Online bullying, or cyberbullying, is when someone uses the internet to target and deliberately upset someone.

Cyberbullying often happens on personal devices that young people have continuous access to. This means it can happen anywhere and at any time, so it can feel like it’s hard to escape. The bully could be either someone that they know, or a complete stranger.

It can be hard to control the spread of messages, images and videos sent online, which means many people could see them in a short period of time. However, online bullying can leave a trail of evidence which can be helpful when dealing with the incident and reporting it.

Types of online bullying

• Messages - Sending messages aiming to upset, abuse or humiliate someone.
• Comments - Writing remarks under someone else’s post, which others can also see.
• Tagging someone - Linking someone’s profile to a status, or embarrassing photo or video.
• Memes - Identifying someone with a photo and/or with a caption, which is meant humorous but aims to humiliate others.
• Images - Putting an image online of someone without their consent, or editing an image of someone. This includes nude images.
• In-direct - Negative comments to a group, where a name isn’t mentioned. However it is obvious to all who is being talked about. E.g., ‘You know whose dress is disgusting…’
• Exclusion - Deliberately leaving someone out of an online group, or chat.
• Outing - Revealing sensitive or personal information about someone online, without their consent.
•  Harassment - Putting aggressive pressure on someone or intimidating them.
• Impersonation - Pretending to be someone with a view to belittling or humiliating them.
• Voting - Setting up, or contributing to, an abusive poll about someone.

What are the impacts?

If a child is being bullied online they can often feel scared, worried and overwhelmed by the situation. They might be embarrassed by what’s happening, angry, confused, and even feel physically unwell.

There are no conclusive signs which will tell you if your child is being bullied online. Whilst some children and young people might show obvious signs of worry or upset, these could relate to a range of issues, and other children might hide it altogether. However, look out for.

• Higher levels of emotion, such as anger
• Changes in mood
• Problems sleeping and eating
• Low self-esteem
• Self-harm
• Withdrawal from online activities
• Sudden changes in behaviour
• Bullying others

When should you tell a grown up if you or a friend is being bullied?

You should tell a grown up or a trusted adult as soon as the bullying starts. The way to get the bullying to stop is to tell a Trusted Adult and never keep it to yourself. The Trusted Adult (whether its your mum/dad/grandparents/teacher/friend of the family) can help to guide you on what to do next.