cyberbullying - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz Catholic News New Zealand Thu, 11 Dec 2014 19:25:38 +0000 en-NZ hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cathnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-cathnewsfavicon-32x32.jpg cyberbullying - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz 32 32 70145804 Cyberslums and dark places need Church compassion https://cathnews.co.nz/2014/12/12/cyberslums-dark-places-need-church-compassion/ Thu, 11 Dec 2014 18:14:14 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=67058

Digital cyberslums where cyberbullying, pornography and abuse are running rampant need the Church's presence, a Vatican conference found. The conference, Wednesday, entitled "Stop threats on the internet" was organised by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Reports of one out of three young people in Europe being cyberbullied is evidence of a "new form of Read more

Cyberslums and dark places need Church compassion... Read more]]> Digital cyberslums where cyberbullying, pornography and abuse are running rampant need the Church's presence, a Vatican conference found.

The conference, Wednesday, entitled "Stop threats on the internet" was organised by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Reports of one out of three young people in Europe being cyberbullied is evidence of a "new form of violence" against young people and children, said Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council.

Despite many national and international laws and agreements, "humanity still hasn't been able to uproot completely the different forms of violence and exploitation against children," he said.

"Virtual" abuse and harassment result in real, not virtual, damage, said Fr Fortunato Di Noto.

Di Noto is an Italian priest who, for the past 25 years, has been leading the fight in Italy to protect children from online predators around the world.

Following Pope Francis' call to minister at the periphery, Di Noto suggests the Church needs to go to the virtual peripheries and meet those who are hurting.

Founding 'Meter', his association has created a tent church in dark places in the digital world.

'Meter' finds people who, while inflicting pain on others, are looking for affection, meaning in life or trying to work out their own pain, Di Noto says.

"We have to make sure that these places of emotional destitution, these new digital peripheries that I would call 'digital slums,' can be made habitable" because places that lack all forms of compassion and human connection attract ravenous "vultures," he said.

Di Noto's ministry offers "real accompaniment on the Internet because there are many people who are in need because they 'live' in this place every day."

"The problem isn't Internet, the problem is the human being," he said.

Di Noto said Meter's annual school-based educational campaign this year will include giving children a 10-point guide to online safety and a plastic ruler to underline that there are rules in life that need to be followed.

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Cyberslums and dark places need Church compassion]]> 67058 Coping with cyber-bullying https://cathnews.co.nz/2013/04/09/coping-with-cyber-bullying/ Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:12:48 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=42475

What can be more painful to a parent than losing a child to suicide? The problem of cyberbullying was brought to national attention several years ago by the passing of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide subsequent to cyberbullying by Lori Drew, the mother of another girl. Despite years of public campaigns and passage of Read more

Coping with cyber-bullying... Read more]]> What can be more painful to a parent than losing a child to suicide?

The problem of cyberbullying was brought to national attention several years ago by the passing of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide subsequent to cyberbullying by Lori Drew, the mother of another girl.

Despite years of public campaigns and passage of laws against cyberbullying, the phenomenon is becoming increasingly common and children continue to suffer, with too may of them tragically taking their own lives.

What can you do to protect your children from the ravages of cyberbullying?

The advice we usually get from experts is that adults need to increase their supervision of children, to inform the school and the legal authorities when cyberbullying is discovered, and to fight for increasingly tough anti-bullying laws.

While such efforts may be helpful and are sometimes necessary, if you are depending upon them as the ultimate solution for your children, you are likely to be disappointed.

It would be wonderful if we could solve social problems simply by passing laws against them, but bullying has been an escalating problem despite passage of intensive anti-bullying laws. Getting the authorities involved against other people's children usually escalates hostilities, as their parents are likely to take their own kids' sides against yours, and the kids will hate your child for trying to get them in trouble.

Many bullied children who have taken their own lives did so after the authorities got involved. And as much as you may wish to, you can never fully supervise your children's use of cell phones and computers or you'll have no time for anything else. Furthermore, if you try to deprive them of all privacy, they are likely resent you.

If you truly wish to help your children avoid the pain of cyberbullying, it helps to take a different attitude towards the problem.

Would you give your children a car and let them drive it without having learned how to use it properly and how to avoid the dangers of the road? Continue reading

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Coping with cyber-bullying]]> 42475