There is an old saying in police work “ten percent of the population will give 90% of your problems”. This stands true in both regards. It has been stated that 90 of people that have witnessed bullying have done absolutely nothing to stop it. Obviously there are several reasons for this the risk verses reward is a thin margin. If students say something, the bully's actions may be redirected to the source of contention. This is not advantageous for the child so they stay silent as an observer. This is participating in a bullying situation even if they are a bystander they are bipartisan just by witnessing and not saying a word.
If an adult witnesses a crime and chooses not to say something its a choice depending on what state and municipality you live in this could grounds for criminal charges depending on the crime committed.
Several reasons have caused these changes to take place in our society. Social media sources have caused people to become less social; in the fact less conversations happen at home and between friends because they are “catching up with their friends on social media”. This is why the Social media platforms of Snap Chat and Instagram are used by younger generations because an image is worth a thousand words. Russian social scientists have just completed a study that spanned 17 countries across that span from Russia and Europe (2017) The study concluded that people are choosing not to talk face to face because of a possible negative feedback. This is causing a social upheaval in the day to day interactions we are having with families and friends. So how do we had the social aspect back into the social media, because it is not going to go away?
As parents the best tools for you to employ is to talk to your children. Sit down and have dinner with a no cell phone rule at the table. This is becoming father and farther from the norm because children are asked to be little adults and conduct themselves in a educated behavior with little to no input or emotions desired. The parents can have board game night to engage their children in a way the is fun and challenges their minds and teaches a competitive spirit regardless of winning or losing. So when a bullying situation does arise at school or at the bus stop they can begin to articulate what has been done. Bullying is a game to the Bully they want to risk what they are doing to see if they can push the parameters of what is allowed lawfully and socially. Social media appears to making people antisocial so social media is also a driving factor in Cyber Bullying. Parents need to take a proactive approach to listening to their children and monitoring what it is that children are using on the internet. How many parents have heard of Top KIK or ASK.fm? More teen suicides have been linked to these two social media sites. Parents Google these two and see what has not been discussed with you.
We will discuss this in more detail in future blog posts.