By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director and Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Posted in: Multimedia, Podcast

Topics: Bullying, Hot Topics

 

In this episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah take a hard look at cyberbullying — how it differs from the schoolyard bullying of decades past, why it’s harder to escape, and which kids face the highest risk. They walk through the Clay Center’s three W’s: what to look for, when to worry, and what to do, covering everything from documenting evidence the right way to rallying “upstanders” instead of bystanders. Practical, direct guidance for any parent, caregiver, or educator raising a kid in today’s always-on digital world. Tune in now!

Media List

• Cyberbullying: A Serious, Often Dangerous Form of Harm and Ways to Support Your Teen (MGH Clay Center)
• Teens and Cyberbullying 2022 (Pew Research Center)
• StopBullying.gov
• Common Sense Media
• The Cyberbullying Research Center
• The Bullying Prevention Program (Mass.gov)
• Who Is at Risk for Bullying (StopBullying.gov)
• Cyberbullying: What to Know (MGH Clay Center PDF)
• Cyberbullying: What to Do (MGH Clay Center PDF)
• What to Look for, When to Worry, What to Do (MGH Clay Center)

Episode music by Gene Beresin
Episode produced by Masha Mesyef

Cyberbullying in 2026 — Episode Transcript

Shrinking It Down: Mental Health Made Simple

SPEAKERS: Gene Beresin, MD, MA; Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH

[01:00:00:00 – 01:00:04:02]

Gene Beresin

Welcome back to “Shrinking It Down, Mental Health Made Simple.” I’m Gene Beresin.

[01:00:04:02 – 01:00:05:14]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

And I’m Khadijah Booth Watkins.

[01:00:05:14 – 01:00:13:17]

Gene Beresin

We’re two child and adolescent psychiatrists at the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at the Massachusetts General Hospital. I want to start with a story.

[01:00:13:17 – 01:00:14:04]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Oh boy.

[01:00:16:01 – 01:01:14:07]

Gene Beresin

This is a true story. So when I was in sixth grade, a small group of bullies from my class frequently hid in bushes along my walk home. I lived a little that far from my elementary school. And one big kid, Bert, I still remember his name. Two other guys grabbed me from behind the bushes, and Bert would kind of like punch me in the stomach generally, repeatedly. I never told anyone. I was ashamed. And after they figured out my route home, I would hide my bike in the bushes in various places around the school, so I could kind of like sneak out and get home safely. They apparently knew where we lived because it was followed up by swastikas that were chalked on our driveway. We were the first, one of the first Jewish families, and this is the Philadelphia mainline. But that was in the early sixties. And now times have changed about bullying.

[01:01:14:07 – 01:01:36:20]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Well, times have changed, but have they? I think the way people are being targeted and bullied have changed. So now we have to deal with a far more formidable force, which is cyberbullying. And while physical assault among teens have decreased over the decades, online attacks are far more common, and their consequences can be just as devastating as being physically assaulted.

[01:01:36:20 – 01:01:39:03]

Gene Beresin

More devastating.

[01:01:39:03 – 01:01:53:12]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Can be more devastating, sure. More than half of US teens have experienced cyberbullying online and online harassment at some point in their lives. And the numbers are just going up. They’re not going down, despite so much attention being paid to this cyberbullying.

[01:01:53:12 – 01:02:28:12]

Gene Beresin

So today we’re going to talk about what cyberbullying really looks like in 2026. Who’s most at risk, and as usual for the Clay Center, the three W’s, what to look for, when to worry, and most importantly, what to do as parents, caregivers, educators, and the young people themselves. So let’s start with the basics. Khadijah, how would you define cyberbullying, and how is it fundamentally different from face-to-face bullying, like the kind I experienced when I was a kid?

