A SINGER songwriter who has worked with the likes of Jessie J has been sharing his experiences of cyber bullying in an initiative warning of the dark side of the internet.
Rich Cottell told students at Darlington School of Mathematics that a close member of his family had been bullied on line so badly she had be driven to self-harm.
“When she was bullied at primary school and beaten up you could see it and knew she needed help,” he said.
“But when she moved to secondary school the bullies moved on line and she was too proud to admit it. She suffered for three years until we found her self-harming. It took two years of therapy to help her which is why I feel so passionately about fighting the cyber bullies.”
He urged students to ignore and ultimately block the people who gave them grief, set a strong password, set their accounts to private, protect personal details and report any trolls to CEOP, the police, Childline or a responsible adult, keeping a record of the offending posts.
He also urged them never to post on line when they were in a bad mood or angry with anyone and never send inappropriate images.
“You can meet some amazing people on the internet – I have fans now all round the world – but be aware that they might not be the people they say they are,” he said.
“If you don’t take sensible precautions it is like saying to all the strangers of the world ‘come and get me’.”
Rich sang a number of songs including his latest single Whisk Away the Working Day. He also performed with students and joined them in a barrage of selfies. Head teacher Calvin Kipling said: “The students really related to what Rich had to say on cyber bullying, particularly as it had affected his family.
“I was encouraged how cyber-wise are students already are and delighted they are taking precautions against the trolls, appreciating how much damage they can cause.”
