HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) —This week marks the start of the back-to-school season, with students heading back to the classroom in several schools across the Tennessee Valley.
Even with some districts banning cell phones during the school day, the National Children’s Advocacy Center is warning parents about new methods of bullying.
“Bullying has always been here,” said NCAC Program Manager and Therapist Beth Jackson.
“It’s just now they have bigger and better tools, if you will, to use for bullying. And then instead of it just being a small audience like it used to be before the to the digital age, it’s a much broader audience.”
Jackson said that with social media, students can’t escape bullying at the end of the school day. Now, students are using social media to humiliate, pick on, and intimidate others.
“Before, it could be contained to a classroom, you know, a neighborhood, a certain group of kids,” she said. “Now, just with the nature of the digital world, it can be anywhere, anytime, anyplace, and it never goes away.”
In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System reported that nearly 16.1 percent of Alabama youth are being bullied online. This digital behavior can have real-world consequences for victims, including anxiety and depression. Jackson said it’s important to look for signs that your child might be getting bullied.
“If they see a big change in behavior, like suddenly they become quiet or they’re appearing, you know, sad and hopeless and this isn’t a kid that has done that before,” Jackson said parents should intervene.
“If it’s a marked change in behavior, pay attention and ask,” she said. “I think it’s really important for us to ask and not assume and be quiet and let them tell us what’s going on.”
She said that children can be hesitant to share details of bullying.
“Sometimes they don’t want to tell adults because they’re afraid we’re going to make it worse, so it’s good to try to sit down and figure out what do you want to do together.”
Jackson said that if your child is being bullied, you can bring it to the attention of the school or have a discussion with the parents of other students involved.
To prevent your child from becoming a bully, she said it’s important to teach them empathy and model treating others with respect.
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