[01:02:28:12 – 01:04:33:16]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Well, this is a great place to start, because I think sometimes people don’t really initially identify that they’re being cyberbullied. But cyberbullying is basically intentional, repeated use of digital technology to cause fear, shame, anger, alienation, or humiliation. And the difference really is, I think, the reach. With these online platforms, you can reach people from anywhere. And also, this affords the opportunity to have a large audience to witness you being bullied. So the visibility is not only just your peers, but potentially strangers. And then, like I used to tell my kids, when we would talk about online education, the digital footprint is permanent. The permanence of all of this is really different. People take screenshots. They share messages that have been sent. And so things that are allegedly temporary really can last forever, even though it may disappear from someone’s phone. It’s still safe somewhere. And I think the other thing is the escalation. People can see the content and escalate on it, expand upon it, which, again, is really, really stressful and hurtful for kids who are on the receiving end. And then there’s no safe space. There’s no safe harbor. If I think about when I was in school, if I was having a conflict with another kid, I could go home and it could all be over. And I could have the safety of my home, my family, my own environment around people who love and care about me. And I at least have a little bit of a reprieve to be able to kind of regroup to face another day. And with cyberbullying, the kids are with you everywhere. So they’re with you in your bedrooms, they’re on your phones, they’re in your private lives. The bullying doesn’t have an end point. There’s no pause, no chill, I guess, if I could say that. And I think what this really, really means to kids who are on the receiving end of being bullied, it’s incredibly stressful to feel trapped and have no escape. And this can really wreak havoc on your nervous system in the way that persistent, prolonged stress does.

[01:04:33:16 – 01:04:35:00]

Gene Beresin

And they last forever, right?

[01:04:35:00 – 01:04:35:20]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

It lasts forever.

[01:04:35:20 – 01:04:46:14]

Gene Beresin

I mean, I don’t think kids that are actually bullied or even being bullied realize that, like, this is out there and it can’t be taken away.

[01:04:46:14 – 01:05:09:12]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Well, we see it when it comes time for people to run for set offices and pull up things that they may have said or written 10 years, 12 years, 20 years ago, and how that is used to judge who they are today. And so that’s one of the big lessons that I try to teach my kids. Like what you say lives forever, whether you think it’s erased, deleted, cleared, someone has it and will use it against you. So be thoughtful about it.

[01:05:09:12 – 01:05:22:07]

Gene Beresin

Well, some kids, for example, will get around that by what’s called catfishing, where they make up a false identity so it can’t be traced back to them. I mean, those are, like, really sophisticated cyberbullies.

[01:05:22:07 – 01:05:39:11]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Yeah, and I think this is a challenge. Like it’s so slippery, but where does cyber bullying actually happen? I know we just talked about how you can experience it anywhere, but where does it actually happen? Like what platforms and types of technology should parents really know about as it relates to this?

[01:05:39:11 – 01:06:55:18]

Gene Beresin

Well, it can happen across almost any digital space where young people can communicate with others. So there are specific apps and platforms that teens use constantly. So, okay, just to give you a broad example, so text-to-direct messaging, that’s SMS, WhatsApp, Signal, Message. Social media platforms, like Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, X, formerly Twitter. Online forums. One of my patients got nailed and actually discarded from an online forum from, you know, Discord. There’s Reddit and Discord as two examples. And he was there forever. Then he said something that someone didn’t like and he got bullied. Live streaming video and sharing apps such as Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, which is not used as much anymore. Dating apps. Social discovery. Online multiplayer video games, including games that, you know, have built-in chat features, voice communication, or social hubs like Roblox or Fortnite, and, you know, email.

[01:06:55:18 – 01:07:01:11]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

So anywhere someone can reach somebody.

