Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying occurs when one or more people deliberately and repeatedly intend to hurt another person through communication technologies such as emails, chatrooms, websites, message boards, instant messaging, cell phones or pagers.
Schools take bullying seriously. The first place you should go in search of justice is your school as cyber bullying is often an extension or escalation of bullying that is already happening at school. The police are unlikely to become involved if the bullying is limited to a few isolated incidents or a couple of mean emails or text messages. However, if you get even one communication that includes a threat of bodily harm or a death threat the police should be alerted. Be aware that urging suicide is considered a death threat and the police will treat it accordingly. Obviously, repeated or excessive harassment via email, forums or chat is harassment and should involve the police.
A person i know was being cyberbullied an still in trouble.
An adult woman, who made the silly mistake of making friends on myspace.she was always careful not to give too much personal details. One of the friends was always threatening to commit suicide & she tried to talk him through it. They became friends, and from the outset she had always told him, she was only interested in him as a friend & that she was unavailable. He formed an unhealthy attachment to her. and each day would complain if she hadn't emailed him. So she stopped, with a brief explanation telling him she was busy & would prefer no further contact. This was around 6 months ago. He has continued to harrass daily with multiple emails, mimics me on social network sites and he even said that he wished he would die and that he was coming to my country. she have lost all enjoyment of the internet, and she is preparing for a house move as she suspect he may know where she live as perhaps he has somehow hacked my computer.And she don't know what to do.
Both children and adults are targets of cyberbullying. In fact, teachers have been cyberbullied. We probably hear more about cyberbullying in relation to children because they have more free time than adults and fill their empty hours on the Internet and cell phones.
What can people do to prevent cyberbullying?
Email safety. Never give out your primary email address. Set up a free email account (i.e. Yahoo, Gmail) because they are harder to trace. When opening an account, don't include identifying information. Don't open any email from an unknown sender. If you're being cyberbullied, change your email address. When you finish using the computer, log off.
Chatroom Safety. Only go to moderated chatrooms. Observe chatroom conversation before chiming in. Select a screen name that won't reveal your name, age, sex, location, or any other personal information. Don't select a screen name that can attract the wrong crowd or bring you negative attention. Don't agree to have a private chat with anyone. If someone asks A/S/L (age/sex/location) as soon as you start talking, say you are not comfortable revealing that information. Observe netiquette. Be polite and respectful, just as if you were talking in person.
Do not give out any personal or identifying information (i.e. your name, names of family/friends, home address, phone number, school, malls, parks or other locations near your home, your favorite teams, email addresses or screen names, passwords, photos of yourself). Be cautious. Most people are good, but there are bad people out there. You have no way of knowing if the person you're talking with is honest, no matter how nice he/she seems. When you fill out online profiles, don't give identifying information. You don't know who will see the information. Think before you type. Words are powerful. They can hurt people. Treat others as you want to be treated. Being unable to see a person is no excuse for rude behavior.
How can a parent recognize if their child is being cyberbullied?
There are several warning signs of victimization: changes in the child's mood or behavior - such as crying, depression, fearfulness or changes in eating and sleep habits; uncharacteristic reactions while on the computer or cell phone (quickly clears screen or stops talking on phone when anyone walks by); refusal to talk about his/her internet use; withdrawal from friends and family; not wanting to go to school or participate in school activities; and a decline in school grades.
So let's prevent cyberbullying and whenever using internet have this points in mind.
