The importance of helping others ‘finish a race’, instead of being a cyberbully, was stressed to Grade 5 and 6 students, and their parents, during a special cyberbullying presentation held by Sgt. Brian Trainor.
“The main point of the presentation was to get these students to realize that they might not know everybody’s personal story, and that they should make judgments based on what they see. I wanted to make sure that they realized that there is more to a person than what is seen on the outside, and their online comments could have a detrimental effect on someone who is having other emotional issues,” said Trainor.
The presentation was given to Grade 5 and 6 students from Assiniboia Park Elementary, Haig, Queen Elizabeth and Souris Schools during an afternoon session, then for their parents in a session held at the Weyburn Comp that evening.
During his presentations, Trainor noted that these students are connected to the online world in many different ways, from the different apps that could be on iPhones or iPads, and also on their Wii or PlayStation devices. “You can talk to any of these students and they would tell you that they sometimes get nasty, threatening messages from these online games.”
“Those comments are so frequent that our youth almost become immune to them, and as parents we don’t realize that these gaming systems are like computers. It connects them to the Internet.”
Trainor is a retired Saskatoon police officer who has lectured to tens of thousands students over the past 14 years. He is a very powerful speaker and educates students, teachers, and parents on the dangers of cyberbullying, sexting, cellphone apps, digital citizenship and much more. He is regarded as the "go to" cyber-bully expert.
“In days past, if you were being bullied, you could go home and be safe for the night. But for today’s youth, cyberbullying can happen 24 hours, seven days a week. Your home is not safe; your room is not safe. The threat is always lurking and the comments are always there.”
“One of the biggest problem with our youth is that their mind is not developed enough yet, where they can deal with the stress of the comments. They react to the drama in their lives and sometimes they over-react.”
This is why Trainor said that one of the best ways to avoid cyberbullying is to not even respond to the bully, report the username, and block it from sending further messages.
He also stressed that it was very important that parents take the time to teach their children about how to use a cellphone in a safe and secure way. “As parents, we assume that they know how to use them properly. But that is not good instruction to help our children. Parents have to embrace the role of a ‘parent’, and we need to educate and teach our children about the technology that is in their lives.”
During the presentation, Trainor also talked about the digital imprint and how it could impact the lives of those students, as they get older. He also addressed some cyberbullying legislation that could result in criminal arrests, especially if the comments are threatening to the victim.
