STOPit Anti-Cyberbullying App Launches for iOS and Android

I’m all for the anti-bullying stuff. A few years ago my kid was younger about 8 or 9 and he was getting bullied by an older and much bigger child, it was so bad he would come home with bruises and the school and school district refused to do anything about it so we ultimately had to go the police to get something done about this. It shouldn’t have had to come to that, school is supposed to be safe, I’m entrusting my child’s safety when he’s there. The principal actually yelled at me about it like it was my fault somehow that they let this kid do this to my child. Anyway, STOPit has just been launched for iOS and Android and it’s an anti-cyberbullying app, and I think it’s a good idea but it costs $10.  I’m sorry but that’s wrong, put ads on it, ask for donations, if you really want to help children then give them something like this for free, don’t charge them for it. I’m thinking the company is betting parents will buy this for their kids to protect them, but the app strikes me as something maybe a child would want to get themselves and maybe not let their parents know about it. I don’t know, I just think it should be free… maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so..  There’s a quote in the PR below about how he wants to empower children with an outlet to feel safe. That sounds great, but again, don’t charge them for it, at $10 it looks like he just wants to empower his wallet or bottom line as it were…  Some info below for you..

STOPit, a powerful tool which allows victims and witnesses of cyberbullying to "stand tall, tell all" announced its official launch today. Only 1 in 10 children that have been a victim of cyberbullying will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse. The app empowers children that have been exposed to cyberbullying, whether as a victim or bystander, to anonymously and securely take immediate action. This enables them to seek help by efficiently informing trusted adults and school officials in order to stop the devastating effects of vicious cyber predation before it is too late.

Available in two versions: the individual version enables parents to empower their kids and the school version enables schools to empower their entire student body to fight cyberbullying. STOPit takes a four-pronged approach to putting a halt to cyberbullying using various fully customizable features for each individual child:

The STOPit button: "Stand Tall Tell All" empowers users to capture offensive material and send to preselected trusted adults including school officials.

The HELPit button: "A Shoulder to Lean On" provides a gateway for children to seek help and advice around the clock, including talk and text options with a national crisis support network.

The FRIENDit button: "Always Anonymous Upstander" allows witnesses of cyberbullying to capture offensive material and anonymously send to preselected trusted adults including school officials.

The REPORTit button: "Secure Protection" enables children to document and report evidence when cyber predation escalates to a dangerous level. When cyber predators target a child, the threatening evidence can be sent to trusted adults or law enforcement officials.

Additionally, the exclusive DOCUMENTit system for schools allows administrators to manage incident reports in real-time and track response efforts, thereby maintaining detailed documentation to support any investigation.

"There are countless online platforms that give children the opportunity to hide behind their smart phones and computers to victimize others." stated Todd Schobel,President of STOPit.  "My goal is to empower children with an outlet in which they feel safe to stop it. Children will go so far as to take their own lives when dealing with the emotional consequences of cyberbullying and I want to put an end to it."

To learn more about how the STOPit app can put an end to cyberbullying, please visit stopitcyberbully.com.