One of the most recently emerged types of violence is cyberbullying. It has gained a significant amount of research and media attention, in most cases, around the USA and some of Europe’s most advanced countries. In Greece, the research still remains at an elementary level. That, unfortunately, does not mean that the level of cyberbullying in Greece is lower than what it is in other countries.
Most recent studies are trying to solve the lack of information regarding cyberbullying in Greece by renewing old papers and bibliography and by trying to focus on the new cases that appear. Unfortunately, these cases happen very often. According to some of the most recent studies, most of the cyberbullying incidents occur during school years. In particular, they start around the age of 10 and continue until the final years of high school.
This is the case for all European countries and Greece alike. It is important to understand how and where cyberbullying cases start appearing and why. Excessive use of the internet is just mean to do this. Cyberbullying is a way for kids to communicate without making their identity known. That kind of freedom is the main reason why cyberbullying incidents are even worse than regular bullying.
In Greece, we could say that things might be a bit worse than in other countries. That is not due to the fact that bullying situation is worse. It is because research and prevention actions are still at an elementary level. The phenomenon of cyberbullying reached the country a bit later than other countries and that is the reason why greek authorities and scientists were not prepared to deal with the situation.
Although, all around the world, people are working against cyberbullying by trying to find ways to stop it completely it is still one of the most difficult social situations to control. Cyberbullying can have even more severe results. It is a form of bullying that does not easily stop, regardless of the victim’s age or social status. Everyone is using social media today and as a result, everyone is vulnerable to cyberbullying.
Since, eliminating the problem is very difficult, teaching children about it and how they can deal with it on their own is the key. Parents need to be responsible when it comes to the way their children are using the internet. They need to talk to their children about cyberbullying, what it is, how they can spot it and how they can stop it from happening. Children need to understand that listening to what others have to say about them is not the most important thing. If they accept themselves for who they are, from a very young age and they build their self-confidence then cyberbullying will not be able to affect them.
At the same time, parents need to make sure that their children know not to be the cyberbullying. This is one of the reasons why parents need to know how their children are using the internet. Children need to be taught why bullying is bad, in general, and why they must never do it, why they should report bullying cases they might know of and why they should not tolerate any bullying that might come towards their way.
Greece has still a long way to come until the appropriate authorities are able to effectively deal with the cyberbullying problem. But even after that happens, parents need to be able to help teach their children about the importance of being polite and not bullying other children. Bullying starts at home. And this is where the problem needs to be dealt with!
