What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that takes place online. It usually takes place on social media sites with harsh comments and trying to humiliate others for no apparent reason.
Examples of cyberbullying can be things such as:
- Spreading malicious rumours and gossiping about others.
- Grooming (enticing or goading you on-line to self-harm or commit a crime).
- Stalking and harassing you repeatedly online.
- Intimidation and attempting to blackmail.
- Posting embarrassing images or video’s without you giving consent.
- Setting up fake profiles on social media sites, Identity fraud or identity theft.
- Using gaming sites to attack or bully people.
- Texting or emailing you with threatening remarks.
Some Statistics that highlight the current issue of CyberBulling:
- Close to 45% of young people experience bullying before the age of 18.
- 36% of young people believe that their school/college doesn't take bullying seriously enough.
- 80% of people say that bullying has had a negative impact on their self-confidence.
- over the last 3 years there has been an 87% increase in cyberbullying.
- an estimated 5.5 million young people have experienced bullying online.
The stats above clearly indicate that there is a prevalent issue in society with online bullying and it looks like these figures are increasing. We need to take positive action by doing our best to educate and empower people on the tools and strategies to be more equipped to deal with issue should they encounter these issues!