The Dangers of Cyberbullying for High School Students

Today, we are living in the age of social media where everybody shares photos, videos, and updates about the most important moments in their lives. Social media usage is on the rise worldwide and has become extremely popular thanks to the connectivity it provides us with.

We get a chance to stay in touch with people from the other part of the world, we can reconnect with old friends and colleges who have moved out from the town or country, and it provides us with a lot of entertainment.

However, there’s rarely anyone who puts the negative side of these platforms under the spotlight. And there are a lot of them. First of all, many medical studies have proven that the overuse of social media can increase the risk of mental conditions such as depression and anxiety. However, this is a problem that people may have more control over because you get to choose whether you allow yourself to get affected by what you see or not.

What is even more worrying about social media platforms is the new phenomenon called cyberbullying. Bullies and mean girls have existed since the beginning of the first social environment. However, technology has created the perfect opportunity for them to share their mean thoughts and opinions from the back of their screens. Cyberbullying can be either name-calling, rumor spreading, leaving negative comments and even threats in the online social media platforms. Here are the negative effects of cyberbullying on high school students.

Poor mental health

Cyberbullying can have tremendous consequences on the mental wellbeing on the victim. Imagine being called silly names, being the subject of bad rumors that circulate among your peers, or being called fat, ugly or in any other negative way. You will feel down, depressed, scared and always anxious about the opinions of others about you. That is exactly how high school students can also be affected by cyberbullying.

If your child is feeling anxious, depressed but avoids to reveal the reason behind their negative emotional state, they might be a victim of cyberbullying.

Low confidence and social anxiety

Victims of cyberbullying often develop low self-esteem and social anxiety. When someone constantly tells you negative words about you such as not being good enough, not looking good enough, or not being smart enough, your unconscious starts to think that these words are true. You start to develop a bad opinion about yourself and find it difficult to be confident about your strengths.

Also, the bad experiences you have with people who are bullying you can also lead to the development of social anxiety. You start feeling anxious about interacting and communicating with others.

Bullying taken into the real world

One of the biggest threats of cyberbullying is the scenario when the attacker finds ways to interact with the victim in the real world. Cyberbullying can also be in the form of threats sent through messages or comments.  Very often the threats refer to the encounter of the attacker with the victim in real life. And when that actually happens, it can be extremely dangerous.

If your child is feeling anxious when they get a text message or social media notification, if they stop using their devices even though they used to, and constantly feel depressed, anxious, and sad, they might be a victim of cyber or real-life bullying.