Cyberbullying is a means of bullying that uses online tools to serve its purpose. The cyber stalker may post embarrassing images, information, or gossip about another person on various social networking sites, as well as emails, instant messages, and message boards or forums. As with any type of stalking, the activity is intended to undermine the victim’s confidence and create distress for reasons that are usually not apparent to anyone but the harasser.
Cyber bullying involves using the Internet to harass and abuse others.
For the most part, cyberbullying is defined as the involvement of a teen or adolescent as a victim. The harasser is usually a partner of the victim, although there are cases where the instigator of the harassment is an older person. When the activity involves adults as both victim and aggressor, the behavior is more commonly known as stalking or cyberbullying.
Posting harmful gossip about someone online is considered cyberbullying.
The exact approach to cyberbullying varies. In some cases, the abuser will send a series of threatening messages to the victim via email or through the use of an instant messaging application. At other times, the harasser enters the chat rooms the victim uses regularly and posts negative comments about the victim or engages the victim directly with insults or other derisive profanity. The abuser may use a social networking site to post embarrassing photos of the victim, often altering the photos to make them more embarrassing. On message boards and other similar places, the abuser may spread rumors about the victim’s ethics or morals in an attempt to damage the person’s reputation.
Cyberbullying can include sending or receiving harmful text messages.
The pervasive nature of online bullying activity has prompted many schools, parents, and some legal organizations to develop simple ways for victims to report cyberbullying. Once informed, appropriate employees can take steps to prevent cyberbullying by an individual, usually using legal means. Cyberbullying school activity may result in the bully being expelled or otherwise disciplined.
As more young people use the Internet to socialize, the incidence of cyberbullying is likely to continue. The development of new security measures and anti-cyberbullying software can help reduce activity to some extent. Schools and other youth-related organizations have also developed guidelines for the use of computers in schools and libraries, making it easier to stop cyberbullying when it is detected. In any case, the victim of cyberbullying should always report the activity so that corrective measures can be implemented.
Cyber bullying can be just as emotionally damaging as personal bullying.
