Definition of Cyberbullying

Rashed had gone to a beach resort with his friends during the holidays and enjoyed himself. When he went back to school, he found his classmates sharing jokes about him and calling him names. It hurt him and he didn’t want to join others for lunch. As he sat alone, his friend Ali came and told him about a picture of his that was posted on Facebook. The picture was tagged with a funny name and people had posted several comments about it. The Facebook page was a community page and there was no way to know who had done this. The more he thought about it, the more Rashed felt sick in his stomach and didn’t want to face anyone he knew. Rashed was now a victim – a victim of cyberbullying. 

So what is cyberbullying? 

Cyberbullying is the use of technology to deliberately and repeatedly bully someone in an unethical way. Unfortunately, Teens and adults underestimate the severity of cyberbullying and the impact it can have.  

What does it include?  

It can take the form of abusive texts or emails; posting indecent messages or private images on social forums and networking sites and by captioning the post or image with sarcastic text and mockery and by posting comments or jokes about others. 

Does it differ from traditional bullying?  

Cyberbullying is similar to traditional (face-to-face) bullying but the impact of cyberbullying crosses over the real world's limits. In today’s digital world of social media, smartphone apps, and the internet, words, videos, and images posted there, have a larger impact and hurts more.  

The differences between cyberbullying and traditional bullying are: 

• The difficulty in detecting immediately who is responsible of the cyberbullying,  
• The frequency with which it can occur as the Internet is accessible at all times  
• Cyberbullying can involve a large audience,  
• Difficulty in eliminating weapons of bullying as it is largely verbal. 

Is your friend being cyberbullied?  

If you notice that your friend is avoiding conversations about what they are doing online and gets easily upset or angry after they get online, they could be victims of cyberbullying.  

Other signs include withdrawal from family and friends, failing in academics, absenteeism at school and social gatherings, increasing complaints of feeling unwell, loss of appetite, and anxiety/depression with mood swings. In extreme cases, suicidal thoughts may be voiced. 

Why someone might become a Cyberbully?  

Reasons, why anyone would initiate cyberbullying, can be feelings of jealousy, resentment of others' popularity, an outlet to personal frustrations and perhaps being a victim themselves.

How to overcome cyberbullying?

The first step is to strike a balance between your online friends and real-world friends. The next step is to talk about cyberbullying with an adult you trust – parent, family member, or teachers. It is important to preserve evidence of messages or pictures used against you, but do not respond to them. Remember, you are not alone and this can be fixed. You can be an overcomer.