Social media is a great way for students to keep in touch with their friends, build study groups, and share knowledge. In Australia alone, around one in two people use Facebook on a daily basis, and the average teenager spends over 1200 hours on social media platforms each year.
Navigating the internet would be a lot simpler and safer if there was an easy-to-find, all-encompassing cyber bullying law—say, an “Australian Anti-Cyber Bullying Law” statute. If we had a single law document that listed everything you wanted to know in it such as how to tell if someone is being cyber bullied, what help you can get, and the corresponding penalties for those who break it, things would be easier. Unfortunately, there isn’t one specific cyber bullying law of that sort here in Australia.
Keeping kids safe on the internet is more important now than ever before. Young people and students have the right to access information, connect with friends, and share information online just like everybody else, but the reality is, being online without adequate safety measures in place can put them in a vulnerable position. In other words, they can be unsuspecting victims of online criminal activities such as malware and cyber bullying.
Cyber bullying is real and must not be ignored. Need convincing? Just take a look at its ill-effects on the victims. Cyber bullying can impact everything from a victim’s performance in school to long-term mental health.