According to some recent research from The Cyber Bullying Research Center and the eSafety Commissioner, reports of Cyber Bullying and Image Based Abuse is going up by 200%. The Cyber Bullying Research Center in the U.S are suggesting that whatever we have been doing to raise awareness of the harms caused by these issues of abuse its not working. Quoted from their post “The bottom line is that whatever we are doing to deter teens from participating in sexting clearly isn’t working. Just like trying to prevent them from being with each other during a pandemic, they will find a way. Something more thoughtful needs to be considered.”
Last week Greg Gebhart from the eSafety Commissioner, in a chat with me on the Digital Parenting Podcast said that most occurrences of Cyber Bullying abuse are being reported to have occurred on Instagram, which is by far the most popular platform for young people. This was then followed by reports of abuse happening on Snapchat, Facebook and now TikTok. eSafety Commissioner figures:
My guest this week on “Digital Families” is Michelle Mitchell an expert on Teens and Tweens. We talk about why these abuses are escalating, and what we need to do to try and turn the digital tide.
Michelle Mitchell is an award-winning speaker, and bestselling parenting author. She has been termed ‘the teenage expert’ by the media and is sought after for her compassionate and grounded advice for parenting tweens and teens.
With the rise of reports of these types of abuses comes also the rise in trauma which is of course exacerbated during this stressful time of Covid19 and all it entails.
Supporting our young people is key. Michelle outlines tips for parents on changing the messaging around online abuse and sharing nudes.
Michell’s resources to her books and educational materials Here: https://michellemitchell.org/shop
Follow Michell Mitchell on Facebook Here: https://www.facebook.com/michellemitchellspeaker/
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More Information – Links
The app that is mentioned in this podcast is “Stymie” it is a reporting abuse mobile app, where there is an option to report anonymously. Link Here: https://about.stymie.com.au
How to report Image Based Abuse eSafety Commissioner Reporting
How to report Cyber Bullying for under 18year olds eSafety Commissioner Reporting
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