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It DOES Take A Village
Thursday, October 29, 2009
 Last night, I was watching an episode of Lie To Me with actor, Tim Roth. In this episode, a video was made by a girl that was being bullied by her classmates. What made things tricky was that the bullying was encouraged by the gym teacher that this girl trusted. The "trusted teacher" was provoking her classmates to bully her. The video that was made expressed violence toward others, however, the violence was actually what she wished upon herself. She then attempted suicide. In the end, they caught the suicide attempt in time. She survived and worked up the courage to confront the students as well as the teacher.
I bring this example to you because this happens more often than we think. A few weeks back, we posted a video on the intensity of cyberbullying. Here are some mid-blowing statistics on this issue that we wanted to bring to you in regard to technology that folks are using today in order to hurt other people.
• According to the National Crime Prevention Center, more than 40 percent of all teenagers with Internet access have reported being bullied online during the past year.
• Girls are more likely than boys to be the target of cyber-bullying. Also, there is a direct correlation to the amount of time girls spend online and the likelihood that they will be bullied.
• The National Crime Prevention Center study found that only 10 percent of those kids who were bullied told their parents about the incident, and that a mere 18 percent of the cases were reported to a local or national law enforcement agency.
• According to a recent study, 58 percent of fourth- through eighth-graders reported having mean or cruel things said to them online. 53 percent said they have said mean or hurtful things to others while online. 42 percent of those studied said that they had been “bullied online,” but almost 60 percent have never told their parents about the incident.
• Cell phone cameras and digital cameras are a growing problem in the cyber-bullying world. A recent survey found that 10 percent of 770 young people surveyed were made to feel “threatened, embarrassed or uncomfortable” by a photo taken of them using a cell-phone camera.
This is alarming. Imagine your child being the target of intentional cruelty. And the sad part is that often, kids don’t want to tell anyone. Usually out of fear or embarrassment. As a result, they are dealing with these huge issues that kids really shouldn’t have to deal with.
Going back to the episode of Lie To Me, the popular girl who was doing the bullying didn’t really want to do it. She felt pressured by her peers and by a teacher whom she looked up to. This leads me to believe that WE can help influence our kids through conversation, IF we know what is actually happening in their lives. McGruff Safeguard is a key way to monitor your kids, whether they are the victim, or the bully. You can be a part of the solution. As the old saying says, “It takes a village” to raise a child. Help us help you keep your children safe. photo credit to mikebogdanski.com Labels: bullying, cyberbulling, Lie To Me, McGruff Safeguard, Tim Roth, two-sided conversation
posted by Lindsay Manfredi at 11:03 AM Link to this Article
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