Cyberbullying is never okay. We’ve heard a lot about it recently and it’s an issue our children do face. Cyberbullying occurs when a person uses technology to bully another person or group with the intent of harming them socially, psychologically and possibly physically. It can take the form of abusive or hurtful texts or messages. The intent is to humiliate the person online. It may include cruel gossip, name calling, spreading rumours or excluding a person. It’s a lot like physical bullying, but can be even more harmful to the victim. While a victim of bullying is usually aware of the identity of the bully, this isn’t always the case with cyberbullies as they may hide who they are by creating fake profiles or sending anonymous messages. Even more serious are those who set up fake profiles for their victims and humiliate them by posting fake pictures or other details online.

Cyberbullying can be hard to deal with as the content can be shared with a lot of people. Once something’s been shared online, it’s difficult to remove it as it can be recorded and saved in different places. People used to generally be able to escape the bully’s taunts on going home, but in our world of constant connectivity, there is no safe place. The bully now follows that person home.

We’ve all heard of terrible instances where victims of cyberbullying have resorted to taking their lives to try and escape and none of us want any person to feel that way. The victimized person can be made to feel as though it’s his/her fault. He might feel hopeless and feel there’s nothing he can do to stop it. She might feel embarrassed, as though she doesn’t fit in, even feeling rejected by friends and others. Some may feel stressed-out and wonder why this is happening to them. They may not know what to do about it and could feel unsafe, afraid and scared of going to school or other social activities.

Parents cannot – must not ignore – their child’s online world. Once we give our children access to the internet, we have a responsibility to ensure they are safe. While I can touch briefly on some issues in these articles, space doesn’t permit my going into much detail. The following sites are helpful starting points for parents to visit.

Office of the eSafety Commissioner www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/cyberbullying
See this website for more information on cyberbullying as well as access to their reporting and complaints system.

Parents want their children to stay safe online. www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent This site has some excellent resources enabling parents to learn about potential risks and how to deal with them.

Parentline is a dedicated parent helpline to get help. It also contains helpful fact sheets. www.parentline.com.au/

Cybersafety for students fact sheet. www.bullyingnoway.gov.au/Resources/FactSheets/Documents/bnw-info-sheet-cybersafety.pdf