By India McCarty
Seventh-grader Aisha Chavda is taking a stand against cyberbullying with her six-step BRIGHT plan.
“I don’t like when something is wrong in a community and there isn’t really a feasible solution,” she told TODAY. “[Cyberbullying] is harder to manage than actual bullying. In this new age of technology, people are online more than they are offline, so it’s like they experience [cyberbullying] more. I feel like it’s the equivalent to being bullied constantly.”
The Cyberbullying Research Center released their 2025 report on cyberbullying data, which revealed that “approximately 58% of the students [surveyed] reported that they experienced cyberbullying at some point in their lifetimes.”
Related: Supportive Parenting Helps Combat Cyberbullying, Study Finds
“About 33% said they had been cyberbullied in the most recent 30 days,” the report continued, adding that this cyberbullying can include “being excluded from a text or group chat, mean or hurtful comments posted online, being embarrassed or humiliated online, and rumors spread online.”
Tired of the bullying, Chavda decided to do something about it, and created the BRIGHT plan: Block, Report, Ignore, Get an Adult, and Hotline.
First, children and teens experiencing cyberbullying should block their bullies and report their accounts. Then, they should ignore any bullies and not respond to hurtful comments. If the bullying continues, get an adult and talk to them about what’s going on. If the situation causes young people to consider self-harming, connect with a hotline, like stopbullying.gov or the Crisis Text Line.
Last year, Chavda’s BRIGHT plan helped her win the Illinois State Civics Bee.
In an interview at the time with Southwest Regional Publishing, she said she chose the topic of cyberbullying for her project because it’s “a really bad problem in my community.”
“I wanted to change the way people thought about it and reacted to it,” Chavda added.
“Children, a lot of the time, don’t realize that they have a constitutional right to speak out, to petition, to protest, to talk about things in their community,” she shared. “I think the civics bee helped a lot of kids realize that they do have a voice.”
Brett Keag, a community engagement police officer, in her hometown of Plainfield, IL, even reached out to encourage her to contact the Board of Education and get BRIGHT implemented in her school district.
“Not only is it good for kids to be heard in the community, but it’s good for kids to get that practice for when they are adults,” Keag told TODAY. “We need people like that in our communities.”
Chavda’s BRIGHT plan is a great way to instruct children and teens on what to do when they’re experiencing cyberbullying, and will hopefully inspire other young people to take a stand.
Read Next: Teenagers Who Spend More Time on Social Media Have Increased Depression, Study Says
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