[01:07:01:11 – 01:09:06:02]

Gene Beresin

So, but, you know, that’s what’s so scary about it to me is that we all use, you know, a few of those platforms. I certainly don’t use all of them, but, you know, it’s everywhere. That’s the problem. And just like you said, there was no place to escape. In the digital world, there may be no place to escape because any one of these platforms can be used for better or for worse, and in this case, much worse. But, you know, let’s talk about what kids actually do when they’re bullying. They, you know, it involves offensive name calling, spreading false rumors, excluding someone such as ghosting or blocking, sending abusive or threatening messages, including physical threats. Sending explicit images without consent. And so we could talk about sexting in another podcast because it’s, you know, pretty scary. Posting sensitive, private or embarrassing information without consent. Some of it may be true and some of it may be false. And again, as I said, I think the most sophisticated means is making up a false identity or catfishing. And that way the bully protects themselves from not getting caught. And the new and most alarming, I think, venue is A.I. Generating fake images, fake videos, fake audio. I mean, it can capture your voice. So it really sounds like you. I mean, that can be incredibly dangerous and compelling. But stepping aside from this, who would you say? What teens are most at risk? You know, what kids are vulnerable or what groups are facing higher levels of exposure to this?

[01:09:06:02 – 01:11:00:03]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

So I think it’s safe to say that, especially as you outline all of the ways that someone has the ability to connect and contact you, no one is spared, no one is saved, but there are some kids that are at great more risk than others. And I think it really goes back to, how we see and tolerate differences. So kids who have behavioral or emotional challenges can be more vulnerable than others. Kids who are on the spectrum, especially as it relates to again, their differences and the way that they kind of engage interpersonally, they could be vulnerable. Kids with intellectual developmental challenges, disabilities, learning disabilities, speech and language disorders, those kids are often targets. Kids who identify as LGBTQIA plus are also often targeted, immigrants and people of color. And again, going back to this idea of being different puts a target on your back, which is unfortunate. And this is not a new phenomenon by any measure, but technology really does amplify the differences and really creates a platform for people to engage in this hurtful behavior of being mean, being aggressive, threatening in a way that maybe they wouldn’t do if they were face to face, but behind the shields of the screens of these devices, people feel that it’s open season and that they’re entitled to do so. And then these are the kids that I think are most vulnerable kids who are different in any way, whether it’s different in terms of how they outwardly display their religious beliefs or again, the color of their skin or their gender or sexual preferences, anything that is different from what is perceived as a norm that makes you a target. So with that, now that we know what happens in cyberbullying, what are the signs that a young person is being cyberbullied? What should a parent or caregiver be looking out for and be concerned about?

[01:11:00:03 – 01:12:19:10]

Gene Beresin

Well, it gets back to our three W’s from the Clay Center, what to look for. So immediate signs, you know, these kids that are victims, you know, they will respond with anxiety, depression, fear, shame, low self-esteem, frustration or anger, and not unusual for physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, or panic attacks. Now, in the longer run, that is, you know, a few weeks or months later, there can be longer term signs such as academic decline, social withdrawal, school refusal, loss of interest in, you know, typical hobbies and activities, and kind of almost like a change in personality where they’ll become irritable, quiet, or isolated. So you know, many kids will conceal their suffering. So sometimes it’s hard to know what to look for. And sometimes, and the reason why many young people will hide their symptoms is because if they’re found out, I think a pervasive fear is that if a parent gets involved, they’ll be a tattler and tattlers get even more bullying. It’s worse.

[01:12:19:10 – 01:12:23:00]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

I was saying they feel like parent involvement is only gonna make the situation worse.

[01:12:23:00 – 01:13:22:10]

Gene Beresin

Oh yeah, absolutely. which even exacerbates what you were saying before about the fact that there’s no place to be safe, not even with their own parents. So you know, the mental health stakes are super high. You know, cyberbullying is a known risk factor for suicidal thinking and self-harm, you know, especially in the already vulnerable youth that you described. So we can name this directly and not shy away from it. But let’s turn now to, you know, so what can parents or caregivers actually do? You know, where do you start when you think something’s going on? You know, I think, you know, we should be doing some things if we notice behavioral changes that I just mentioned. But even in the absence of warning signs, what can parents and caregivers do to discern that their kids have been or may be bullied?

