Apps Linked To Cyberbullying

Unfortunately, cyberbullying appears to be widespread in our country. Many parents do their best to monitor well-known sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; but parents there are some other popular sites out there where kids may become the targets of bullies.Parents are usually the first line of defense for stopping cyber bullying and the key to prevention is knowing where to look and staying up on the online trends.Authorities say there are a few new sites out there you'll want to check out because they've seen a big uptick in bullying online. Lesser-known apps include ASK.FM and Snapchat, which are both free.And the reason why bullying seems to be growing on these apps? Because a lot of them allow anonymous posts, so the chatters can take on different online identities. Snapchat messages can vanish after a certain period time, so there's no online trail.But the sites say they're doing what they can to stand up to bullies. ASK.FM says it's updating safety and privacy policies to ensure that its abuse and inappropriate content reporting systems are among the most effective in the industry. Snapchat says it also has safety features in place and it offers a guide for parents that includes information on how to protect their children online.If you are a parent that is not really tech-savvy, experts still say do your research. Also, enlist the help of other parents or friends that may be up on the latest trends and newest apps and sites that your kids may be using.