Worried that your child may be secretly cyberbullied? There are signs and changes in your child’s life that can serve as a telltale.
This may include subtle or not-so-subtle behavioral changes in your child’s school and social life, how they handle the use of technology, and changes in their emotions and behaviors.
You’re a parent, right? You know your child like the back of your hand. Their daily behavior and routine. And even if you find it hard to keep abreast with the latest toys (read: technologies) they use, you’re bound to notice it. The symptoms, if not the disease itself, as it’s said. This puts you in an ideal position to note any changes that may cause concern. And if you’re not as observant as you would like to be, a monitoring app may help cover that part.
So what are these spheres where you can notice if your child is lagging?
Academic & Social Life
Your child might be showing symptoms of cyberbullying if:
- They refuse or become reluctant to go to school
- Their grades start to tank
- Don’t want to meet their friends
- Don’t indulge in extracurricular activities such as sports.
After Using Their Gadgets
Your child might be showing symptoms of cyberbullying if:
- They seem upset while texting on their phones.
- They spend a long time online than usual or stop using their gadgets at all.
- Immediately stop using their gadgets when you go past them.
Changes in Behaviour & Emotions
Your child might be showing symptoms of cyberbullying if:
- They are moodier than usual.
- They show obvious changes in behavior and dealings.
- They get riled up over trivial matters.
- They have trouble sleeping.
- They lose their appetite.
- Fall sick more often or complain of poor health.
If you spot some of the symptoms above, it may be a sign that your kid may be getting bullied online. And if anything, they need to be empowered to resolve the problem themselves as well. There are other ways, in addition to installing a monitoring app like XNSPY, as well.
There are many methods to deal with this. This guide will help you through the six most helpful ways to counter cyberbullying.
- Deal with the bully
Deleting a person from friend lists or followers will help tone down cyberbullying. Out of sight, out of mind. And your child won’t have to see any offensive content as well.
If the cyberbullying is happening through phone calls or texts, you have the option to request the service provider. Most mobile operators can either contact the senders or block the number for you. And what’s great is the sender can get their number revoked as well because bullying over the phone is a breach of contract. Also, there’s the option of changing your phone number.
- Save the Evidence of Bullying
Always save the evidence of bullying. Take screenshots, save read receipts, don’t trash the email, and save the voice notes. It will always help you later. Legally. Ideally, if you have a monitoring app that offers screen capturing features, such as XNSPY, it makes the job much easier.
- Inform Someone Close
If your child shares an episode of cyberbullying with someone they trust—parent, sibling, teacher, or a close friend—it will make them feel less isolated. If you feel like your child may not share as easily, you can help them set up a digital monitoring app, so that they don’t have to explicitly spell out if and when something happens.
- Report the Act & Research Your State's Cyberbullying Laws
You can report acts of cyberbullying directly to the site administrators by using “report abuse” links on a website. Usually, the owners remove the offending content soon, but it may also take time. And if the material isn’t removed at all, you can contact an appropriate body, depending on the state you live in.
However, if your child is in danger or has been threatened, you should report it to the local law enforcement. There are always consequences for people cyberbullying if reported on time.
- Take Initiative But Don’t Overreact
With your child taking control of the situation by reporting the abuse, they can feel safer and break the cycle of victimization. However, it is imperative that they don’t retaliate or respond with their own brand of cyberbullying.
The best course of action would be to not engage in the person doing cyberbullying at all. Giving an unmeasured response to the bully might make things worse and lets the perpetrator feel more powerful.
- Keep the Evidence But Hide It From Plain sight
Saved that evidence of cyberbullying? Good. Now hide the post from in front of your eyes. Archive it, hide it, whatever you see fit. And don’t forward it to people as well. No reposting, retweeting, or sending it to people because they will forward it as well.
A recurring theme while looking out for cyberbullying is the use of monitoring apps. And there are a few advantages that are overlooked often while opting for such an app. So what should you be looking for when selecting a monitoring app? Here’s a lead to go on to:
Phone Calls & Contacts
The app should be able to monitor cellphones and iPads. So that you get to know what your children are talking about and talk with. The app should let you remotely check all call logs and the contact list.
SMS & IM Apps
You should be able to remotely track what your kids are up to by reading their SMS messages, iMessages (for iOS) and Instant Messaging (IM) chats such as WhatsApp, Viber, Skype et cetera.
GPS Location
This one’s pretty powerful. If you’re able to check up on your kid’s locations anytime, it will make sure they’re not putting themselves in a position where they can harm themselves. Location history is also a popular feature among monitoring apps.
Record Ambient Sounds & Phone Calls
The ability to record and listen to your child’s phone recordings, especially the ones where you think they might be getting threatened, is essential. The ambient sound recording is a nice touch. It allows you to listen passively to the voice around your child, which can be a bit situational but advantageous thing to have.
Round-the-Clock Instant Alerts
You can receive instant alerts on specific words. These may be used in SMS, emails, phonebook, and locations. This allows you to protect your child against bullying.
Keylogging Feature
Remember when we said your child should NOT retaliate or cyberbully in response? This feature caters to that safeguard. With a monitoring app, you can store keystrokes from instant messaging apps. This includes WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Tinder Skype, and others.
Interested in the features you’ve read so far? Then you might be looking at a standard monitoring app, like XNSPY, with all the features mentioned above.
Remember, your child won’t always be able to help themselves when it comes to cyberbullying. Other than technical support, your moral support is vital to their mental wellbeing.
Comments (1)