Have you ever heard your teen use the words "text bomb"? Do you know what he's talking about? If you don't, you're not alone because I had no idea either. But it turns out that it has to do with a new cyberbullying technique that will shock you.
Keep reading so you can learn all about this tendency among teens.
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When you text bomb someone you're essentially bombarding them with non-stop text messages and they're generally not of the kind type. Believe it or not, there are apps out there your teens can download that will allow them to send thousands of messages at a time. And when I say thousands, I mean as many as 10,000 text messages in ONE day!
The examples of some of these text messages are heartbreaking and include things like "Just kill yourself" or "Nobody will miss you" and "You're not important." Just try to imagine being 14 years old, having low self-esteem and receiving text messages like these thousands of times a day. Who does that kind of thing? Sadly, it looks like lots of teens …
Besides the damage these type of messages can do to a teenager who's already going through a rough patch, you won't believe what they can do to your cellphone bill!
The most important thing you can do right now is to check your child's smartphone and look for two things: whether he has downloaded an app that will allow him to text bomb and whether he's been receiving these relentless text messages himself. If you don't know how to do it, make sure to ask someone who does to help you. You should also sit down with him to talk about cyberbullying and about these apps, which should be illegal. And be sure to be on top of any changes in his behavior.
It's truly sad that our kids have to be exposed to cyberbullying like this, but it's a reality. Having said that, keep in mind that if you're going to give your teen a smartphone, you should keep track of what he's doing with it.
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