Page 20-21 - WINTER 2013
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WINTER 2013
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Social contact has changed a lot over the last ten years. The introduction of smart
phones, Facebook and Twitter means that a large part of our contact with fellow
humans happens with words on a screen rather than talking face to face. This has
opened the floodgates for a whole new type of bullying.
Anonymity and Cowardice
Beating the
C Y B E R B U L L Y
There are several ways cyberbullying is different to other
forms of bullying. Firstly, it doesn’t just happen during the
day or at a certain time – it can happen at any time, 24
hours a day, seven days a week. It also doesn’t happen in
a specific place like school or a certain street, it happens
in your home, on the bus, at work or wherever you have a
phone, tablet or computer. It can often be anonymous and
can even be done by people you have never met in real life.
There’s also no obvious authority figure to turn to – the
internet doesn’t have teachers or a boss.
Cyberbullies will do several things to their victim. They
may start by sending abusive messages. They may publicly
tell lies about you on facebook or twitter. They might
even recruit other people to gang-up on you or circulate
embarrassing or edited photos of you. It’s easy to say you
can just turn your computer off, but what happens online
can ultimately affect the way you feel in real life. Online
abuse can make you feel frightened, outcast and anxious.
But there are several things you can do. Firstly, make sure you
keep all of the abusive texts, emails or messages but do not
respond to them. The cyberbully feeds off of your reaction.
If the abuse is on a social media site, block the bully and report
them to the webmaster. If the bully is somebody at school or
work, report what they are doing to your teacher or boss. If it gets
too much for you, tell your friends that you are taking a break
from facebook or twitter or that you are turning your phone off
for a few days. This can not only discourage the bully but give you
some breathing space. Ultimately though, you are looking to stop
the abuse altogether so still make sure you tell somebody.
If the messages ever threaten physical abuse, do not hesitate to
inform the police, who will take action to find out who is sending
them and pay them a visit if possible.
For more information on cyberbullying, go to
stopcyberbullying.org
'Online abuse can make
you feel frightened,
outcast and anxious.'
