CYBER-BULLYING LINKED TO RISE IN DEPRESSION

STUDY FINDS CYBER-BULLYING CAUSES
MORE DEPRESSION THAN PHYSICAL BEATINGS

www.dailyrosetta.com - Students who are victims of cyber bullying at school are more likely to suffer depression than their tormentors, according to US researchers. They reported Tuesday that cyber-bullying, which occurs online or by cell phone, may be even harder on the victims than physical beatings or name-calling. Unlike traditional bullying, the kind that occurs in the school building or face-to-face, cyber-bullying victims is different as they are more likely to suffer from depression than their tormentors are. “Traditional bullying is more face-to-face. The type of bullying we’re looking at peaks in middle school,” said principal investigator for the study, Ronald J. Iannotti. He also added that students targeted by cyber-bullies, who may not always identify themselves, “may be more likely to feel isolated, dehumanized or helpless at the time of the attack.”

The study is based at survey results on bullying behaviors and signs of depression of more than 7,000 American schoolchildren in grades six through 10. The study, published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, also reported that levels of depression rose as bullying became more frequent but researchers also say that traditional bullying and cyber-bullying are not necessarily distinct events and that one often flows into the other. Bullying can be a policy issue, as it harms learning and is linked to lower levels of academic achievement, well-being and social development. “Involvement of schools and parents is really important. It’s really got to be a community effort – working with teachers, administrators, parents, and working with kids to improve their social skills so these kinds of things don’t happen”, ended Iannotti.


Bullying has moved beyond the schoolyard and on to Facebook pages, online chat groups and cellphone text messages. Specially children are so vulnerable when they are struggling with issues of self-definition. As more of teens’ social lives happen digitally, “the good comes with the bad”, so so amid all the dangers of this world of maya, we - as parents and teachers - need to pay attention and provide treatment for victims of cyber bullying.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

When adults say that for our children to understand maya we must expose them to it, they often mean they want to expose children to the illusions of illusion. They suggest taking children to amusement parks, or showing them television, or engaging them in much of the frivolities of childhood. But children who get a taste for such illusions generally become - illusioned. Their higher knowledge and taste for Krishna become covered. The child asks for further and further indulgence in illusion, because, as Krishna tells us, material desires can never be satisfied. ... Conditioned souls can safely deal with matter in a changed form - by using it in Krishna’s service. So children can listen to music glorifying Krishna, eat food offered to Krishna, watch plays and movies about Krishna, use their talents to serve Krishna, and possibly later marry and raise a family in Krishna’s service. ... When Maya is used in Krishna’s service under the direction of a guru, it ceases to work as a force of illusion. Rather, it acts spiritually to purify material desires.

Śrīmati Urmila devi dasi :
“Is Experience the Best Teacher?”
http://urmila.me.uk/
http://www.vaisnavafamilyresources.org/content/experience-best-teacher