A new study on predictive elements of cyberbullying is published in the current edition of CyberPsychology & Behavior magazine. The study, from Dr. Gustavo S. Mesch of University of Haifa, Israel, measures risks of online victimization among a sampling of American teens and their parents.
What increases your child’s risk for being a victim of cyberbullying? Joining social networks, sharing personal information, participating in chat rooms and even watching YouTube videos will increase your child’s risk factors. Lots of e-communication like sending text messages, Instant messages and emails also puts the child at higher risk.
So as the parent, what tools are at your disposal for prevention? Of all the parental “mediation” techniques reviewed, what stood out was having family rules about the Internet. In the words of the researchers, this finding “informs us on the importance of parents’ engaging in conversations on the nature of Web sites, their content, and their possible risks.” Sounds like it’s time for another round of “The Talk”.