How You Can Help Prevent Bullying on Social Media?

October 1st began World Bullying Prevention Month – A month dedicated to raising awareness and fighting against bullying, and instead promoting kindness, acceptance and inclusion. As of 2019, according to studies by Pacer, 20% of students have reported being bullied in school and 37% bullied online in their lifetime. Cyberbullying takes place online or digitally and can include crude comments, mean texts, and offensive posts about an individual or group. Effects of bullying, whether in real life or virtually through a screen, can have lifelong effects on its victims such as increased risks of mental health issues and suicide, poor physical health, and damaged self-esteem. With this new epidemic of cyberbullying, what can you do to help prevent bullying on social media for Bullying Prevention Month and beyond? Check out these incredible NGOs and their inspiring initiatives: 

US: PACER 

PACER, a national bullying prevention center in the US, strives to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion in order to prevent bullying and create a better environment for students everywhere. Interested in learning more about what Bullying Prevention Month is? In collaboration with a student, PACER released a video of how to show your support this month and more information about Bullying Prevention Month (we highly recommend watching this or the other student-made videos proudly displayed on their site). Whether you’re a student, parent, or educator, check out PACER for a number of resources on how to prevent bullying, encourage those who’ve been bullied, and most importantly, strategies for spreading kindness. If you’d like to support PACER, consider taking the kindness pledge, joining the student video contest, or donating to help continue PACER’s free services. 

US: Stomp out Bullying 

Stomp Out Bullying is a leading national nonprofit in the US dedicated to changing school culture for all students. With a motto of being “unapologetically kind” to combat bullying, Stomp Out Bullying is proving kindness is the greatest tool of all. Join them in stomping out bullying by wearing blue to show your support. Stomp Out Bullying also offers important facts to enlighten your world about bullying, a HelpChat crisis line for teens aged 13-24 to turn to, and resources for both educators and parents to advise them on if students are being bullied, or on how to help spread kindness. To support Stomp Out Bullying, consider donating, getting involved, creating a partnership, participating, becoming a youth leader, or purchasing Stomp Out Bullying’s merch. 

Canada: Kids Help Phone

Kids Help Phone is Canada’s primary online mental health service with free support to young people open every hour of every day. Their online site offers interactive activities focused on wellness, mental health tips and information, and forums. In 2021, Kids Help Phone reported that they had Canadian youth reach out to them 4.6 million times and that they held 172,000+ counseling and live chat sessions, 242,000+ text sessions, and 100,000+ peer-to-peer community sessions. To support Kids Help Phone, please consider donating, volunteering, fundraising, or even just sharing your own story with Kids Help Phone. 

UK: The Diana Award

The Diana Award was founded based on Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change the world and prove so by helping youth unlock their potential, creating opportunities for young people, and inspiring action in them. The Diana Award offers an anti-bullying program across the UK to help youth become student ambassadors to tackle bullying. Their new initiative, #FreeTheShoulders aims to bring people together around the world together to fight all forms of bullying. Join the fight or consider donating, partnering with The Diana Award, joining their programs, hosting a fundraising livestream, or showing your support by wearing the merch.  

Australia:  Reach out

Reach Out offers a safe online space for youth to connect with others, improve their mental health, and feel like they’re not alone in what they’re facing. With an online anonymous chat feature, teens can reach out for advice and help, parents can seek guidance on how to support their children, and schools can learn what to offer to improve their students' and staff's wellbeing. Reach Out also offers an online forum community, filled with positivity, for teens and others to reference when needed. If you want to support Reach Out, you can volunteer, donate, fundraise, or spread awareness.

France: 3018 eEnfance

eEnfance Association fights cyberbullying in France by offering French youth, parents, and educators interventions and training on the responsible use of the internet as well as the risks involved. Victims of cyberbullying of any kind can anonymously contact 3018 at any time, any day to get support and advice. Support eEnfance by donating, volunteering, or sponsoring eEnfance. 

How Does The Yubo App Fight Against Bullying?

At Yubo, safety is at the core of every decision we take and we want to ensure users feel like they’re a part of a positive online community. While Yubo has an extensive moderation team and vast safety processes in place, we’ve also added features to give the users control of what they want to see. With our muted words feature, users can choose the words they do not want to see or that they find personally harmful or triggering, and Yubo will never show those words to them in live streams or messaging. Users are also able to block other users they do not want to interact with and easily report anyone they find to be disrespectful. At Yubo, we have strict Community Guidelines in place that prohibit bullying, hate speech, violence, and much more. Any time a user reports a violation of these guidelines, we investigate and take appropriate action. We are always looking for new ways to make Yubo as safe a place as possible and are dedicated to fighting against the harms of online bullying through innovative safety features, user education, and partnerships with important charities and NGOs.