The internet is a tremendous tool that offers a space to connect with the entire world. It also allows people to learn and is an incredible way to unwind and be entertained. While it is an excellent source of distraction and respite from the world of worries, it might also pave the way for bullies. Especially in this day and age, it becomes easier to share harmful words, rumors, and images worldwide and bully people. Over the years, bullying has evolved from physical harm and gone cyber. This shift from physical bullying to cyberbullying has amplified the negative impact and facilitated rapid distribution with no ‘erase’ button. This makes it the need of the hour to learn how to prevent cyberbullying.
While physical bullying is known to our society, and we take measures to prevent it, many people still do not understand cyberbullying. They are unfamiliar with its devastating effects. In reality, the perils of cyberbullying aren’t limited to a single gender, age group, or online platform. It knows no boundaries in terms of demographics or region and can make anyone its victim. Since it is a persistent, serious problem that has become all too common in online communities, we’re going to address it in this article. We will talk about what it is and how to prevent cyberbullying. So, scroll down and learn.
What Is Cyberbullying?
With the rise of technology, cyberbullying has become a social problem. As digital technology evolves, several definitions have emerged, making it difficult for people to understand its true meaning. But today, we are going to take up this highly debated topic and clear all your doubts, starting with the meaning of cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that occurs online via devices like smartphones, computers, or tablets. It can take place on social media, gaming platforms, messaging platforms, etc. Any platform that permits the exchange of information can be used for harassing people, which is known as cyberbullying. Simply put, it is a repeated behavior where one person knowingly harasses, threatens, torments, or humiliates the victim through digital technology. Such activities aim to scare, enrage, or shame the person or even damage their reputation. Since it is incredibly harmful, it can leave lasting effects on the person’s confidence, self-esteem, and mental health that can cause depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
Some of the common examples of cyberbullying are:
- Sending mean, harmful, abusive, or threatening messages
- Posting false information about someone online
- Sharing embarrassing photos of the target
- Impersonating someone and sending messages on their behalf.
Learn How To Prevent Cyberbullying
1. Educate Yourself & Others About Cyberbullying
Taking away technology or limiting its usage is not the solution to cyberbullying. However, learning how to use it safely and responsibly will help. You must educate yourself and others about cyberbullying, its consequences, signs, and ways to prevent it. Always remember, “Knowledge is power.” So, the more you know, the safer you are.
2. Protect Your Accounts & Devices
When we talk about how to prevent cyberbullying or similar behaviors, protecting your accounts and devices becomes the first and foremost priority. For this, you need to secure all your accounts and devices with strong, unique passwords. Also, make sure you don’t share the passwords with anyone.
3. Keep Personal Information Private
While it might be tricky for some, it can help keep yourself safe. Personal details like address, phone number, social security number, email address, etc., might be used by people for cyberbullying. So, make sure you keep your details private and protect yourself from being a victim.
4. Be Mindful While Posting Online
Posting online, especially on social media, has become more common than ever. People are using multiple platforms to share their lives. But, they forgot that the internet is public and, once online, it can never truly go away. This makes it crucial to self-introspect before you post. If you want to learn or teach how to prevent cyberbullying, you must be careful about what you post online.
5. Keep A Watchful Eye On Online Activities
Keeping an eye on your kid's online activities is of utmost importance to stay safe. Check all the activities from your account, know what your kids are posting online, go through your social media accounts and look for suspicious activities. You must be aware of the signs of cyberbullying to stay alert and keep a check on such activities.
6. Beware Of Strangers Online
The internet is filled with people you don’t know. Even if it feels safe, you should not trust anyone online and stay away from them. Impersonating someone or being friendly with people online to take away their personal information is one of the most common cyberbullying methods.
7. Always Log Out While Using Public Devices
Forgetting to log out on public devices is one of the most common mistakes that people make. If you are not using your personal device, make sure you log out from all the accounts that you have used. Simply closing the tab is not enough. Whether using your friend's computing device or a public computer in a library, you must always log out. This might result in your bullies getting access to your information.
8. Reach Out For Help
Being a victim of cyberbullying has damaging effects on mental health, reputation, as well as financial condition. In such scenarios, dealing with the distress becomes difficult. So, make sure you reach out to your friends and families or even seek professional help to understand what’s going on and how you can work through it. Similarly, you must be there for your friends or family if they ever go through cyberbullying. Trust us; this is one of the best ways to prevent cyberbullying.
General FAQs About Cyberbullying:
1. How do you help victims of cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is dangerous and can impact self-esteem, reputation, and overall quality of life. Here are some of the ways that might help the victims.
- Being with them and talking about the scenario
- Reminding them that they are not alone
- Ask questions to know more about the crime
- Keeping a record of the situation or collecting documents
- Reporting the issue
- Help them safeguard their accounts, devices, and information
2. Is there any punishment for cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is a common problem across the world. To protect people from such online threats, different cyberbullying laws in different countries safeguard and protect the victims. However, some countries still do not take this criminal activity too seriously and do not have laws for it.
3. How to deal with a person who is a bully?
As there are cyberbullying crimes happening all over, there are people who lead such criminal acts. If you know someone who bullies people online or in other digital spaces, here are some ways to deal with them.
- Take a look and monitor their online activities to understand what they are doing over the internet
- If you are in a position to talk to them, you must reach out and listen to their reasons behind such activities
- Make them understand the repercussions of cyberbullying and get them professional help if needed.
Final Words:
Putting an end to cyberbullying isn’t as easy as disconnecting from the internet. Especially after the COVID-19 outbreak, staying away from the internet is quite difficult. It has grown into a social problem providing people with new ways to torment others, sometimes anonymously. While it is difficult to fight back against this harmful practice, it is possible with the aforementioned ‘how to prevent cyberbullying’ tips. These tips will reduce the chances of getting bullied and will navigate you to stay safe in this strange new world of cyberbullying.
But always remember, the internet and technology are not the problems. The real issue is the unawareness and the people using the internet to harm others. So, share this article with your friends, family, or even on social media to make people aware.
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