In this second
case, it is more frequent that harassment through the Internet is associated
with certain types of crimes.
What
can happen to the victim of cyberbullying?
It is very common
to observe in the victims of cyberbullying or cyberbullying with a
marked decrease in the level of self-concept and a great decrease in the level
of self-esteem of the person , even sometimes even blaming
themselves for the situation that arises.
Insecurity, the feeling of lack of competence and the shame of not being able to solve the situation, are
elements found very frequently in cases of cyberbullying or cyberbullying.
In addition, many
of the victims are coerced in order to maintain the law of silence for fear of
the consequences of reporting. This causes a drop in school
performance, which in turn feeds back into a drop in
self-esteem.
Victims of cyberbullying or cyberbullying that
occurs continuously also perceive that they have less support in society, and in the long run future affective bonding with third parties
becomes more difficult, thus inhibiting social development.
Likewise, when
cyberbullying becomes very intense and continues for a number of months in a
row, it is possible that the victims end up presenting some personality or
mood pathologies , such as severe depression or social phobia , even
arriving as in the previously recreated case, albeit in a fictitious way, to
drive the victim to suicide.
How to prevent cyberbullying in
adolescents.
In order to be
able to detect some cases of cyberbullying or cyberbullying , some
indications that can be very useful to us would be monitoring and surveillance ,
in addition to changes in habits and the use of different devices that have
access to the Internet, including clearly concealment when they are being used.
Failure to attend
classes, abandonment of preferred or favorite activities, drastic reduction in
school performance, obvious changes in the way you eat, changes in weight,
vomiting and diarrhea for no reason apparent absence of eye contact, fear of
recesses, or excessive closeness to adults, apathy, or lack of defense against
jokes that may seem harmless.
What can you do if
cyberbullying or cyberbullying is detected?
In the case of having detected a
situation of this kind , it is very necessary
to establish a communication that is very fluid with the student and with his
own family, making him see that they are living a situation that is undeserved
from which the minor usually It is not his fault, helping him to report the
case and making him feel with continuous support and support.
It is essential to teach and contribute to
collecting evidence of harassment, such as
screenshots or the use of programs or applications that can record
conversations, for the sole purpose of proving its existence.
In order to remedy
the existence of cyberbullying, it is
essential to establish some preventive measures . Different methodologies have managed to prove the
usefulness of being able to work with the whole class group and especially with
those students who have witnessed the aggression, with the sole purpose that
the aggressor manages to perceive the rejection of his actions and not see no
reinforcement of their behavior.
In the same way,
it turns out to be essential to work with the student
who is attacked and the student who is the aggressor , in
order to show support and be able to improve the self-esteem of the first and
awaken the empathy of the second, making him see all the possible damages that
can occur. to cause his behavior both to the victim and to others, obviously
including himself.
Cyberbullying,
at a legal level in the world.
Virtual harassment,
or cyber crime, involves a series of very serious crimes that can lead to
prison sentences of a few years . However, it must be considered, for
example, in Spain that only from the age of 14 can a criminal charge be
brought, with which the majority of prison sentences will not apply.
Despite all this,
the legal system has a series of different disciplinary measures that can be
put into practice in these cases. In addition, although the main legal
responsibility belongs to the minor who is the aggressor in the first
place , the legal guardians of the minor and the school
where the relationship with the harassed person and the harasser also have it .
They will be
responsible for assuming the compensation to the victim as well as the various
sanctions that could correspond to them by themselves.
In a case of
cyberbullying, different crimes can occur, such as:
- Suicide induction.
- Moral or physical injuries.
- The threats.
- The constraints.
- Torture or any crime against moral integrity.
- Crimes against privacy.
- The insults.
- The violation of the right to one's own image
and even the inviolability of the home.
- The discovery and disclosure of secrets, this
includes the processing of personal data, computer damage and even
identity theft.
The corrective
measures proposed for the aggressor include staying on weekends,
carrying out socio-educational or socio-productive tasks, those provided for
the benefit of the community, probation and a restraining order.
The current study of the
phenomenon of cyberbullying makes it very clear that there is still a lot to
work on, especially taking into account the
constant evolution of technology and social networks, where new trends and
different applications appear every day.
In addition,
taking into account that the new generations are already born in an
environment that is increasingly virtualized, the preventive policies that
are currently applied should already be brought forward, going from being
carried out instead of Secondary Education to providing notions Basic to
Primary Education.
In the same
way, more training is needed
in this regard in all professional sectors that deal with this type of case .
The research on cyberbullying is relatively scarce
in addition to being very recent, requiring
the creation of increasingly effective measures and protocols that can actually
help to put an end to this phenomenon and thus improve the safety and quality
of life of our children and adolescents.
A psychosocial
approach is also necessary in order to put an end to the problem of cyberbullying . This
is a task that can be fulfilled if a series of cultural and social changes take
place, among which the development of awareness about the subject and the
development of different policies and diverse methods
of school intervention that can prevent this phenomenon.
The KIVa method,
for example, points in this direction, and has proven to be very
effective. What it is about is not intervening only in the victims and in
the abusers, but in the entire social network that can surround both.
