Cyberbullying

It’s easier to send someone horrible or offensive messages from behind a screen than it is to say those things to someone’s face. So often these cyber bullies would not be so confident and abusive in person.

Other people are going through something themselves and are trying to get back some sort of control or exert their feelings onto someone else.

Texting
Sending nasty text messages

Sexting
Sending explicit images or videos of someone else. Read more about sexting.

Emails
Bullying someone through emails including computer viruses or links to harmful images.

Social Media
This is probably the most common way in which someone could attempt to bully someone, especially someone you may not know already.

Online Gaming
Gaming online means that you are often interacting verbally or through instant chat with people, some of which are strangers. There is a great deal of anonymity linked with online gaming which makes it easier for bullies to get away with making horrible comments.

Chat rooms
Sending abusive messages to someone through a chat room or forum.

Some people enjoy the feeling of power and the thrill that comes with getting a reaction out of someone else. This is much the same as someone bullying in person. This is why one of the best things to do is to ignore any abusive messages you receive. If you can, try not to even open or read them and try your best not to respond to them even though, at times, it may be tempting.

When someone is being bullied online they may feel as though they should keep this to themselves to avoid more abuse from their bully or they are embarrassed. However, the best thing you can do is to tell someone else. Even if that person is a friend, family member, teacher or even better, if you call or contact a helpline.