After reports that Facebook is losing teen users, the social network has released a way for parents and children to deal with cyberbullying.
The new step is considered a beneficial but belated one, according to NPR. Facebook's new Safety Center about bullying is considered a prevention hub with resources for teachers, teens and parents on how to deal with both online and offline bullying. There will also be ways for users to deal offensive posts which mainly consists of engaging the potential cyberbully.
"There's a lot of literature on how people interact face to face. ... What we're trying to do is apply those studies to an online setting. And it's tough," said Facebook spokesman Matt Steinfeld. "People are really hungry for help."
To us, this seems like the least amount of help Facebook could give, especially when it seems to have been ground zero for most of the teen cyberbullying in the media. A 12-year-old girl, Rebecca Ann Sedwick, committed suicide in September after being harassed on Facebook.
Jim Steyer, chief executive for Common Sense Media which supports safe technology for children, seemed to agree. "We think cyberbullying is an enormous challenge facing every young person," Steyer told NPR. "Facebook has been a big part of the problem in this area."