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Building a Safer Twitter with Improved Tools to Report Cyberbullying

Twitter Cyberbullying Reporting Tools: Twitter is fighting against cyberbullying by upping their game when it comes to user protection.

Twitter is fighting against cyberbullying by upping their game when it comes to user protection. 

The social media platform recently made changes to make it easier to report cyberbullying, harassment, and spamming.

Changes to Twitter Reporting and Blocking Features

Twitter has decreased the amount of information needed to report a user and made the process more mobile-friendly in order to speed up the process of reporting, reviewing, and managing cyberbully.

Recent changes also make it easier for users who see harassment to report it, enabling other users to step in when they see bullying.

Twitter also added features related to blocking. Users can now see a list of accounts they have blocked from a page accessible in settings, and users you have blocked can no longer view your profile.

When to Report a User

You should advise your child to report a user anytime they see the following.

  • Threats – user is making direct threats of violence, threats are directed at an individual or a group of people targeted by race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
  • Abuse – user is repeatedly engaging with individual in one-sided harassment
  • Targeted Abuse – individual has created multiple accounts in order to send messages to the same person from multiple accounts, the sole purpose of the account is to send abusive messages
  • Serial Accounts – user has created multiple accounts in order to be disruptive and spammy
  • Spam – user posts duplicate content, messages usually include links that are posted repeatedly and rapidly, user repeatedly posts misleading and false information
  • Private Information – user is sharing personal information (phone numbers, addresses, banking information, etc.) of other individuals
  • Offensive Content – users is directly messaging individuals obscene or pornographic images

Twitter considers all of these actions as a violation of Twitter Rules and may suspend users who engage in the activities. You can find full instructions on reporting violations in Twitter’s Support Guide.

Related: Social Media, Bullying and What You Can Do to Help

Remember that sometimes reporting a user through Twitter is not enough.

If you believe you or someone else is in danger due to information you saw on Twitter, contact local law enforcement.

Cyberbullying Is Still an Issue

Twitter is committed to making their social space safer for users, and they plan to add more features and controls for both reporting and blocking users. They recently stated on their blog, “We’ll continue to work hard on these changes in order to improve the experience of people who encounter abuse on Twitter.”

But that doesn’t mean parents should sit back and let Twitter handle it. Parents should remain involved in their child’s social media world by connecting with and monitoring the engagement on their Twitter account.

With MamaBear, The Ultimate Parenting App™, parents receive notifications when their child gets a new follower or follows someone new, is @mentioned in a message, and uses certain restricted words or risky language. It makes for simple connectivity, easy monitoring, and fast response time to cyberbully and harassment.

See how MamaBear can help protect your child by adding it to your iPhone or Android.

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Social Media, Bullying and What You Can Do to Help

Social Media, Bullying and What You Can Do to Help | MamaBear App

Statistics from DoSomething.org show that nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online and another 70% have seen bullying online. But with only one out of ten victims reporting this type of abuse to an adult, cyberbullying isn’t always an easy problem for parents to identify.

Parents must be proactive and prepared to protect their children from social media bullying.

Keep an Eye on What’s Going On

The best way to know what’s going on in your child’s social world is to see it for yourself.

  • Help your kids set up their accounts. Kids want to be independent and sooner or later, they are going to set up their own social media profiles. Instead of waiting for them to sign up, get involved early. Help them set up their accounts, and use that opportunity to tour the site together, set privacy settings and discuss the dangers as well as social etiquette. When you set up their profile, explain you need a copy of their password and username, not because you want to snoop, but because you want to keep them safe. It’s responsible parenting.

  • Make monitoring a habit. Being on the social site yourself and friending or following your children make your presence known as a form of monitoring but also providing a sense of security to your kids. Plus, it will keep you up-to-date on social sites so you are more educated on their trends and purposes.  Using third party services like MamaBear App can help save time filtering need to know information with customized word list to monitor with timely mobile notifications.

  • Put limitations on phone and computer use. Setting boundaries is important in all relationships.  Set limits on time and place for device use. Limit computer use to a central location where you can periodically pop in and see the screen. If your children have phones for games and emergencies, they don’t need their device with them 24/7. Here are some ideas for a cellphone contract that can guide you in creating these boundaries.

