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Cyberbullying is
threatening or harmful behaviour sent on the internet to a victim or put
on the internet about a victim for others to see
.
Boys and girls are both equally likely to be
targeted as cyber victims, however older teenagers seem to more likely to
be involved then younger teenagers. The average age of a teenager involved
in cyber bullying is 15 yrs old. The problem with cyber bullying is
that because a bully can remain unnamed, victims of cyberbullying may not be
able to tell who they're being bullied by, their age
or gender (male or female).
Cyberbullying can
take many forms. These include:
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Threatening or hurtful comments sent or posted by email,
instant messaging (MSN, Windows Live Messenger, chat rooms etc.), social
networking sites (Bebo, Myspace, blogs etc.) or SMS
text messaging
-
Rumours spread about others
on your profile or spread online for others to see
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Deleting a victim from their
"Friends List" to make them feel left out
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A fake profile pretending to
be you containing lies and rumours
-
Hacking into a victim's
profile and writing comments while pretending their from
you
-
Posting hurtful videos or
photos on the internet for others to see
People who cyberbully do it because it is much easier to pick on someone over
the internet, for example, and not let their victim know who they are.
Because a cyberbully can't see their victim's reaction, they don't take it as
seriously compared with face-to-face bullying.
Cyberbullies may also encourage other people who wouldn't normally bully in the real world
to take up cyberbullying, and these people are often bystanders in
real world bullying situations. Even though
cyberbullies are hard to name, you can do something about it. If you
are being cyberbullied, some ways to stop it are:
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Ignoring the person. Sometimes this is
the best and easiest option because bullies, even cyberbullies, want a
reaction. Ignoring them doesn't give them this. Be sure to save the
evidence so that your school or even the police may be able to deal with
the bully properly. Instant messenger programs save chat logs of all
conversations that are made. Ask your parents to find them if you
can't.
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If the comments or threats
continue, simply sign out or log off your profile.
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If the bullying is happening on MSN or another instant messenger,
block the person or delete them from your "Friends List".
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Change your password. If a
cyber bully can't get into your profile, they can't pretend to be you
and send rumours. However if the bully keeps sending messages such as
"add me to your friends list", you should change your online name or
email address.
-
If you are being repeatedly sent SMS text messages or phone calls,
ask your parents to have the number blocked.
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If a page (Myspace, bebo
etc.) has been made about you saying untrue and hurtful things
about you, tell the company who runs it and ask them to shut the page
down.
-
Involve the police if you are being sent threats of bodily harm or
death threats. Saving all evidence will help police in their
investigations when necessary.
-
Just with any other kind
of bullying, talk to someone you trust. There will always be someone
willing to listen to your problem (e.g. family, friends, school etc.)
and you don't have to feel like you're alone.
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Remember to never play along with the bully, answer their emails or
text messages, respond to their posts, or copy what the bully is doing.
Cyberbullies are just bullies who like to hide behind the internet or
their phones, but they don't have any real power over you.
The most important thing is that everyone
has a responsibility to stop cyberbullying. It isn't just 'OK' or
'normal'. If you see or hear of someone cyberbullying another, try to stop
it as best you can. Make sure you let your friends know that you say "NO!"
to cyberbullying!
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