• 7 years ago
in this video, Jay Andrews from Tech Parental outlines the concept of the cyberbully in 2017.

So Cyberbullying is one of the hottest topics in the new today. there are new laws popping in different states. Children and teens are engaging in extreme behaviors, Schools are often at a loss for what to do. But what exactly IS cyberbullying?

So although cyber bullying is something we hear about on a weekly basis during the school year, many people aren't really sure what it is. So lets start with a basic definition.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology and that includes devices such as cell phones computers and tablets but also websites, text messaging and social media which is the most prevalent. The intent is to make another person feel angry, sad, or scared, and the offender is doing these things deliberately and repeatedly.

One example of cyber bullying is outing. Outing is tricking someone into revealing personal or embarrassing information and then sending it to others in a public forum. This can be a racy picture or maybe revealing someone's sexuality or simply announcing a crush the the person wanted to keep secret.

Another form of bullying is known as impersonation. Impersonation may involve breaking into someone's email or social media account to send cruel or untrue messages while posing as that person. Sometimes the bully will create a fake account including pictures of the victim to impersonate them and send out embarrassing or harassing messages.

Then there is Flaming. Flaming is a hostile interaction between two more people over the Internet usually involving profanity. In a bullying context it's generally many people teaming up on a single victim. Flaming is often seen in social media apps such as Facebook or Instagram but can also be seen on Game servers such as Xbox or Playstation. Now you may be thinking that you have had some aggressive interactions online but what makes Flaming different in that it is repeated and intentional attempt to cause distress. It is the goal of the bully to get a rise out of the victim.

Flaming is also a more extreme version of trolling. A troll is a person who creates havoc on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people by posting inflammatory and off-topic messages in online communities such as chat rooms, message boards, and comment sections.

Cyberbullying in many ways can be more impactful than traditional bullying as kids who are victims have a difficult time getting away from this type of behavior. Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day 7 days a week and can happen when the child is alone. Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages and pictures can be very difficult after they have been posted or sent on social media or a website. These harassing messages and images can also be posted anonymously and reach a very wide audience making them very difficult to trace.

Bullying, no matter whether it is traditional bullying or cyberbullying, causes significant emotional and psychological distress. But targets of cyberbullying also experience some unique consequences and negative feelings.

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