By Hollie Muir, Senior Editor
The act of cyberbullying is defined as the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. This can be through gaming sites, or social media sites like Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat etc.
The act of cyberbullying is defined as the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. This can be through gaming sites, or social media sites like Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat etc.It is thought that more than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online and over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online. The same number of people have also engaged in cyberbullying. But, what can you do to stop cyberbullying and how can you help others to tackle it?
Firstly, you need to know the types of cyberbullying so you can specify the type of help you’re going to give and/or need. There are seven types of bullying online. These can be categorised as:
Harassment - This is the act of sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages to others, and being abusive to people who you meet online.
Denigration – This is when someone may send information about another person that is fake, misleading and untrue. This can be in the form of sharing photos to people or sharing fake “gossip” to others. In my experience, this seems to be common as a form of “banta” where others spread rumours about others.
Flaming – This is when someone is purposely using extreme offensive and bad language to cause reactions and distress to people, which they enjoy.
Impersonation – This is when someone will hack into someone’s account and steal their online identity to send or post vicious or embarrassing material to and/or about others. They make up fake profiles on social media sites, trying to impersonate them, which can be really hard to close down, as it is hard to detect the perpetrator.
Outing and Trickery – This is when someone may share personal information about another or trick someone into revealing secrets and share it with others.This can be in the form of information, or images and videos.
Cyber Stalking – This is the act of repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm, harassment, intimidating messages, or engaging in other online activities that make a person afraid for their safety. These actions may be illegal too depending on what they are doing.
Exclusion – This is when others intentionally leave someone out of a group such as group messages, online apps and gaming sites. This is also a form of social bullying. This seems to be the most common form of cyberbullying, and the one at which most people become a bystander to.
Now, knowing more about the different types of bullying, I hope you can see if you are involved in any of these issues- being bullied or being the bully. You may not even be aware of this issue happening in and around school, but it is so important to spot it and stop it. We cannot let anymore people stay silent about bullying. So, don’t be a bystander.
“Cyberbullying bystanders are far more numerous than the cyberbully or cyber-bullied. Most bystanders do nothing, some publish gossip, others fear attack, and the brave few take action”-Michael Nuccitelli, Psy.D. 2013
Dealing with bullying online is another important issue too. There are many ways to deal with and/or reduce bullying, by yourself or with parents.
Firstly, don’t blame yourself. It is not your fault, even if the bully tries to make you feel like that.
Secondly, tell someone. If you keep it a secret you will not be able to receive help. No one wants anyone to suffer.
Thirdly, report the person sending threats or committing any of the above things discussed. Reporting them will be the first step to catching the bully.
Keep your information private. Don’t post anything about your locations, or anything which you may find embarrassing in the future.
Don’t give the bully the satisfaction they want. The bully is an unhappy, frustrated person who wants to have control over your feelings so that you feel as bad as they do.
Find support from those who don’t bully. Unplug from technology, spend time with others who share the same values as you do.
Save the evidence from the cyberbully, report them, don’t seek revenge, don’t respond to their posts, and prevent communication from the cyberbully by blocking them.
There are so many tips and lots of advice out there for you to access if you feel as though you are being cyberbullied. Just typing the word cyberbullying in on Google brings up thousands of help and information sites to look at. Here are a few guides on how to deal with this issue:
Click this link to visit a young people’s guide to cyberbullying: https://app.pelorous.com/media_manager/public/209/WestMercia/Cyberbullying%20advice%20sheet%20for%20young%20people%20WEST%20MERCIA_final.pdf
Visit this for an adults guide to cyberbullying: https://app.pelorous.com/media_manager/public/209/WestMercia/Cyberbullying%20advice%20sheet%20for%20adults%20WMERCIA_final.pdf
Always note that if you are included in any sort of bullying that you report it, tell a trusting adult, and always remember that there are thousands of websites and teams or individual people who are willing to help you keep safe online and deal with bullying. You are not alone, so don’t stay silent.
For more information on how to spot and stop bullying online, visit the Bullying UK website: https://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/
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