Children learn from a young age how effective violence and intimidation can be from various media and entertainment outlets. Quirky cartoons portray a loveable character and his or her daily battles with a particular bully. Popular sitcoms and movies depict high school students who sing and dance to popular tunes, but also have to face intimidating bullies in and out of class. Although these characters overcome their plights, there is still a clear message that bullying is an effective way to upset another person and bring down their self-esteem.

Children and teenagers are becoming more technologically savvy and are looking to the Internet and their cell phones for entertainment, and to social networks to meet new people who share the same interests as them. It was only a matter of time before bullying made its way to the Internet, especially through modes like MySpace and Facebook. Cyber bullies have been making news lately with the recent deaths of children across the nation who have perished because of online bullying campaigns. Megan Meier is one of the more noted of these cases.

Some examples of cyber bullying include sending threatening emails, text messages or comments to another person; tricking someone into revealing private or embarrassing information and sending it to others; breaking into someone’s email or social media account and sending false messages to others while posing as this person; and creating web pages to make fun of another person.

Even though the bullying doesn’t take place on a one-on-one basis, MySpace cyber bullying and other forms of cyber bullying still show the same effects. Rather than just being bullied while in the classroom or play ground, children can be the target of cyber bullying 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some of the more general effects of cyber bullying include poor performance at school, depression and low self-esteem. Because cyber bullying can take place outside of the classroom and at a more frequent rate, the child may experience more extreme cases of these effects. Consider these factors if you suspect that your child is being bullied online:

• You child may feel like there is no escape from cyber bullying. It seems easy enough to close these social media accounts and simply turn off of the computer. However, for some kids avoiding these websites or instant messages may seclude them from one of the most important places they socialize.
• Your child may be at home when they experience cyber bullying, which can lead to a sense of endangerment within the confines of their own room or house.
• Cyber bullies are more likely to say harsher words online or by text message because they don’t have to say it to the other person’s face or see their reaction.
• Your child may feel like they can’t be secure within their own surrounding because some cyber bullies never reveal their identity. The anonymity of cyber bullying can add to their feeling of being unsafe.

A recent survey conducted by i-SAFE America concluded that 58 percent of children who have experienced cyber bullying never told an adult or their parent. There are a few preventative measures that you and your child can take to avert any negative experiences while your child uses the Internet:

• Never give out private information about the child, passwords, school, family or friends. This information is an easy target for an anonymous cyber bully.
• Never exchange pictures with people you meet on the Internet.
• Delete any messages from people you don’t know.
• Because millions of people have access to what is written online, be careful what you say and what type of information you send out.
• Consider setting your child’s social media account to private so people that they don’t know can’t see their pictures or any of the information posted to the site.

Bullying has been around for many generations and some people would say that it is just a part of growing up. If your child experiences physical threats, report it to the owners of the websites or local officials and keep a log of the bullying. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” However in today’s technologically advanced age, the death of a child is never worth it.