Protect Yourself from Cyberbullying

As you all know, the Internet has become one of our basic needs in our daily lives, especially during this pandemic era. Although there are many benefits to using the internet, plenty of threats are also there, which we should consider and be aware of. One of them is Cyberbullying. You all might have heard of bullying but not cyberbullying. First, let’s look at what cyberbullying actually is.

What is Cyberbullying?

Basically, we all know what bullying is. It is a form of aggressive behaviour, where a person intentionally causes another person discomfort. This could be either verbal, physical or social bullying. When it comes to cyberbullying, it is a form of bullying that happens online. This involves harming, harassing, and threatening a person usually through social media platforms, messaging apps, websites, and emails. Especially, kids and students are the ones who get caught in such instances.

When it comes to cyberbullying it always leaves a digital trace where you can prove and provide evidence to stop abusing.

Cyberbullying is the use of technology to repeatedly and intentionally harass, hurt, embarrass, humiliate, or intimidate another person.

(Cyberbullying, 2021)

Cyberbullying includes,

1. Spreading lies or rumours about a person on social media
2. Posting embarrassing and hurtful images or videos on social media and chat groups
3. Impersonating and sending mean messages on their behalf
4. Threatening to hurt or kill themselves
5. Posting mean comments and messages about religion, ethnicity, race and exposing another’s private information in social media or chat groups

Important aspects you want to know about cyberbullying

Since cyberbullying happens online, it can take place at any time, anywhere on any platform.

It is hard to detect a bullying case because it is not overt.

This can occur anonymously, where the victim does not even know who performs such things. Therefore a person can easily bully another without being accountable.

Capable of spreading rumours for a large amount of audience through social media which will be available for anyone anywhere and it would be very hard and challenging to delete that information.

You can have a look at the video, which explains the uniqueness of cyberbullying.

How do you identify whether you are being cyberbullied?

There might be situations where your friends and people around make jokes about you with a “Just kidding” or “Don’t take it seriously”. But sometimes it might cross the limit where you get hurt and you might tell them to stop it. When this happens online it is going to spread to a huge amount of audience and you might get more embarrassed due to your friend’s behaviour. You may have asked them to stop this several times but still, it continues and it makes you unhappy and uncomfortable. Then this is the time you should seek help to get off yourself from cyberbullying. Every person has their own self-respect and privacy, online and in real life.

Effects of cyberbullying

If it is physical bullying there are chances where you can escape or get rid of bullying. But when it comes to cyberbullying, it is very challenging for you to come out of it. It is like there is no escape. Therefore this can affect a person in many ways.

1. Feel upset, embarrassed, stupid, ashamed and even get angry
2. Uneasy and nervous in going to school, workplace
3. Trouble in sleeping at night
4. Loss of interest in your favourite activities
5. Depressed and anti-social
6. Experiencing symptoms like stomach ache, headache and loss of weight
7. Trouble in eating
8. Withdraw from close friends, family members and preferring to be alone
9. Making suicide statements and suicide attempt

“According to our cyberbullying research, in which we studied parents of kids between the ages of 10 and 18, 21% of children have been cyberbullied. 56% of these reports occurred from January to July 2020. We believe this increase correlates with the increased time spent online during COVID-19 lockdowns.”

(Cyberbullying: Twenty Crucial Statistics for 2021 — Security.org, 2021)

To whom should I inform if I am being cyberbullied?

If you feel bad when something happens online, first let the person know that you feel bad about the thing that he/she has done. If they stop right there then it is completely an accident. But if they continue after you have told them, then you have to take necessary actions to overcome the situation.

In such situations, the first step that you should take is stopping communication with that person. Because continuous communication might make the situation worse. You can do this by blocking the person on the relevant platform. Most of the platforms have this feature where you can block a person and you can report about that abuse on the platform itself. Of course, this does not stop here. The person might try to communicate with you through other platforms using different names and accounts.

Collecting evidence — text messages, screenshots and posts shared might be helpful for you when you are reporting. So collecting them is an added advantage for the victim to overcome the abuse.

And also you can inform the situation to a trusted person such as your parents, siblings, a trusted relation, your favourite teacher or your school/ workplace counsellor and get necessary support and advice. If you feel like not telling them you can search for a helpline in your country such as a professional counsellor.

But if the situation goes out of your hands and becomes more serious and dangerous, it is always better to report to the police or emergency services.

Watch out for the video — TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio open up about their personal experience of being bullied and share tips on how to make the internet a better place.

Conclusion

Due to this COVID pandemic, most of us are spending more time online and there is a high chance of being a victim of a cyberbullying attack. If you think you are being cyberbullied or if you see something like cyberbullying do not step backwards. Seek help from your parents, teachers and related people. They will provide you with support and advice. And also make sure that you don’t fall into the trap of being a cyberbully. You might even know, but a simple post or a comment by you could be considered a cyberbully. Therefore, stay safe and stay alert!

Bibliography

1. Pacer.org. 2021. Cyberbullying. [online] Available at: <https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/cyberbullying/> [Accessed 16 July 2021].
2. Security.org. 2021. Cyberbullying: Twenty Crucial Statistics for 2021 — Security.org. [online] Available at: <https://www.security.org/resources/cyberbullying-facts-statistics/> [Accessed 16 July 2021].
3. Unicef.org. 2021. Cyberbullying: What is it and how to stop it. [online] Available at: <https://www.unicef.org/end-violence/how-to-stop-cyberbullying> [Accessed 16 July 2021].
4. StopBullying.gov. 2021. What Is Bullying. [online] Available at: <https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying> [Accessed 16 July 2021].
5. StopBullying.gov. 2021. What Is Cyberbullying. [online] Available at: <https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it> [Accessed 16 July 2021].