After her Facebook account was hacked, Sophie, 16, was Cyberbullied by her friends and she wasn’t even sure if she’d been cyberbullied. “I didn’t think of it as bullying ‘cos it was done by some of my best friends,” she says.
“They’d figured out my password and read through my inbox, then confronted me about things I hadn’t shared with them.” What didn’t seem like a big deal to her friends took a massive toll on Sophie’s confidence and social life. “I started feeling isolated from the group,”she says. Now, Sophie regularly changes her Facebook password and never posts or inboxes anything too personal just to be safe.
Cyberbullied by her friends, Sophie isolated from the group
As Sophie’s story shows, the definition of cyberbullying isn’t always clear-cut, especially when it is done by your “friends”. Typically, bullying is defined as repeated negative or aggressive behaviour directed at a specific person. However, according to Professor Donna Cross from the Child Health Promotion Research Centre at Edith Cowan University, “In online environments the perpetrators only need to commit a one-off act for it to be picked up
by others and repeated again.”
If you haven’t been a target of cyberbullying, a friend probs has
The lack of face-to-face contact on the interwebs means that bullies (and even your pals) can do and say things they never would IRL. “It’s done behind screens, so it’s often more aggressive and invasive,” says Professor Donna. With 62% of people aged 8-17 reporting negative experiences online, if you haven’t been a target of online bullying, a friend probs has.
Real life effects of a cyberbullying attack
REAL LIFE EFFECTS A cyberbullying attack, especially on a public platform like Facebook, can look a little like the Cornucopia scene in The Hunger Games. It’s messy and can involve multiple people. No matter who’s playing what role, the effects are seriously un-fun. “Cyberbullying doesn’t just affect the person who is on the receiving end, it also damages the reputation of the person doing it and makes people distrust them.” says psychologist and educator Professor Helen McGrath, who recently worked on new McAfee and Life Education national cyber safety module bCyberwise. “You should consider your digital footprint when you’re applying for jobs and how you’d like to be remembered by classmates,” says Professor Helen. It’s not just reps that are at stake though-research shows both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying are more likely to binge drink, face suspension from school, suffer depression and self harm*
“Cyberbullying can be more distressing and damaging because anyone can be targeted anytime and anywhere making it totally consuming and often isolating,” she explains. “As a result, those who are bullied may avoid school and social activities, can develop anxiety or end up with serious trust issues which sometimes follow them into adulthood.” Remember that simply clicking “like” on a mean post can make you one of the bullies too – and no one wants that label, right?
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The lesson: Don’t get caught up in online negativity in the first place, protect yourself
If you’re the victim of cyberbullying or have a friend going through it, it’s understandable that
you might be tempted to retaliate. But the eye for-an-eye approach will probably just land
you in hot water.
Instead, Marian Merritt, Global Internet Safety Advocate for Norton by Symantec, suggests fighting back by following these strategies:
Don’t respond. You could potentially go from victim to bully.
Never send or post anything you wouldn’t want your friends and the rest of the world to see.
Put your FB settings on “notify for tagging pics”. If you don’t like a pic someone has posted,
ask them to take it down. If they refuse, you can look into reporting them.
Get to know the privacy settings on the social media sites you use.
Sexting is NEVER a good idea. You have no idea where the pics will turn up. Your online
trail can follow you around for life (you might love your rockin’ bod but your future boss might
not be as impressed!).
Don’t accept friend requests from anyone you’ve never actually met. They might not be the
real deal.
Never post personal info like your phone number or address.
Try to limit your time online if you’re being targeted. Grab your BFF and spend time offline
instead.
Keep a trail of evidence if you’re being bullied. For example, save any emails and texts and
take screenshots of chat sessions. You can use this if things escalate and you need to tell
an adult.
Regularly update your passwords. You could even try a free password manager like
identitysafe.norton. com which makes logging onto sites like Facebook more secure.
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