[01:13:22:10 – 01:15:29:05]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Well, I mean, yeah, we’re talking about the end result, the cyberbullying, but so many of these, so often we really should be having conversations early before kids even start using digital media and these digital platforms. But the best thing, the most preventative thing that we could do, and it may not prevent them from being cyberbullied, but it will give them the tools they need to be able to kind of engage in a healthy way, is really start these conversations super early before they have a phone or before they are playing online games where they’re chatting with other kids. Build this habit and this culture of a conversation that is really based in genuine curiosity, we’re alarmed, not judgmental, not giving our hypercritical kind of opinions, but really just wanting to understand what their digital lives looks like. And as we do, we can have these conversations on an ongoing basis. These conversations that we’re having with our young people are not one and done conversations. And I think families and parents and caregivers often wanna have these conversations, but they don’t know what to start, they don’t know how to start the conversation. So some good places to begin is, tell me a little bit about what you’re doing on your phone or what you’re using. Like I’m curious, even in a more, even in a way that we’re kind of exchanging, like these are the things that I’m using, like I’d love to see and hear what you’re using, can you show me? Asking about friends is always also a safe place because maybe it’s easier for them to talk about what their friends are using. So what do your friends use? But also super important, like has anything happened online in any of these platforms that made you feel weird, uncomfortable, unsafe? And really, really important, do you know what to do if you feel unsafe or targeted online? Like, do you know who to go to, who to talk to, who to ask? Like what is your course of action? And this allows kids to know that you’re interested, you’re curious, you’re here to help, but not in a way that’s super overbearing. And so it creates a space that feels comfortable and safe should something become out of sorts or become a challenge, if they feel like they now know that we’ve had these conversations and they can turn to you.

[01:15:29:05 – 01:15:44:12]

Gene Beresin

How about before the kids even get smartphones? How about, you know, preschoolers or young school-age kids? I mean, a lot of school-age kids in as early as, I don’t know, fifth or sixth grade get smartphones.

[01:15:44:12 – 01:17:14:01]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

There should be series of conversations that happen before they are allowed, almost like a training before you’re allowed to have a phone. Like these are the expectations of your behavior on a phone. This is what happens when you send messages. Like this is what happens when you’re part of a group chat and things don’t go, like people are saying things that you don’t agree with. Really those rules around, like if you’re part of this chat, then you’re part of the conversation and you’re culpable. I think also letting them know, these are some of the not so nice things that can happen online or on some of these platforms. And if these things happen to you, these are not okay. Cause I think sometimes kids couch these things as we’re just joking, this is just all in fun, but really helping them to understand what is acceptable, respectful behavior. But again, also that idea that the digital footprint lasts forever. Like it doesn’t really go away even if it’s hard for you to find. But all of those kinds of rules and expectations and how the digital world works really should be ingrained in them before they’re handed their first digital device. And we should be having these conversations on an ongoing basis. Cause what happens is kids grow, their friends start doing things and then they kind of fall into that, well, they’re doing it. So you have to kind of have these conversations on an ongoing basis to remind them of the potential dangers. Like we’re not here to vilify social media and all of the things digital, but it can be unsafe and it can be harmful if you don’t use it in a healthy, productive, safe way.

[01:17:14:01 – 01:17:52:11]

Gene Beresin

Hey, and I have another question that, should we have or should parents and caregivers have access to real-life stories about kids that have been bullied or kids that have misused digital media so that they have some examples? I mean, you know, it’s one thing to talk about apps that they’re using or experiences that they’re having online. But they may be abstract. I mean, should we be helping them have some, you know, like real-life examples, you know, of what can occur and what the consequences are?

[01:17:52:11 – 01:20:14:11]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

I think real life examples always kind of takes us to the next level where we’re able to kind of put a face with the name and make it more real. Like I think when we talk about things in the abstracts or even diagnoses and numbers, like it just feels kind of almost like this really isn’t happening, this could never happen to me. But when we put a face to a situation and you see or hear like in whether it’s the writing or if you’re watching a video, like the raw emotion that someone is sharing and being vulnerable about their experience and how it impacted them, I think that goes a long way from the standpoint of, you know, again, someone who is being bullied, but even someone who is thinking about engaging in, you know, being mean and hurtful to someone and really appreciating truly how this affects people, it may allow someone to make a different choice. But also someone who’s being cyber bullied, it allows them to feel like that they’re not alone, this is not just happening to them. And again, maybe we’ll make them feel more inclined to reach out for help and support, because I think you mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of shame and doubt that goes into the someone feels when they’re being bullied and often they don’t share right away for many reasons. But I think a big one is like feeling shame and doubt and that it’s just me, but also they’re afraid if they get the adults involved, it’s just going to all go to, you know. But again, I think when we’re talking about these conversations, if your child does disclose that they have been mistreated or harmed online, I think it’s really incumbent upon us to really as adults manage our emotions, manage our facial expressions, contain our judgment if you have any, and really just listen, listen, actively listen with the intent of just listening, not with the plan to try to problem solve or try to fix anything, but we really are just trying to listen and we want to validate their experience. And that’s where we really want to spend the time. And it’s so hard as adults and parents, but we have to resist the urge to going into like fix it mode and let’s make this better. And then really want to do this in a way that’s collaborative, like, you know, what do you need from me? Like, how can I be helpful? And in that way, you can kind of maybe lead into how can we make this better? And really, we really want this to be guided by the child. Because I think if we go into Mr. Fix It mode, they’re going to just like if we become judgmental, they’re going to shut down and they’re going to feel like we’re not a safe space for them to share. Because again, most kids are not going to want us to go into Fix It mode because they think we’re going to make it worse.

[01:20:14:11 – 01:20:16:02]

Gene Beresin

Right. Absolutely.

[01:20:16:02 – 01:20:28:18]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

With that said, once a parent knows that cyberbullying is happening, what are the concrete steps that they should take once they’ve listened and validated and, you know, give hugs and make sure that the child knows they’re loved?

[01:20:28:18 – 01:24:56:01]

Gene Beresin

It’s a great question. So, let’s assume that you know as a parent or caregiver that a young person has been cyber-bullied, which, by the way, is an amazing achievement. But let’s say you do know. First, I would say get as much detail as possible. What happened when, who they think did it. By the way, you know, bullies, the myth is that cyber-bullies and predators are strangers. But generally, they’re not. Generally, they’re kids that are well-known to other kids. I would say encourage your young person, maybe with your help, to, and again, it’s difficult because you’re, to document, if you document evidence of what’s going on before blocking, you know, but by using screenshots, by getting dates, by platform names, you know, you don’t want to snoop on their private material. So, it’s kind of a tricky business to kind of get the evidence with their help, but not snoop or pry or invade their space. Let them do it and show you what, what, what, what they’re, what they, what they’re facing. I think the other thing is reaching out to other adults in the child’s world, coaches, to get their support, their advice, and to let them know what’s happening. I think caregivers, parents and caregivers need to also know when to involve school administration and other parents. I mean, the bottom line is that this really does take a village to stop cyberbullying. I mean, kids live in multiple different settings. You know, they spend probably more time than any place in school, but they’re at home, they’re on the playing field, they’re in community centers, they’re in places of worship. And to kind of recruit the adults in all of these different domains that the young person is living in and having the same kind of zero tolerance for bullying is super important. Another aspect, and this is a really difficult one, but this also would involve your young person, is to rally upstanders, not bystanders. In other words, get the bystanders out of the corners. Because if a bully is confronted by a group of people that would just say, “This is not a cool thing to do,” but allow the bully to kind of like not be so separate and powerful and aggressive, but to kind of join us is really important. And again, I don’t think a young person can do this alone. And as I said, it takes a village. So there is community action, and I do think this is probably one of the most difficult things, and that is to get teachers, school leaders, community leaders, folks involved in the spiritual communities, coaches, karate masters, you name it. I mean, all the adults involved in the child’s world and the places where the young person is living to kind of like all agree on the same zero tolerance and guidelines and make it clear in meetings, in assemblies, in discussions, in posters. You know, I went to a school in Lake Wales, Florida, where there were posters on the walls about, you know, proper behavior towards your peers, and cyberbullying was listed as kind of, you know, a no-fly zone. And I would say also finally, service role models, and that is, you know, I’m not saying parents or caregivers are going to be bullies, but, you know, you have, there’s a certain amount of etiquette and respect that one needs to show using digital media and, you know, be a good role model. So another aspect of this, maybe you know this better than I do, is what about screen time and privacy controls? You know, what roles do they play, and how do you talk to your kids about them without them feeling like they’re being, you know, watched?

[01:24:56:01 – 01:29:06:06]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

I think there is a role for privacy controls and some level of monitoring. I think as developments are appropriate, I think we do have to move in that. But I think we always want to couch it in this way that’s really not about us not trusting them, our young person, but really to keep them safe. And if we really can keep safety as a priority in the first line here, I think it becomes easier to have these conversations. I think what we know and what we see is that kids get so much in the way of unwanted or unsolicited, whether it’s advertisements or contact from people. And I think it’s really incumbent upon us to be able to kind of shield our kids from those things. And so we can do it, especially when they’re younger, by setting those kind of privacy blocks and wards ourselves. But ultimately, we want to be teaching them along the way how to do this themselves so that they are not, again, getting messages and advertisements that are just not appropriate for them. We want to really try to encourage digital breaks from time to time throughout the course of the day. But again, ultimately wanting to have them be aware of how much time they’re spending on their devices. At my house, even still at this age, 17 and 24, when we’re at the table, the phones don’t come to the table. And that’s one of the hard and fast rules. But also, if we’re having family time and we’re watching a movie, that sometimes get a little bit harder. But at the dinner table, there’s no phones. And so I sometimes threaten my kids. I will go into this AT&T app and suspend your service for the duration of this meal if you can’t put the phone down. So I don’t have to… We say it jokingly and they kind of laugh at me. But that is one of those places where we have digital breaks. But I think thinking about, especially on the weekend, during the summers where you have a lot of downtime, a lot of unstructured schedule time, thinking about when these digital breaks can occur, that can feel productive. And then also, I think, what are you going to do in these digital breaks? Helping kids think about and problem solve, which is something that they don’t have to do so much in this digital world, but helping them think about other things they might want to do, enjoy, and engage in when they’re not on their phones. Because I think the first thing they’re going to say is, “Well, what am I going to do? I got nothing to do now that you’re taking my phone. Life sucks.” But there’s so many other things that they can be engaged and involved in that they will enjoy. And I think part of it is just helping them find those things. I think the other thing is really encouraging kids as we are teaching and having these conversations, encouraging them how to be self-aware when they’re online, helping them to think about how they’re feeling when they’re engaging with certain platforms, certain people, so that they can become aware of how they’re feeling. Do they feel anxious? Do they feel sad? Do they feel afraid so that they can regulate and then make different choices? We don’t want to get to a place, I think, going back to these digital breaks where their online use replaces in-person engagement. So we want them to be able to go to friends’ houses, go to birthday parties, do sports, or engage in clubs and after-school activities in a way that, again, is developmentally appropriate and healthy. And so, again, having these conversations but also encouraging our kids to be self-aware, like, “You’re spending so much time on blah, blah, blah. I haven’t seen you hang out with so-and-so in a while.” Or, “It seems like you’re not really going to practice. Are you not going to join the team this year?” Like, really helping them to be aware of what their use is doing and how it may be tailoring or changing their behavior and getting in front of it. So I think those are just… I think I went off a little bit on terms of regulations and privacy, but in the same vein, I think we are setting guardrails for our young people to get them to the place to be able to do this on their own. I think being self-aware is going to be a really important thing to help them hone to be able to set their own guardrails. So now that I have gone on this monologue, when does it become a mental health issue that requires professional help? And how do parents know when to make that call? I guess now we’re in the what to look for, what to do, and when to worry. When to worry.

