How to Prevent Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is intimidation or harassment by technological means, such as the Internet or cell phones. Victims may be hounded online with insulting or threatening instant messages or through social networking websites. Cyberbullies may also send embarrassing pictures or even post victims' personal information online, putting them in potential danger. Cyberbullying can be even more emotionally destructive than face-to-face bullying, according to the National Crime Prevention Council, because victims have to deal with the harassment in their own homes and have no escape. To prevent cyberbullying, take action and protect your technological accounts.
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Instructions
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Ignore any insulting emails, instant messages or other postings from cyberbullies. Approximately 81 percent of cyberbullies harass people because they think the reactions are funny, according to the National Crime Prevention Council, so they may stop if no one goes along with the "joke."
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Change the settings of any instant messaging programs to allow specified friends only. This will prevent any bullies from being able to personally attack you while you're online.
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Switch any social networking profiles to private and only add people you actually know and are friends with. Contact the site's moderator if a cyberbully sends you threatening private messages or if you see unauthorized postings with your photograph or personal information on his page. This type of behavior is usually a Terms of Service violation and the site will delete the page and ban the bully.
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Change your passwords if a cyberbully has hacked into any of your online accounts. Never tell anyone else your passwords because you never know if they will use them against you. Switch usernames or email addresses to make contacting you more difficult.
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Print out any emails, instant messages or web pages that contain any harassing material if the cyberbully continues to target you. Save any text messages in your phone as well. Show them to your school principal if it occurs on school computers or take them to the police if you fear for your personal safety.
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Tips & Warnings
If you really want to prevent cyberbullying, write a letter to your local community leaders so they can come up with new ways to deal with the problem.
Do not ignore personal threats just because they are made via technology because you never know if the cyberbully will follow through, so always report them to the police.
Do not retaliate against the cyberbully because it will only continue the cycle, not prevent it.
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Comments
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One of the virtues of the communication revolution we're in the midst of, is that it gives us the opportunity to start over and all be kind. So even when I'm harassed, in the interest of human healing rather than attempting to find a clever way to further degrade a person with an obviously poor self-image, I try to say something constructive, and usually leave it at that. The encouraging thing is that I see most people now doing that as well. It's a good band-wagon to be on!
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Gud guidelines.
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This has become such a serious problem for adults and children.
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when I was in 7th and 8th grade we organized a big brother, little brother and telling little brothers to come to us if someone is bullying them. it started slow, but in a few weeks, with some prompting, it got started. our goal was to have 4 or 5 little brothers come to us for aid to their problem. Some wern't for bullying. it was started by a nun in the catholic school I attended. It was successful.
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A Bully will find any way they can to torment, harrass their intended victim. I have been victim of bullying, and recently the bully used Facebook to harrass me. I did what the Cyberbully article said to do. Ignored the bully comments sent to me. Set my settings to friends only able to contact me. I believe that Facebook, and the other Social Network sites need to do more to protect people on line, especially when the people tell FB and other social sites they are being bullied and report the proof to Facebook and Social Sites. We are not online to be harrassed, lied upon, disrespected mistreated, and just plain flat out insaneness of the communications sent to our private and pubic domains. If laws were stronger concerning the Internet, if Laws were tougher especially Federal Laws when communications crosses State Lines in the USA! These people who feel empowered by continued bullying of people that would stop if they knew they would go to prison for a long long time. Bully = Terrorisim.
