/how-to-deal-with-haters
- Reporting Assistance: https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/how-to-report
- National Suicide Prevention Line available 24/7: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or call (866) 824-8022
- Sunshine Behavioral Health: https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/resources/preventing-cyberbullying
During these difficult times, it is essential to think of young people. Cyber-bullying was a pandemic pre-COVID, which like most things, has expanded during these trying times. In the midst of all the pandemic stress, don’t forget to cherish and protect our young people. They will inherit a post-COVID world, and we want them healthy, strong, and confident to steer us into a better future.
Thank you for reading, and I invite comments and ask you to share.
Full Poem, Still I Rise located here: https://poets.org/poem/still-i-rise
We are all in this together..#Weareone #covsec Sources:
[i] Cyberbullying Research Center: https://cyberbullying.org/new-national-bullying-cyberbullying-data [ii] Cyberbullying Research Center: https://cyberbullying.org/new-national-bullying-cyberbullying-data [iii] Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2018 : https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-factsheet508.pdf
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