[01:29:06:06 – 01:30:27:01]

Gene Beresin

So what to do about this? So if, if, this is pretty straightforward I think, and that is if symptoms are affecting daily functioning academic, social, family, physical, I mean with headaches or stomach aches, physical symptoms, you know, and it’s prolonged, it’s time to consult a professional. And I would, I would talk to your pediatrician first. They’re often, you know, underused and non-judgmental first point of contact. I wouldn’t wait for a crisis to seek help. Early intervention helps really is instrumental in changing outcomes. And the resources. So, you know, we can, we can, we’ll have these on the Clay Center site but, stopbullying.gov, Common Sense Media, which is commonsensemedia.org, fabulous, fabulous site. There’s the Cyber Bullying Research Center, cyberbullying.org. And for Massachusetts listeners, there’s the bullying prevention program at mass.gov. So I mean there are a lot of online resources to help give you guidance because, you know, frankly, you know, many parents, caregivers, and boomers like me just don’t know what the resources are.

[01:30:27:01 – 01:31:10:04]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

And knowing the resources are critical because I think this is where people feel lost and they feel like they have to figure it out alone and then there’s such a delay and you know, even identifying the issue, let alone doing something about it. So I think this is great. But as we are approaching the end to wrap up, I want to ask each of us, which I guess is you, and I want to put the question to everyone listening. You know, Gene, you opened with this episode with your own story of being bullied and the things that you try to do to avoid being bullied and how it kind of just escalated. You know, has watching cyberbullying emerged over the course of your career changed how you think about what you experienced as a kid.

[01:31:10:04 – 01:31:31:00]

Gene Beresin

Yeah, I mean what I experienced was, you know, it was scary then, but you know, like you said earlier, the reach, the power, the expansiveness of this is just daunting. But, um, have you experienced bullying, cyber bullying?

[01:31:31:00 – 01:33:26:11]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

Yeah, I mean, I feel like I had more of the kind of subtle bullying kind of growing up, living in a small town where there are very few kids of color, you know, people would make comments about, you know, our hair, our skin color, and things like that, in a way that looking back definitely, you know, surely made me feel uncomfortable, made me feel basically like not part of the community or the group. But I think what was always a saving grace is that I could go home and I could be around my family, other people who look like me and feel back as a part of a community in a place where I felt like belong. And so it wasn’t as I feel like as blatant as what you kind of experienced in terms of the name calling and the terrible marks they put on the driveway. And I think it did. I think the ability that I could go home and be isolated from those people made a huge difference, like being able to reset, regroup and reconnect in a place where I felt like I belonged. So I didn’t feel like all day long I was kind of floating in the ether, not belonging or connected to anyone. And so I think that made the difference for sure. So I guess as we close, I want to speak briefly to anyone who is a young person listening right now, if you are being cyber bullied, what is happening to you is not your fault. It is a reflection of the person doing the bullying. It is not in any way a reflection of your worth. And there are people who want to help you. There are resources out there. And so important to know that you don’t have to carry this burden alone. And I think this is what it feels like when you’re being bullied and when you’re being targeted. You feel all alone, you feel isolated, you feel like you’re on an island. And so we want to tell you today, if you’re listening, this is not something that you have to bear on your own. There are resources and there are people willing and willing to help.

[01:33:26:11 – 01:34:17:09]

Gene Beresin

And I’ll add this for parents, and that is that the most powerful thing you can do is stay in the relationship with your kid. Not monitoring, not monitoring, but involving yourself in a relationship. Using curiosity, connection, that’s what protects them. And for those of you at home, we want to hear from you. Has your child or a young person in your life been affected by cyberbullying? What did you do? And what do you wish you would have done if you had known sooner? So leave us a comment wherever you listen or find us, whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook, or the MGH Clay Center. Your story might be exactly what another person needs to hear. And if you like today’s episode, consider leaving us a review. As always, we hope that our conversation will help you have yours. I’m Gene Beresin.

[01:34:17:09 – 01:34:21:03]

Khadijah Booth Watkins

We will see you next time.