Why Cyberbullying Can Cause Longer Mental Health Effects with Dr. Michael Nuccitelli

Did you experience bullying as a kid when the internet wasn’t around? Have you considered how the internet is now used for bullying kids in an even more dangerous way?    We dove into these topics in this week’s episode of the Weekend Wellness Hour Show with Dr. Michael Nuccitelli, a NYS licensed psychologist, Cyberpsychology researcher and online safety educator.   Dr. Nuccitelli has been studying cyberbullying and the effects of this on the mental health of children and teenagers.   We first explored classic bullying and the impact on mental health.  Dr. Nuccitelli then explained how cyberbullying is even more harmful to children due to the inability of kids to escape the bullying since the internet lives in our homes and out in society 24/7/365.    Another aspect of cyberbullying is the fact that the harmful words or images live on forever.  The torment that happened for someone as a child can still haunt them later as an adult because it can always exist online.   We discussed why cyberbullying occurs and how it all comes down to peer acceptance.  Dr. Nuccitelli also discussed some of the tactics kids and teenagers use to target others.   Of the 42 ways minors bully other minors, he mentioned that exclusion and sextortion are the two biggest tactics used nowadays.  He gave examples of how minors implement this to torment others for acceptance from others.   We went through some solutions for stopping cyberbullying including educating children at a young age.  He encouraged everyone to discuss keeping personal information private and even urges parents to encourage more children to become upstanders, those who try to stop cyberbullying by notifying adults of this occurring.   More is needed to address this as Dr. Nuccitelli pointed out the cyberbullycide is becoming more prevalent.  This includes depression and suicide.   Please join us to learn how to address cyberbullying and keep your kids and minors safe mentally and emotionally.   Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Michael Nuccitelli at https://www.ipredator.co/.   -Dr. Amy Novotny   Subscribe to PABR Institute's email list for free Tips for Relief: https://pabrinstitute.activehosted.com/f/1   www.pabrinstitute.com