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Online Child Safety ~ Cyber Bullying ~ Privacy ~ Social Media

A gathering of business tips for the Small Business Woman Entrepreneur

Online Child Safety ~ Cyber Bullying ~ Privacy ~ Social Media

6,000 Teens surveyed ~ Half have been victims of Cyberbullying!

People share great information to add to articles I post about different subject matter. This month, I had an email from Liam Johnson. He wanted to share 2023 information about social media and toxicity. Mental Illness is a huge topic being explored and exposed in a positive way currently, this addition to teen stats and info on social media fits with this blog post.

To emphasize Liam’s words…

“As we all know, social media can be both a comforting and a toxic place it’s important to be aware of the negative impacts it can have on our mental health. Ultimately, taking steps to protect our overall well-being is imperative before things worsen. To guide your readers, I want to share this piece called How to Tell if Social Media Is Harming Your Mental Health“.”

Girl and Boy sitting back to back holding smart phones browsing the internet
Photo Caption
  • Positive and negative impacts of social media on mental health 
  • Effective ways to balance social media usage and mental health 
  • Importance of reaching out for help 

(From Judy) I am sharing some stats from the website – please visit it to learn more …

  • 90% of teens between ages 13-18 have used some form of social media
  • 95% of teens are engaging with YouTube and 67% are engaging with TikTok
  • 9 hours a day ~ what some teens spend on social media.
  • One study found that teens who use social media more than two hours per day were much more likely to rate their mental health as fair or poor.
  • Of more than 6,000 teens surveyed, half said they had been victims of cyberbullying. A chief reason why social media usage can have such a negative impact on mental health.  

This should get your attention ~ I am dumbfounded that half of the 6,000 teens surveyed have been. victims of cyberbullying! Click right here to view the entire article.


School Incident

A concerned mom emailed to let me know she found my “bullying, mental, and physical impact” blog post while searching for information about Child Safety and Cyberbullying. Because her daughter had an incident at school, she was looking for much-needed information.

Anyone bullying, sexting, or manipulating any child on or off the internet needs to be shut down. She found a great guide source “The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Your Child Online in. 2022”. (note: the original link was from an article in 2021 – the date I shared this information, however, this link is the updated version published in 2022.

Originally, This article, “Online Child Safety, Cyberbullying, Privacy, Social Media” was written in September of 2021 ~ below the original article, I added 2022 statistics and additional resources from Ben Hartwig and Lucas about the dangers of internet usage for our children and how to keep them safe. Keep reading for a wealth of information, great links, and startling statistics.

The above information should give you pause. The Guide explains what parents can do to protect their kids.

  • Did you know that the average age for a child getting a cell phone is 8 years old! Having a working smartphone in an 8-year-old hand comes with additional responsibilities.
  • Keeping our children busy with smart toys to play games, read, and interact is a better choice.
  • Hoping that things will be fine isn’t practical ~take action, check your kid’s activity, and monitor their texts online activity.

Online Child Safety ~ How to Protect Our Children

There are EIGHT different areas that are discussed in this guide. Summarizing them below “click right here” to view the guide in its entirety. Bookmark it, and Share it. Talk to your kids about each of the categories ~ Keeping our kids safe is key.

  • Mobile Phones and Apps. ~. Handling your child with a smartphone has just given them unprecedented freedom ~ you have just opened Pandora’s box! The average age at which a child gets a smartphone is 8 years old.
  • Streaming Content and Smart TVs ~ children ages 4-6 consume 89 minutes of Television every day on average. Most of the big streaming content providers have parental controls ~ find them and use them.
  • Gaming Consoles and Online Games ~ do you realize that 21% of all video. game players in the U.S. are under 18? Those games that have multi-player components, or are entirely based online make these kids more open to abuse from other players, harassment, and sexual advances through the game’s chat system.
  • Social Media ~ 71% of teens use more than one social media platform. According to the non-profit group “Common Sense Media” showed that 8-12 year-olds were online 6 hours per day and 13-18 year-olds were online 9 hours per day.

Cyberbullying . . .

