Cyberbullying: What It Really Is

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Cyberbullying:  Consisting of sending or posting derogatory or hateful material with the intent to harm another. Cyberbullying is an electronic method of spreading gossip, hateful statements, lies, threats and harassment by posting to social networking sites, web sites, blogs, chat rooms, email, text messages, etc. 

Different Types of Cyberbullying:

• Flaming: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language.
• Harassment: Repeatedly sending nasty, mean, and insulting messages via e-mail, instant messages or text messages.
• Denigration: "Dissing" someone online. Sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships. This includes creating websites to make fun of another person such as a classmate or teacher and using websites to rate peers as prettiest, ugliest, etc.
• 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 or sending it to others.
• Trickery: Talking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information, then sharing it online or sending it to others.
• Exclusion: Intentionally and cruelly excluding someone from an online group.
• Cyber Stalking: Repeated, intense harassment and denigration that includes threats or creates significant fear.

Just as in face-to-face bullying, boys and girls tend to cyberbully in different ways. Boys more commonly send messages of a sexual nature or by threatening to fight or hurt someone. Girls more often bully by spreading rumors or sending messages that make fun of someone, exclude others, or tell secrets.

Cyberbullying is no joke, although it often starts that way. Because of the reach of the Internet, it has a greater impact and can cause more emotional damage than the same statements scrawled in alleys or on bathroom walls. Once damaging words and pictures are posted, they are impossible to remove. Cyberbullying messages often contain threats of violence, which can constitute a crime, since violent threats in cyberspace may turn into real-world attacks.

Effects of Cyberbullying:

Victims of cyberbullying may experience many of the same effects as those who are bullied in person, such as a drop in grades, low self-esteem, a change in interests, or depression. However, cyberbullying can seem more extreme to its victims because of several factors:

• It can occur in your own home. Being bullied at home can take away the place you feel most safe.
• It can be harsher. Often kids say things online that they wouldn't say in person, mainly because they can't see the other person's reaction. 
• It's far-reaching. Kids can send emails making fun of someone to their entire class or school with a few clicks, or post them on a website for the whole world to see.
• It seems anonymous. Cyberbullies often hide behind screen names and email addresses that don't identify who they are. Not knowing who is responsible for bullying messages can add to a victim's insecurity.
• It may seem inescapable. It may seem easy to get away from a cyberbully - just get offline, but that can take away one of the major places you socialize.

What You Need to Know:

• Don't put anything online that you wouldn't want your classmates to see, even in email.
• Never tell anyone but your parents your password, even friends.
• Keep a record of any rude and harassing emails, text messages or postings, but do not respond. Show it to an adult.
• Don't send message when you're angry. Before clicking "send," ask yourself how you would feel if you received the message.
• Help kids who are bullied online by not joining in and showing bullying messages to an adult.
• Always be as polite online as you are in person.

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