Identifying And Tackling Cyberbullying With The Following 5 Tips

People have designed a number of actions to prevent and combat abuse in various contexts. Much of the work focused on the school environment and the workplace. Bullying usually occurs face to face. People use insults, harass others, or use physical violence. However, with today’s technology, it has gone a step further. We are now dealing with cyberbullying. How can we diagnose cyberbullying?

The digital world is a part of our daily lives. We are on social media. We share our lives there and also look at the lives of others. However, this can be a double-edged sword. What if you are being harassed on the internet? If you want to learn more about cyberbullying and identifying and tackling cyberbullying, read on…

Identifying cyberbullying starts with being aware of its different forms

When you think of Internet harassment, you probably think of insults or threats on messenger and social media. It’s not just that though. If you want to be able to detect cyberbullying, you have to recognize that it takes different forms. This is the first tip.

If someone takes your identity on a social media platform and uses it to send messages with your name and photo, you are a victim of harassment. Yet another type of cyberbullying is when someone edits your photos in an insulting way or tags your photos with insults.

There is also another form of cyberbullying. People make sound recordings of you or take pictures of you. They will then make it public without your permission. The perpetrator can publish them on multiple platforms on social media. When someone uses technology to do something to you that you find unpleasant or offensive, you are dealing with harassment.

Identifying Cyberbullying: The Key Is Evaluating, Collecting Information And Telling Others

Now you understand what harassment in the cyber world is all about. So what should you do if you find yourself in this situation? We give you a second tip here. Analyze and evaluate what happened. You need to think about how the events affect you personally and socially.

There are several possible scenarios. In the first place, it might just be a joke between friends. It means nothing and does not affect you. However, it can be a situation where you feel insulted, unsafe and hurt. Which brings us to the third important tip. Tell someone what’s happening.

If you are a minor, it is best to contact your parents or teachers. They will help you to solve the problem in the best possible way. However, you shouldn’t just talk to them. You should also speak to your friends or classmates who can help you with this problem. They can also offer you understanding and support.

Which brings us to our fourth tip. Gather information about the situation. As annoying as it may be, don’t push it aside. Find out what happened and when. How long did it go on? Who is involved and what are their intentions? What provoked this issue?

Once you recognize cyberbullying, you should try to find a solution

Being a victim of online harassment is unfair and painful. So it’s fundamental that you find a way to make it stop. This brings us to our last important tip. Look for solutions and initiate them. We already mentioned that these are complicated issues. So you don’t have to be ashamed or afraid to ask for help.

To do this, you need to analyze the information you have collected. You also need to decide whether you can talk directly to the person concerned to find a solution to what is happening. We want to point out again here, you don’t have to do this alone! Asking for help can give you the strength you need to put an end to the situation.

However, if you fail to find a solution to the problem, then you should try other things. You can then notify some higher authority (a professor, a teacher or a boss) as a first step so that they are involved… Also don’t forget that identifying cyberbullying is the first step to make it stop!

Featured image courtesy of Jay Wennington, Sergey Zolkin and Gilles Lambert.