What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is the use of digital media (such as websites, apps, and text messages) to intimidate, upset, or harm someone. It includes repeatedly sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, or mean content about someone else on purpose.
Usually, with cyberbullying, there are other people who see cyberbullying happen. In these situations, people can be bystanders, allies, or upstanders. A bystander observes the conflict or unacceptable behavior but does not take part in it. An ally is someone who responds to the bullying situation by supporting the person being bullied (e.g., checking in with them, being a friend to them, etc.). An upstander tries to stop the bullying by confronting the person who is bullying directly or by telling a trusted adult.
Cyberbullying differs from face-to-face bullying in several key ways. For one, it can feel harder to escape because it can happen anywhere anytime. It’s also harder to detect because so much of kids’ digital media use is unmonitored by adults. At the same time, cyberbullying can also be very public: Large numbers of people online can see what’s happening and even gang up on the target. Though the target is usually exposed publicly, cyberbullies can hide who they are because they can post anonymously or use pseudonyms. And since cyberbullying isn’t face-to-face, the one doing the bullying may not see or even understand the implications of their actions.…Read More