Liberty-Eylau ISD

CYBERBULLYING

 

What is it?

Cyberbullying is when a minor uses the internet, mobile phone, or other digital media to target another child in any negative manner like sending hurtful messages, posting information, pictures, or videos to damage reputations or friendships.  When a child is tormented,     threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another child using any type of digital media it is called cyberbullying.  

 

Remember that if an adult is involved and not just minors, it then becomes cyber-harassment or cyberstalking.  When adults are involved it is never called cyberbullying.

 

Types of Cyberbullying.

Here are some examples of different kinds of cyberbulling:

•  Flaming: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language.
• Harassment: Repeatedly sending nasty, mean, and insulting messages.
• Denigration: Sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships.
• Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material to get that person in trouble or danger or to damage that person's reputation or friendships.
• Outing: Sharing someone's secrets or embarrassing information or images online.
  
• Trickery: Tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information, then sharing it online.
• Exclusion: Intentionally and cruelly excluding someone from an online group.
• Cyberstalking:  Repeated, intense harassment and denigration that includes threats or creates significant fear.
 

Prevention.

Here are some helpful tips that you as a minor (or as a parent that you can tell your children) can practice to prevent yourself from becoming a target of cyberbullying:

• Protect yourself. Never provide any information or images in electronic format that could be used against you in a harmful way.
• Examine how you communicate. If you notice that others are frequently attacking you, look closely at how you are communicating with them.  You may be presenting yourself in a way that is more confrontational than you realize. 
  
• Find some new friends. If you are trying to fit into a group of people who are treating you unkindly it may be easier and wiser to simply find some nicer friends.  If these people were really your friends they would not be teasing you in the first place.
  

Don't Give Power to Bullies.

The key to handling any bully is to always remain calm and not give them the power they are seeking.  Bullies want to achieve power and be seen by others as stronger and better.  When you do not respond to their harassment, it makes it less fun to bully you and a bully is less likely to torment you again.

The internet provides advantages when you become a target of cyberbullying:

• No one will be able to see your initial reaction behind the computer screen.  If you do lose your cool, which is absolutely normal, no one will ever know so long as you do not write anything on your computer.
• You can show others your response before posting to get feedback before posting it.

 

The most important rule to remember is this: Never Retaliate!

A bully wants you to get upset and it will only cause him to bully you further.  Retaliation will also cause you to become a bully yourself and you do not want to do that.

What to Do If You Are Cyberbullied.

First, always remember to remain calm and not to retaliate.  Save the evidence by downloading the chats or pictures but don't continue looking at them as they will make you feel worse.  Now decide if you think you should involve an adult.  Sometimes you can resolve these situations on your own or think that telling an adult is a sign of weakness.  Adults will sometimes ask someone else for assistance when someone is harming them though, so asking an adult who is in a better position to help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of maturity.

You should tell an adult if:

• You are really upset and aren't sure what to do.
• The cyberbully is also bullying you in person.
• You have been threatened with harm or the cyberbullying appears to be a crime.
• The cyberbully is sending or posting material that has or could damage your reputation, friendships, or future education and career opportunities.
• The cyberbully is also bullying other students.
• You tried to take some other steps to get the bullying to stop and it did not work.
  

Ways to Stop Cyberbullying.

There are different ways to respond to cyberbullying.  Decide what to do based upon who is cyberbullying you and how bad the bullying is.  Try to figure out what you think might work best to get the bullying to stop.

• Tell the cyberbully to stop. Send the cyberbully a private message stating something like "Please stop sending me messages" or "Please remove the material you posted."  Make certain that your message is not emotional, but is short and to the point. 
• Ignore the cyberbully. If the cyberbully is only sending you private messages, ignore him.  Remove him from your friends list.  Do not go into chat rooms where he is. 
• Have your parents contact the cyberbully's parents. Your parents may talk with the cyberbully's parents or send them a letter, including the harmful material that has been posted.  This is frequently the best way to get the bullying to stop. 
• File a complaint with the website or service. Most websites prohibit harassment and bullying behavior.  You can find a contact form on the home page, explain the situation and link the harmful material and request that it be removed and that the user be banned or suspended. 
• Talk to someone at school. If the cyberbully goes to your school, especially if he is bullying you at school, tell a principal, school counselor, or a teacher.  Show them the material you downloaded. 
• Contact an attorney or the police. You will need to have your parents help you do this.  Sometimes cyberbullying is bad enough that you will need to contact the police and your parents can sue the parents of the cyberbully.  It is best if things do not get to this point but it is nice to know that this is an option if things get really bad.

 

View this BrainPOP video for more information about cyberybullying.

 

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