How to deal with Cyberbullying

HOW IS CYBERBULLYING DANGEROUS?
Cyberbullying is considered highly dangerous and is growing in strength with the exponential growth and accessibility of technology. It is particularly dangerous as the perpetrator can remain anonymous, the harassment can continue regardless of time and location and it can be shared widely with a lot of people quickly. Cyberbullying can range from verbal harassment and harmful messages to impersonation, exclusion and stalking.

 5 tips – how to deal with cyberbullying

1. Talk to friends and family. A major component of cyberbullying is isolation and exclusion. If you are being harassed be sure to tell your loved ones. Similarly, encourage an open dialogue with your family, children and friends to ensure you know if bullying occurs.

2. Stay calm and don’t retaliate. Cyberbullying is often used to make others feel anger, vulnerability and self hate. Know that the harassment indicates the type of person the perpetuator is and does not define the type of person you are. However, do not simply delete your account and ignore the harassment. This may encourage further harassment via alternate means.

3. Secure your accounts and privacy settings. You have immense control online with your privacy settings and passwords. Ensure your passwords are strong and your security is detailed. You can control many privacy settings including: who can contact you, who can see your posts and who can access your pages.

3. Collect evidence. Cases of Cyber Harassment can often be proved with textual and photographic evidence. Take screen shots, record names, dates and times. Even if the posts are anonymous, photos, videos and posts may have hidden information and metadata that might be helpful to an investigation.

5. Report bullying. Cyberbullying can be hurtful and dangerous, you can always report this cyber harassment. Many social media sites have a ‘report’ function which allows you to report directly to the site. In person, whether it be to a school, workplace or even the police, cyberbullying can be reported. Cyberbullying of minors should be reported to the Office of Children’s eSafety Commissioner.