What Is Cyberbullying?
• All disturbing and humiliating behaviors carried out through electronic communication channels such as telephone, internet, and social media can be referred to as cyberbullying.
• Its difference from physical and verbal bullying is that the perpetrator of the bullying can remain anonymous, the bullying can continue 24/7, the audience can expand limitlessly, and it can reach the victim’s home, which they regard as a safe space.
• Studies report that cyberbullying victimization among adolescents is reported at varying rates between 30-40%.
• While boys are more likely to be in the perpetrator position, girls are more exposed to verbal and relational cyberbullying.
• The 11-14 age range stands out as the most risky period in terms of age.
What Are the Risk Factors?
• Individual Factors: Low self-esteem, difficulties in emotional regulation, social skill deficiencies, high exposure to online environments, excessive duration of smart phone use.
• Factors Related to Family: Insufficient parental supervision, authoritarian or neglectful parents, family conflicts and violence.
• Factors Related to Peers and School: Weak school climate, in-class exclusion, negative peer environment, normalization of cyberbullying.
What Do Cyberbullies Do?
• They send disturbing messages and emails through electronic communication networks.
• They spread gossip about children or young people on social media.
• They can open groups or pages targeting an individual.
• They can share a young person’s photo or information about them without their consent.
• They can introduce themselves as someone else and provide information about the young person or enable another person to provide such information.
How Can We Combat Cyberbullying?
• The behaviors such as posting, sharing pictures, and writing comments that cyberbullies engage in on social media to attract attention, have fun, and elicit a reaction from young people are called trolling.
• First of all, trolls should not be fed. Their aim is to upset you, make you angry, and provoke you.
• Showing that you are upset and getting into arguments in order to protect yourself only makes the situation more entertaining for the person doing the bullying.
• Never reply to cyberbullies. Giving them the reaction they want means entering a game you will lose. When they do not receive the response they want, they will most likely get bored and stop bothering you.
• Cyberbullies also prefer lonely individuals, just as in physical and verbal bullying. Because people who stay alone appear more vulnerable and powerless.
• Having a friend who will stand by your side makes things easier for you. This way, you will no longer be an easy target for the bully.
• Stay silent in the online environment for a while. That is, do not appear online, do not post new content, do not share photos, and do not write comments.
• This will create distance between you and the cyberbullying incident. Thus, there will be time for the event to cool down.
• Sometimes they may bully by posting on your page, writing comments, and sending you messages. In this case, the best solution is to block this person and prevent them from reaching you.
• Another thing that can be done to protect oneself from cyberbullying is to keep the evidence at hand.
• If the bullying behavior continues, these pieces of evidence may need to be submitted to the relevant authorities.
• All the messages sent to you, the posts they comment on, the pages opened about you, or screenshots can be saved.
• Get help from adults. You may feel helpless and alone. However, you do not have to deal with it alone.
• The first option is to tell a family member.
• Apart from family, you can get support from a teacher, school principal, or the counseling service.
• In some cases, you need to report the cyberbullying incident to the relevant authorities.
• These can be the school administration, judicial authorities, the police, or the social media platform administrators.
• In this situation, you must definitely inform your family and act together.