Many people think bullying simply takes place in schools or among peer groups, but even strangers can bully your child - and all in the comfort of their own home. Cyber bullying is a big concern, and can affect absolutely anyone.
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Cyberbullying is fast becoming the most prominent form of bullying - and anyone can become victim, including teachers. Because the technology is in your home, or out and about with you, many victims feel as if they simply cannot escape the bullies.
According the Anti-Bullying Alliance (Goldsmith College, University of London):
‘Cyber bullying is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself.'
What are the forms of cyber bullying?
Research commissioned by the Anti-bullying alliance indicates that there are seven categories of cyber bullying to be wary of:
- Text message bullying - bullies reach their victims by sending them unpleasant and unwelcome text messages
- Picture/Video clip bullying via mobile phones - bullies make embarrassing films or images of the victims and send them to friends. Another form of bullying, ‘Happy slapping', involves filming physical abuse and sharing it with friends
- Phone call bullying via mobile phones - usually involves prank calls from disguised or hidden numbers, or simply stealing the victim's phone and making calls or messages to other people, pretending to be the phone owner
- Email bullying - similar to bullying via text messaging, the victim will usually receive unwelcome emails from bullies pretending to be someone else
- Chat room bullying - not unlike the type of thing you get in the playground, bullies will respond abusively or encourage others to turn on the victim in a web-based chat room
- Instant message bullying - again, a form of web-based bullying where children and young people are sent unpleasant messages as they conduct real-time conversations online
- Bullying via websites - this can include abusive web logs (blogs), whole websites dedicated to embarrassing the victim, as well as online personal polling sites. Social networking sites have also increased the scope for cyberbullying.
A faceless bully
The Anti-Bullying Alliance recently found that one in five schoolchildren in the UK had been the victim of some form of online and mobile abuse. Those who take part in online bullying often use a group of friends to target their victims by asking them to add a comment to a photo on a blog, or asking them to forward it onto another group of friends. Sometimes, these people don't even realise they're actually bullying someone and get caught up in cyber bullying simply by not thinking about the consequences of what they are doing.
However the impact on the lives of young people can be considerable and in some cases tragic. Unlike the type of bullying that goes on in the street or at school, escaping cyber bullying can be very difficult - messages can be sent 24 hours a day, everyday of the week, anonymously. So it can even be tough for those on the receiving end to avoid it in the safety of their own home.
Further information
Anti-Bullying Alliance - anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk
