Kids in a Digital World at Home
A home should offer our children a sense of sanctuary—a place to decompress at day’s end, to feel cherished, and, above all, to feel secure. Yet, today’s digital landscape follows and for many families, home is no longer a guaranteed escape from the pressures and risks of the online world.
Social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, video games, and messaging apps have become the main channels for peer interaction. There are few established guidelines for engagement, and while positive exchanges occur, the reality is that negative interactions are inevitable.
Research on Cyberbullying and Kids
A 2022 study by Pew Research highlights a troubling trend: nearly half of U.S. teenagers have experienced bullying or harassment online, with physical appearance frequently cited as a contributing factor. Older teen girls are especially vulnerable, reporting higher rates of online abuse and appearance-based targeting.
What can Cyberbullying look like?
My friend had one of those terrible experiences with her daughter in high school. Her oldest was unrelentingly bullied on her phone by kids from her school for starting a friendship with a boy that one of them had previously dated. My friend did everything she could to stop it. She worked with the school’s administration and helped her daughter block, unfriend, and remove the known offenders. Then there were new accounts and users her daughter didn’t recognize sending her death threats. Her daughter was so traumatized, she had to seek counseling for her.
They ultimately opted to complete her senior year from home. This prolonged life-changing ordeal resulted not only in tremendous stress for their family, but also in lost days from work and some unplanned expenses for a single mom on a fixed income.
Protecting Your Family From the Cost of Cyberbullying
Our world and our homes have dramatically changed over the last twenty years. The way we interact and do life has changed. Here at Northern Neck Insurance, we recognize these challenges for Virginia families. More and more, folks are seeing the need to protect their families from cyberbullying and other online threats, like identity theft, cyber extortion and ransomware, fraud, and big data breaches. And cyber security is becoming commonplace as we look for ways to take more offensive measures.
We want to help you protect your Virginia family in this connected world . For more information on financial protection from cyber threats, contact your local independent agent. For tips and resources on how to prevent cyber bullying, visit Stopbullying.gov. To learn more about how to prevent cyber crime against your family, go to the National Cyber Security Alliance.
Learn more about cyber insurance in Virginia >
Sources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/
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