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Dealing with cyberbullying
Being online can be a really positive experience as you can connect with friends, watch enjoyable clips and much more. However, it does have dangers and it is important to stay safe online.
On this page
Understanding cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully someone. There are many ways of bullying someone online and for some it can take shape in more ways than one. Some examples of bullying include:
- Online harassment and threatening behaviour
- Offensive and humiliating comments and posts
- Fake profiles and altered images for the purpose of ridicule
- Leaving people out purposely and excluding them online
- Spreading rumours
Bullying on social media
Cyberbullying is becoming more common with the growth of social media. Even though many websites and apps have policies against bullying, it can and does still happen.With social media being a part of most peoples day to day life, it can be difficult not to see negative comments or some form of online bullying. If you or someone you care about is experiencing bullying on a social network, please read our online advice.
Bullying on gaming sites
Online gaming has become the new going out for many young people as they meet their friends online to play games alongside and against each other. All these wonderful and innovative things you can do online is often overshadowed by the dangers and safety issues of being online. On gaming sites, there can be lots of bullying and hurtful comments being made and people can be left out too. It is important to watch out for signs that your child is experiencing bullying on gaming sites. Help and advice is available from Internet Matters if you are concerned.
Dealing with cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can be very distressing and trying to get this resolved can be difficult to do. Our advice is to:
Gather as much evidence as possible: Keep copies of any harmful messages, posts, or images and take screenshots and save these somewhere safe.
Use the block and report function: Block the person or the account where the bullying is taking place and use the reporting tools to report this account. Once again, take a screenshot of the report so you have evidence that you have reported this.
Talk to someone you trust: Open up to your family or friends about what you are going through as talking about this can help you not bottle up your emotions and increase the stress you may be feeling.
Look after yourself: If you feel able to, try to plan some offline time and activities as this will help. Find interests that are a good distraction and make you feel relaxed.
How to keep safe online
- Show an interest in what your child is doing online but try for a balance between respecting their privacy and making sure they don't feel the need to be secretive
- Agree rules such as never giving out contact or location details online and make sure that your child knows why they should never give out their full name, number or email address
- Agree with your child what they can and can't have access to on the net. Insist they don't download anything from 'pop-ups' that can appear on the screen. Ask them to fetch you if the 'pop-ups' keep reappearing as they can be very persistent
- Remember some young people will use chat rooms to 'reinvent' themselves which is perfectly normal
- Don't just have one-off conversations about keeping safe, ensure it is a continuous chat
- Ask your internet service provider what service they offer to protect your family such as shields, etc.
- Keep safe by using unusual passwords. Use a combination of letters, lowercase, uppercase, symbols and numbers
- Check and check again all privacy and location settings
- Talk to them about digital footprints and their online footprints
- Limit screen time and try to structure family time so they are not online constantly
- Encourage your child to talk to you if they see something that makes them uncomfortable
Further resources
If you would like further support and advice, call our helpline on 0808 800 2222 or email us at askus@familylives.org.uk. You can talk to us online via our live chat service, which is open, Monday to Friday between 10.30am and 9pm. You may find it helps to find out how other parents and carers have coped with this on our online forums. We also have a range of free online parenting courses that can help through the ages and stages of parenting.
Other organisations that can help
You can report bullying to an organisation called Report Harmful Content online and they can help to get things taken down.
Internet Matters provides some helpful guiance on cyberbullying.