Signs of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying

As I was straightening up this morning, I realized that we must own over 100 chargers. The cords could probably stretch the length of a soccer field.

As I was trying to come up with a way to store these easily and figure out what they are, I realized that it was almost 11 am and I hadn’t seen my teenage son yet. I mean, I know it is Saturday, but he is usually up and about by now. I make my way to his room and knock on his door. I hear him tell someone to hold before my knock is answered with a “Yeah?”

As I walk, I see that he seems to be involved in an intense online game with some of his friends. I quickly mumble something about making sure he was okay and excuse myself from his room.

As I go back to straightening up, I start to remember the last time I saw my son not attached to some electronic device. I think it may have been Monday……

Ohh yep! It was Monday. I forgot about the huge fight that I had caused. I had been trying to get my son to help with the trash, and finally, after asking ten times, I told him to get off his tablet or take it. The fight that then ensued resembled one of those scenes from a movie. There was yelling, screaming, stomping, cursing, and door slamming. I remember standing in the middle of the living room in complete shock. This behavior was not typical of my teen at all.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. My requests are typically met with eye rolls but not this type of behavior. I mean, leading up to this, I noticed that he was being a bit moody and was spending more and more time in his room.

I took a few minutes to calm my nerves and went to check on him. When I knocked on his door, I could hear him sniffling as he said, “what?” When I entered the room, I saw him curled up on his bed facing the wall. He was crying. My heart instantly began to hurt.

I asked him what was wrong, and the flood gates opened. He talked about how there has been a group of people giving him a hard time in one of his group chats. He spoke about how there were a few boys that have been calling him names and making fun of him because he is smart. They have been calling him names and questioning his sexuality.

How did I not notice this sooner? The signs of cyberbullying were all right there.

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