Online bullying. It has to stop.
Of course all bullying should stop – online and offline, but online bullying in this day and age seems to be so prevalent and effecting so many millions of people every day.
Social networks are rife for this and for a reason I do not understand, social media and networks seem to bring out the worst in many people.
People seem to thing it is ok to attack, be rude and abuse others online in the click of a key board – whereas these same people wouldn’t act like this in the non virtual world – or at least most wouldn’t.
It seems the barrier of being online and not actually seeing that person you are offending face to face is enough of a barrier to diminish any sense of humanity and to diminish any sense of empathy or morality.
Sure, you might not like what someone looks like, what they are eating for dinner, what they are wearing, what their kids are wearing, what their husband looks like, what their new hair cut looks like, what their business is, how they do certain things, what their opinion on life, love and the universe is but is that any reason to attack them and be hurtful and to make them feel awful about themselves?
We live in a time where mental health issues are at an all time high and by attacking someone online – you have no idea of the mental and emotional impact your comments are having on someone.
A comment that you may think is a throwaway comment could send someone into a spiral of anxiety – or worse – and this is one of the most troubling areas of social media that deeply concerns me.
Across The Healthy Mummy network we understand this so much and as The Founder of The Healthy Mummy, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to protect the community and all the members within in.
To protect members and keep the online support groups we run positive and clear from negativity we firstly have a list of very clear rules about what we will and won’t except in the groups.
We also employ over 40 moderators around the clock who ensure members remain safe and supported – if any member breach the rules or behave negatively towards other members – they are removed from the group.
My aim is that we ensure mums feel safe in our groups and do all we can to stamp out bullying and negative behaviour.
No one should suffer online trolling or bullying and if you don’t like what someone says the answer is simple – unfollow them, turn off notifications or keep scrolling.
Or if that person has said something shocking, simply report that comment so it can be dealt with appropriately.
I feel very strongly about people having a positive experience on social networks and it worries me greatly the effect negative experience and bullying can have on individuals – especially what this means for our children as they grow up and become more and more exposed online.
Let’s all protect one another online and behave responsibility and look out for each other and live the mantra of supporting each other – and refrain from leaving negative and hurtful comments online even if the thought may pop into your head – just because you think it – you don’t need to write it.
