A teenager posts a fake message about his online friend. Later, the friend texts him, but he doesn’t act nicely and refuses to take it down. The teenager doesn’t care about it; meanwhile, the friend gets many hateful comments. This is an example of cyberbullying in today’s world.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through texts, social media posts, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. The main reason why people get cyberbullied is because of the irresponsible use of social media by the bully. Some people also find it bad because there can be a lot of misunderstanding over social media. And in those types of cases, there is no way of knowing what the other person means. Even students at BMS have experienced it.

“It’s the worst kind of bullying. Some things can be interpreted differently than actually said because you don’t know the other person’s emotions,” said Stella DiGeronimo.

In 2022, 60 percent of teenagers have experienced some sort of cyberbullying. In Bedford, the Kindness Club has recognized this issue. The 7th grade counselor and psychologist, Mrs. Kathryn Gray and Ms. Jessica Rabine and about 30 students work every Wednesday during lunch and recess to talk about this issue. They try to spread awareness and kindness in school. The Kindness Club talks about many other things than cyberbullying, but for the past month they have been focusing on this issue. They hope that their work pays off and there is more kindness in the school that can transfer to the outside world.

The Kindness Club has tackled many things in terms of Cyberbullying. One of the main things they talked about is thinking before posting. Here are some questions to think about before posting.

T: Is it true?

H: Is it harmful?

I: Is it inspiring?

N: Is it necessary?

K: Is it kind?

The term ‘thinking before posting’ is very important because there are many consequences of posting inappropriately which not many people think about. This is very important because social media is risky; some platforms don’t even let you delete posts. “The consequences are terrible and making one bad decision can affect your entire career in the future,” said Mrs. Gray. Always act responsibly with what you are saying to another person online and before posting. Some tips are thinking back on what you are about to post or say. Also, telling someone you trust about anything you are going through online.

As a community the club hopes that the Bedford community will act nicely and responsibly so that no one will ever need these tips.