“Those with cell phones, raise your hand.” The conversation about cyberbullying in class 5 B of Martínez Montañés school begins with this question. Madrid quarter of Moratalaz. Out of a total of 26 students aged 10 and 11, 15 sit in front of their green desks and raise their arms to answer police officer Laura. citizen participation who do they call “police teacher”.
By now, everyone has uploaded videos to TikTok from their mother, father, or brother’s cell phone or tablet, but few had heard of cyberbullying before they met Laura, officer Lara, and colleagues David and Jose. The four are part of the National Police unit that prevents and combats bullying in the Community of Madrid’s demanding public, private and compliant centres. They are not easy: Spain seventh country in the world More underage children are being cyberbullied, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Police assure that the cyberbullying curve does not stop growing,”Even the coronavirus curve is flattening but not this one”.
Sometimes a child bursts into tears when police officers talk about something that upset them. Your reaction is used to detect if you are a victim of cyberbullying.
Do you know what bullying is Laura investigates the kids as soon as class starts. A girl in a pink sweatsuit breaks the ice from the back of the class: “It’s like mistreating a partner, but not just one day, but several days in a row and repeat this over and over.. If you do it through social networks, it’s called cyberbullying.” Candela, like her other classmates, has been dealing with this problem for three weeks, thanks to the Master Plan talks her school has attended, though none of them. more dangerous: bullying or cyberbullying. Help them with concrete examples.
Cyberbullying on TikTok
“Imagine having to choose between pulling your pants down in front of the whole class or pulling them down. save it to video and upload it to TikTok. Which do you prefer?” The students laugh and joke, until Laura points to a girl in the front row and asks the group to think this happened to her or to a girl they all know whom they played at recess.
In cyberbullying, bullying multiplies, spreads very quickly Between a known and unknown crowd: “If I upload a nude video of Esther and insult her, I’m not only harassing her in front of her classmates, but that video as well. The whole school will see, his family, the police, students from other centers…Laura continues.
Girls cyberbullying, boys bullying
Teenage suicide attempts have increased in Spain over the past decade. Conclusion It’s hard to prove in court that a child’s suicide can be attributed to bullying Despite the increasing success of police investigations in gathering evidence on this matter, she said this boy is suffering: “The first challenge we found was the inability to criminally punish children under the age of 14 who had seriously abused a classmate,” said officer Lara.
70 percent of cyberbullies are girls: “The data shows that girls are more likely to get behind a screen and insult, they don’t like getting their hands dirty,” Agent Laura explains during the talk. In case of bullying, there are more men who physically attack other classmates.
7×24 harassment
Police adapt their message to eleven-year-old jargon of eleven-year-olds: “The victim of cyberbullying not only has a hard time at school, but also Suffering 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), does not rest. Can you imagine what this is? Classmate enduring my bullying in class and then coming home, which is your comfort zoneand I keep insulting him on TikTok or Instagram. New Year’s holidays? It wouldn’t even be quiet at home anymore.” A boy interrupted: “like a wave, a nightmare”.
Citizen Participation police pay attention to the children’s reactions during the speech. Sometimes, it happened to them on occasion, children start to cry when are they they’re talking about something that makes them disappear. His response provides clues to the guardian about the minor’s situation, and sometimes serves as a clue to the police to help children who are victims of cyberbullying and other crimes.
“That’s why we’re going several cops in talks. While one of us is talking, the others can understand what is going on among the students. If we find that someone has a problem, one of us leave the classroom with the child We also talked to the head of the department and the manager to speak more calmly. If the case is confirmed, the Forensic Police will intervene,” explains Officer Lara.
nameless bullies
Police increasingly encounter students “Modositos with exemplary behavior” at school, but these potential bullies As soon as they get their hands on a mobile phone or tablet: “Under the umbrella of anonymity allowing networks, A responsible teenager can be a bully”.
Laura also warns Martínez Montañés’ students: “Imagine hiding on the Internet using a pseudonym to humiliate your friend, I’m looking for myself. ‘green flower of the field’ and I put a puppy on my profile picture. He wouldn’t know who I was, and that would have burdened him even more.. If I’m the bad guy in the 5th B in Martínez Montañés and I’m making life impossible for him, he might try to avoid me in class. But if ‘flor-verde-del-campo’ posts on Instagram: ‘watch out when you get out of school, I’ll beat you up and you’ll find out’, your classmate will be very nervous and scared when he comes. He’ll walk out of the classroom looking everywhere in case someone approaches him and does something.”
The police also have them put themselves in the shoes of this anonymous cyber stalker. Laura puts two large bags in front of a girl in the front row and asks her classmates: “If I put a curtain between you and your friend and start harassing him, will he see me? No, but neither do I.” I see him. I insult him, I threaten him, and I cannot see his feelings., so I can keep doing it. If I look at your face now and see that you are a little sad and crying, maybe I can stop because I have a little heart too, maybe I realize that I have gone too far.”
silent witnesses
Experts who have battled the scourge of cyberbullying for years are also trying to prevent children from becoming silent witnesses to bullying: “One statement can destroy a child. I remember a 13-year-old girl. sunk by likes that their peers give to their followers’ comments rather than insults. The girl opened her Instagram profile and met dozens of people. smiling faceslaughing emojis next to a caricature drawn by a follower,” says agent David.
“What should you do if you know your friend is harassing another classmate? If, instead of encouraging him or laughing at him, you say, “I don’t like this, that’s not true,” maybe he’ll reconsider.. With the right words, you can prevent your friends from suffering, stop this crime. If you upload offensive videos and a lot of likeswill continue cyberbullying because there are a lot of people who like it. And today you may find it hilarious, but tomorrow you can be the star of their videos”, Laura warns the children.
When the “police teacher” Laura finishes her words, she pockets the 5th B-grade students.You are the cops of this crime.You have the key to stop cyberbullying and close the door to cyberbullying. You’re older and you know how to think. Let me know if you see it. If you suffer from it, never make the crazy decision not to tell your parents, teachers or the police. We’re here to help you.”
Kids with 5,000 followers on TikTok
Every year, Citizen Engagement police officers are forced to expand prevention courses in schools to include younger children because they start earlier with new technologies every time. “Ideally, parents should not give their children a phone call until they are at least 14 years old and are advised to delay this moment until age 16,” said Officer Lara.
When a child first starts using the Internet, they should do so “at home in the living room or wherever their parents are.” her room is not locked. And if he’s chatting with other friends, let him do it not with headphones, but with speakers, in this way adults can have some control about what’s going on on the other side of their screens,” he adds.
However, this is most appropriate for the police: “In the same class, students who want to delay the moment of giving them a cell phone should agree that their parents should be firm on this decision. A child who feels awkward because he doesn’t have a phone in the group when all his classmates already have a phone. don’t be”.
The data collected by the police during school visits is alarming: “A few days ago, at another school in Madrid, A 10-year-old boy who still carries Disney keychains in his backpack said he has 5,000 followers on TikTok.David remembers. Another girl from the same class told her teacher.after a talk about care, that you have an “internet boyfriend”, She had been talking for months with a boy she had met on one occasion, whom she thought was her own age. online gaming platform, Roblox.