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Cyber Bullying: How And Where To Report It

Posted by Daniel96P from Merthyr Tydfil - Published on 24/09/2012 at 16:45
5 comments » - Tagged as Culture, Education, Environment, Health, People, Technology, Topical

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This article is pending translation

If anyone reading this has ever experienced any online bullying (or even still is) they know as well as I do how horrible and vindictive people can be.

I too have been a victim of cyberbullying, and I'm going to tell you how to report it and how to deal with it.

During the summer holidays I came out on Facebook as being Bisexual, and I had an awful lot of support. However, there are always people that will give you abuse, especially on Social Networking Sites that give people the option to post things anonymously. I was receiving an awful lot of abuse, including death threats and rude remarks about me and my family. At first it didn't really bother me — I just deleted the comments — but then I was waking up in the morning with loads more. When you receive abuse like that it does start to bother you, no matter how strong you are, and it's completely normal to get upset or even worried over it, but here's what to do if you ever need to report any incident of Cyber Bullying, whether it be homophobic, racist or just plain horrible nasty comments:-

Take screenshots (press the Print Screen button on your keyboard) of all of the nasty comments and print them out.
Make sure your parent/guardian is aware of all of the comments you are receiving so they can support you all of the way.
Show your head of year in school, to also make them aware.
If the Social Network Site you use has a Report button, then report all of it, after making sure you have your own personal copy.
If the abuse doesn't stop, don't feel frightened to contact your local police. Whatever you tell them is in confidence. Make sure you show them the copies of the comments from your screenshots.
Make sure you tell your Teacher/Youth Worker/Social Worker/Foster Carer/etc what is happening as well. They are here to give you support and help.

Here are some tips on what to do and what not to do:-

Never ever reply back to the comments, once they know it's getting to you, they will do it all the more. Just ignore them.
Never think that it's your fault: cyber bullies are cowards and cannot say anything to your face. They'll try to pick you up on absolutely anything they can!
Make sure you tell your parent/guardian about everything. Schools will also support, and many have an anti-bullying policy.
Never take the law into your own hands: violence is never the answer. The police will do whatever they can to bring them to justice themselves.

There are lots of campaigns against bullying such as Bullies Out, Kidscape and StopCyberBullying, as well as support sites like Childline and Meic. I hope no one reading this will ever have as much online abuse as me but if you ever do I hope this article has maybe helped.

REMEMBER: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE!

Related Articles:

Online Bullying: A Coward's Excuse

Cyber Bullied? We Need You

Bullied Bullies

The 411 On Bullying

Information:

Online Safety Information

Info � Family & Relationships � What to do if something goes wrong � Bullying

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