  • Because of Cyberbullying ~ these victims are 1.9 times more likely to commit suicide than those who do not experience online bullying. It occurs across all platforms and comes in different forms. Spreading rumors, sending threatening messages through social media, texting, and pretending to be another child. I have only outlined a few of the cyberbullying methodologies.
  • Privacy and Information Security ~ kids are too trusting. They are more susceptible to malware, viruses, phishing scams, and identity theft. Kids sharing their full names and where they live may not seem like a big deal. Hackers posing as legitimate companies like Google, send emails asking for your child’s password or pose as a friend or a relative.
  • Viewing inappropriate content online ~ the internet is open and public. Kids can stumble on content that is confusing, upsetting, and distressing.
  • Online Predators ~ According to the US. Department of Justice, 13% of young people on the internet have been victims of unwanted sexual advances. 1 in 5 has been solicited for offline contact. 50% of online victims of sexual exploitation are b between 12 and 15 years old.

2022 Updated Internet Safety Statistics.

Statistic chart of Unpleasant Online Experiences Children Encounter
https://screenandreveal.com/internet-safety-statistics/

The average age at which kids get a digital device is “10”. Only 30% of parents are comfortable with speaking about internet safety with their kids. The Digital Citizenship Guide for Parents will definitely bring that percentage up a huge notch. 60% of teen girls and 59% of teen boys have experienced at least one abusive online behavior? (I find this horrific and disgusting) ~ Yet there is a steep rise in cases worldwide. Additionally, a 70% increase in cyberbullying and verbal abuse occurred during COVID-19. Cyberbullying causes long-term damage and in many cases, it goes unreported

21+ Cyberbullying Statistics
Most Common Forms of Cyberbullying Among Teens

Here is something to think about – 57% of people who intervene can stop Cyberbullying incidents within 10 seconds.

Follow this link to learn about Cyberbullying and Suicide Statistics. Those who experience cyberbullying are 12 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts ~ (the cyberbullying suicide stats show)

Cyberbullying and Social Media Statistics . . .

Did you know that 75% of cyberbullying incidents happen on Facebook? Twitter and Instagram follow at 24% each and YouTube at 21% and TikTok only see 9% according to the statistics. It took Facebook 13 years to tackle “revenge porn” or distribute sexually explicit images without the person’s consent. Facebook introduced the appropriate regulations 13 years after its launch.

Instagram began to combat the promotion of self-harm 9 years after its launch.

Cyberbullying Online Platforms Statistics

The internet is here to stay. Educating ourselves on how things happen and why it’s crucial to keeping our kids safe. It is not an invasion of your kid’s privacy ~ it is called education. It is a parent’s responsibility to know what their kids are doing. There are many apps that can be utilized to monitor the usage of different electronic devices. That would be a subject for a new blog. Please review the resources listed below. They are meant to educate us help us inform and keep our kids safe.

Great Resources . . .

  • Ben Hartwig from Infotracer.com reached out to share the “Digital Citizenship Guide for Parents” with my readers. Teaching our kids how to utilize digital devices, services, and social media is crucial. Cyberbullying, Stalking, and Identity Theft are just a few of the issues we as parents need to be aware of. Kids are too trusting. Heck, many adults are the same way.
  • Lucas from Cell Phone Deal reached out to see if this article ~ “Security and Your Phone ~ What are the Risks and How To Stay Safe” would be of interest to everyone. According to their article, most people think cybersecurity doesn’t apply to phones. Well, wake-up call! They have put together a guide (click on the link above) that outlines the risks you face and how to keep you and your phone safe and secure
  • Alison Rios from ConsumerNotice.org reached out to me to share a link regarding social media and mental health. Studies suggest that heavy social media use may cause harm, contributing to various mental health problems. They created this article that talks about the effects of this on children and teenagers and what can be done to minimize it.
  • Jacob Bryant from lanierlawfirm.com/social-media-addiction/ ~ Society is becoming more aware of some of the dangerous effects of social media, especially on young audiences. It is something that we are even actively working with families on to make sure these apps become safer places. Since it is such an important issue, we recently made a page dedicated to social media addiction. It sheds interesting insight into many trends like which app is the most dangerous, is social media addiction on the rise, are mental health issues increasing, and more.

Online Child Safety is our #1 concern, keeping our kids safe is the goal.

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