Blog Entry #3

How Has Cyberbullying Affected Our Society? (During The Pandemic)

By Antoine G Larosiliere

A 30% nationwide spike in domestic violence was reported by the French law enforcement.
Between February-March 2020, aggravated family assaults increased by 158% at the beginning of Houston’s quarantine.
There was more than a 1,000% increase of calls in April from people with emotional stress reported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
From the middle of February 2020, a 65% jump in clients was reported by the online therapy company “Talkspace.”
A Shanghai divorce lawyer reported his caseloads increasing by 25% since lockdown restrictions eased, and 500 new consultations a week for three consecutive weeks in April 2020.

How Has Cyberbullying Affected Our Society? What else can possibly be a byproduct?

As a result of all these alarming statistics, how has cyberbullying affected our society? What else can possibly be a byproduct?

Child abuse? That would make sense; families have spent 2 months quarantined, feeling the stress of losing employment, and their temporary means of outdoor respites. No sports entertainment, but alcohol sales are up.

Suicide? Well, stress can lead to depression, and depression often can cause suicide. But there’s no research data as of yet, to conclude that child abuse and suicide have been in a dramatic incline.

However, there is data that shows a spike during this pandemic— this data shows an increase in cyberbullying.

cyberbullying is one of the forms of bullying that does not have to repeat to be constituted as such.

Let’s make sure we’re on the same page.

Before I begin to show you how has cyberbullying affected our society during the pandemic and what the data reveals; let’s make sure we’re on the same page when I refer to cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices (www.stopbullying.gov). This would include hurtful, false or mean texts, tweets, emails, pictures and social media postings. Even memes are considered a form of cyberbullying, because they tend to ridicule or humiliate someone. Let’s also be clear that cyberbullying is one of the forms of bullying that does not have to repeat to be constituted as such. The reason being is that your one-time post, text, tweet, or email can be shared, re-posted and re-tweeted by others— hence, making it repeat even though you personally did it once.

How has cyberbullying affected our society; more specifically inside the home?

The(CDC) reported that about 15% of high-school-age students said they were victims of cyberbullying. But only 20% of that bullying took place on school property. What does that mean? How has cyberbullying affected our society; more specifically inside the home before the pandemic? What do you think is going to happen if students are quarantined in the place where cyberbullying mostly occurs? You guessed it— it’s going to increase! As a matter of fact, according to research by the Israeli Startup Light, over the past month, there has been a 70% spike in cyberbullying. The eSafety commissioner has also reported a 40% increase in cyberbullying since the pandemic. An internet abuse detection organization, which reported racial forms of cyberbullying against Asians, has also seen a huge 900% increase during this pandemic.

What can we do?

My initial thought since bullying is about an imbalance of power, is to tell your children to not react in a matter which the bullies expect. Cyberbullying is meant to humiliate and ostracize you. Do not make any indication that you’re upset. Show the opposite. Respond with an “lol,” a couple of laughing emojis, or even a comment like, “That’s Hilarious!” If you’re confident enough, you can even compliment your bully; take their power away. Make comments like, “You’re so clever, why didn’t I think of that?!”, or “Love it! Wish I was as funny as you!” Unfortunately, these strategies are difficult for many of us. Here are some simpler suggestions, yet also effective.

Other suggestions

First thing the victim should do is save the abusive messages or screenshot the webpage or social media post.
Report the incident immediately to an adult.
You can also report their activities to their Internet Service Provider (ISP) or to any social media or other websites they use to target you. If you don’t report the incident, the cyberbully will often become more aggressive.
Parents can use parental controls to restrict screen time and monitor which sites a child can visit.
Block the bully’s email address, cell phone number, and delete them from your social media contacts.

I hope this has been helpful! Many strategies, including the one I just mentioned, can also be found in the novel, The Bully Experience: Daniel’s Story . Also, please subscribe to the YouTube channel for more insight to these topics.