An explanation of the growing phenomenon of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying takes place online and through text messages. Cyberbullies can be classmates, or strangers, but most often they know their victims.
Victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the same effects as children who are bullied in person, such as a drop in grades, low self-esteem, a change in interests, or depression. However, cyberbullying can seem more extreme to its victims because of several factors:
Examples of Cyberbullying
- Sending someone mean texts or DMs
- Blocking someone on social media for no reason
- Tricking someone into revealing personal or embarrassing information and sending it to others
- Breaking into someone’s social media account
- Sending cruel or untrue messages while posing as that person
- Creating posts or social media accounts to make fun of another person such as a classmate or teacher
- Using websites to rank peers as prettiest, ugliest, etc.
Effects of Cyberbullying
- Being bullied at home can take away the place children feel most safe.
- Often kids say things online that they wouldn’t say in person, mainly because they can’t see the other person’s reaction.
- Kids can send emails making fun of someone to their entire class or school with a few clicks, or post them on a website for the whole world to see.
- Cyberbullies often hide behind screen names and email addresses that don’t identify who they are. Not knowing who is responsible for bullying messages can add to a victim’s insecurity.
- It may seem easy to get away from a cyberbully by just getting offline, but for some kids not going online takes away one of the main places they socialize.
Cyberbullying can be prevented when kids know how to protect themselves and parents are available to help.
For more information on cyberbullying, visit cyberbullying.us and Wired Safety.