Related: Helping Your Teen be Safe on Social Media

Save the Evidence

If you happen to find an indication of bullying on your child’s social sites, make sure to save the evidence.

Many online sites make it easy to take down messages, so be sure to capture proof while you still can. This evidence might be vital in filing a complaint, so take a screenshot that includes the date and username of the bully.

Block and Report the Bully

Block and report any user that shows signs of bullying directly from your child’s account. You can also file a complaint separate from your child’s account. Many popular social sites also allow you to file a report even if you don’t have your own account.

Talk About It

Talk to your child about what happened. Discuss that bullying isn’t acceptable and reassure them that you are there to listen and answer any of their questions about the situation.

By planning ahead and properly addressing the problem, you are teaching your child how to protect themselves in the future. But as a parent it’s up to you to be proactive and make sure they stick to the plan.

Download the MamaBear Family Safety app, available for iPhones and Androids, to connect with your child’s social media accounts and ensure that they are engaging in a safe and healthy social media environment.

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Is Vine Safe for Kids?

When Twitter released the Vine app, it was greeted with a lot of controversy pertaining to its safety and usability among kids. Just like any social media tool, parents became aware that this app could lead to online security problems such as identity theft and cyberbullying. But, what can a parent do? | MamaBear App

The following post is a guest blog from Allie Cooper, a tech enthusiast who’s very passionate with her volunteer work; educating kids about responsible mobile device usage both locally and internationally. She also loves to cook and to travel. Despite her busy schedule, she updates herself with the recent parental control technologies.

When Twitter released the Vine app, it was greeted with a lot of controversy pertaining to its safety and usability among kids. Just like any social media tool, parents became aware that this app could lead to online security problems such as identity theft and cyberbullying. But, what can a parent do?

Similar to Instagram, the video-hosting tool exposes kids to a number of multimedia content. While it can be used for educational purposes and certainly some laughs and entertainment, some users tend to abuse the tool to spread malicious content.

Related: Is the Introduction of Video from the Instagram App Dangerous for Children?

Here are  tips  to ensure children’s Vine usage is safe and secure.

Parental Controls

Preventing kids to land on spiteful content, parental monitoring software is ideal to limit only the appropriate app and websites that the child can view. There’s no need to keep it a secret. Rather explain to them the benefits and reasons for employing it, to retain a certain trust.

Smartphones

Before providing a device, ensure that it has a mounted security feature. The good thing is that mobile service providers are spearheading this move. In 2011, O2 has installed an 18+ filter on mobile web browsing, preventing minors to land on adult and malicious content.

Knowing a Kid’s Network

With the absence of concrete privacy settings, users can easily browse all available profiles of their network. It’s advisable to be well-versed with how the app works as well as  the type of people the child interacts (friends, followers, and the people they follow). As a parent, it’s also best to make sure that the people and content you post are accepted online. Always show a good example.

Social Media Monitoring App

From a modern parent perspective, many are now utilizing social media monitoring tools to keep an eye on their young ones. Ideally, these allow you to receive an email alerts or push notification, which details how the child behaves online. Moreover, some tools are able to predict and give reports when a restricted word has been uttered online, and even when a questionable person mentions your kid. One of the most favorable tools is the Mamabear app. For example, Mamabear’s Instagram notifications allow parents to be updated when the child has been tagged in a photo or video, including recent followers and newly-followed profiles.

Watch Out for Signs

Due to peer pressure, kids easily share videos that may incur a negative effect on a kid’s emotional and psychological upbringing. Parenting expert Michele Borba suggests to watch out for signs to prevent the future attacks of cyber predators.

Social withdrawal

Social withdrawal happens when kids have deactivated all of their social networking accounts. According to Social Wellness, this type of social isolation may lead to a severe case of depression.

Fear of Social Networks

The fear of social media normally happens when a kid encounters a cyber predator. This fear leads to occasional anxiety attacks, especially when social media alerts pop up on their mobile device.

Is Vine Safe for Kids?

Vine, despite its flaws, can be a safe haven for kids. All it takes is a smart and educated parent, especially instilling good values to their children. Aside from relying on your wisdom and experiences, use technology to  remedy the blunders of social media.

Will you allow your kid to join this video-hosting tool?

 

Image courtesy of: Aulia. M.