This blog post follows on from our last blog post, tips on how to deal with the school bully, but this time focusing on cyber bullying. After talking to many children and parents we realised that the most common form of bullying now takes place online, it has become too prevalent especially if you are a teenager who is online. Last week we sat down and discussed different ways which teenagers can deal with this form of harassment, so that they can put it behind them.
The first thing we would suggest is to block the bullies. If anyone is writing mean things about you or anyone else, block or unfriend them immediately. Even if their animosity isn’t aimed at you, you don’t know when or if they will turn their attention to you.
Document the bullying! If someone is bullying you online, take screen shots of it, you never know if you will need proof, especially if the situation escalates and you have to get the authorities involved. You don’t want it to be your word against theirs and run the risk of them avoiding punishment.
Once you have taken the screen shots of the cyber bullying incidents, delete/hide/block them so that you can’t see them. When someone has been that horrible to you or a friend, the last thing you want is a constant reminder of the unkind words and images. It’s important to remember that most bullies pick on people because they have issues or problems and are just projecting them on to other people, so delete the content from your computer and forget about it.
If you feel the cyber bullying is getting out of control and you feel it’s something you can’t deal with on your own, get an adult involved. The adult can listen to your concerns, give advice and step in to put a stop to the bulling.
Spend less time on the internet! It’s often easy to forget that not everything we do has to be online, spend time away from social networks and spend more time with friends and family. Remember you can’t be cyber bullied if you’re not online.
Light in the Attic Learning 