Cyberbullying is harassment or bullying that happens online and over phones, and it can happen on social networking sites, in instant messages, emails, text messages, chats, website posts, and while playing online games.
Cyberbullying can include:
• Mean messages
• Posting embarrassing photos
• Leaving someone out of online groups
• Spreading rumors
• Posing as someone else to make them look bad
If it's intended to make someone feel bad, it's cyberbullying.
Task: Watch a video:
What can you do about cyberbullying?
- Ignore
Try not to react. Bullies are looking for a response, so don't give them one.
- Tell an adult, authorities
Talk about what's going on.
- Save messages, proof
Save the evidence. If the bullying keeps up, share the record with the school or the police. If you fear for your safety, immediately contact the police.
- Unfriend and block mean people
Block the bully online: remove him or her from "friend" or "buddy" lists, and block the email address.
- Contact social networking sites
If a social networking profile has been changed or made without permission, you can get in touch with the company that runs the site to have it taken down. Many social networking sites, such as Facebook, provide a way to report abuse and harassment.
- Be a part of the solution
Be an upstander instead of a bystander. When you witness cyberbullying, you can help stop it by telling the bully to stop, by not passing on mean messages, and by providing support for those who are targeted. - Be kind!
Task: Watch this video: Be Positive!Task: Read the interactive comic, Stand By or Stand Up.