speech on cyber bullying

1 Minute Speech on Cyber Bullying In English

A very good morning to one and all present here. Today, I’ll be giving a small speech on the topic ‘Cyberbullying’. 

Cyber Bullying is a serious criminal offense punishable under the law. Cyberbullying involves invading someone’s privacy virtually in the digital world and robbing one of their mental health thus. It essentially is to harass, threaten, or intimidate someone on the internet. 

Cyber Bullying is the next step for mean bullies- bullying as adults. It is a cheap and vulgar act to do, to hide behind masks and intrude into their personal space, 

Some acts of cyberbullying include sending unwanted messages to someone without their consent, spreading false information and rumours about them, commenting hateful things about them, hacking into one’s accounts, and impersonating them.

Let us all work against cyberbullying for a better future. Report any crimes that you come across immediately to the Anti-Bullying helpline. Say no to cyberbullying!

Thank you. 

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Cyberbullying: what is it and how to stop it, what teens want to know about cyberbullying..

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We brought together UNICEF specialists, international cyberbullying and child protection experts, and teamed up with Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X to answer some of the most common questions about online bullying and give advice on ways to deal with it. 

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and mobile phones. It is repeated behaviour, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Examples include:

• spreading lies about or posting embarrassing photos or videos of someone on social media
• sending hurtful, abusive or threatening messages, images or videos via messaging platforms
• impersonating someone and sending mean messages to others on their behalf or through fake accounts.

Face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying can often happen alongside each other. But cyberbullying leaves a digital footprint – a record that can prove useful and provide evidence to help stop the abuse.

If you are worried about your safety or something that has happened to you online, you can seek help by calling your national helpline . If your country does not have a helpline, please urgently speak to an adult you trust or seek professional support from trained and experienced carers.

The top questions on cyberbullying

• Am I being bullied online? How do you tell the difference between a joke and bullying?
• What are the effects of cyberbullying?
• How can cyberbullying affect my mental health?
• Who should I talk to if someone is bullying me online? Why is reporting important?
• I’m experiencing cyberbullying, but I’m afraid to talk to my parents about it. How can I approach them?
• How can I help my friends report a case of cyberbullying especially if they don’t want to do it?
• How do we stop cyberbullying without giving up access to the internet?
• How do I prevent my personal information from being used to manipulate or humiliate me on social media?
• Is there a punishment for cyberbullying?
• Technology companies don’t seem to care about online bullying and harassment. Are they being held responsible?
• Are there any online anti-bullying tools for children or young people?

1. Am I being bullied online? How do you tell the difference between a joke and bullying?

Unicef: .

All friends joke around with each other, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if someone is just having fun or trying to hurt you, especially online. Sometimes they’ll laugh it off with a “just kidding,” or “don’t take it so seriously.” 

But if you feel hurt or think others are laughing at you instead of with you, then the joke has gone too far. If it continues even after you’ve asked the person to stop and you are still feeling upset about it, then this could be bullying.

And when the bullying takes place online, it can result in unwanted attention from a wide range of people including strangers. Wherever it may happen, if you are not happy about it, you should not have to stand for it.

Call it what you will – if you feel bad and it doesn’t stop, then it’s worth getting help. Stopping cyberbullying is not just about calling out bullies, it’s also about recognizing that everyone deserves respect – online and in real life.

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2. What are the effects of cyberbullying?

When bullying happens online it can feel as if you’re being attacked everywhere, even inside your own home. It can seem like there’s no escape. The effects can last a long time and affect a person in many ways:

• Mentally – feeling upset, embarrassed, stupid, even afraid or angry 
• Emotionally – feeling ashamed or losing interest in the things you love
• Physically – tired (loss of sleep), or experiencing symptoms like stomach aches and headaches 

The feeling of being laughed at or harassed by others, can prevent people from speaking up or trying to deal with the problem. In extreme cases, cyberbullying can even lead to people taking their own lives. 

Cyberbullying can affect us in many ways. But these can be overcome and people can regain their confidence and health.

3. How can cyberbullying affect my mental health?

When you experience cyberbullying you might start to feel ashamed, nervous, anxious and insecure about what people say or think about you. This can lead to withdrawing from friends and family, negative thoughts and self-talk, feeling guilty about things you did or did not do, or feeling that you are being judged negatively. Feeling lonely, overwhelmed, frequent headaches, nausea or stomachaches are also common.

You can lose your motivation to do the things that you usually enjoy doing and feel isolated from the people you love and trust. This can perpetuate negative feelings and thoughts which can adversely affect your mental health and well-being.

Skipping school is another common effect of cyberbullying and can affect the mental health of young people who turn to substances like alcohol and drugs or violent behaviour to deal with their psychological and physical pain. Talking to a friend, family member or school counsellor you trust can be a first step to getting help.

The effects of cyberbullying on mental health can vary depending on the medium through which it happens. For example, bullying via text messaging or through pictures or videos on social media platforms has proven to be very harmful for adolescents.   

Cyberbullying opens the door to 24-hour harassment and can be very damaging. That’s why we offer in-app mental health and well-being support through our feature “ Here For You .” This Snapchat portal provides resources on mental health, grief, bullying, harassment, anxiety, eating disorders, depression, stress, and suicidal thoughts. It was developed in partnership with leading international advocacy and mental health organizations to help Snapchatters contend with some very real issues. Still, our foundational piece of guidance for any well-being issue is to talk to someone: a friend, parent, caregiver, trusted adult – anyone whom you trust to listen.

At Snap, nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our community.  Reach out and tell us how we might be able to help.    

Cyberbullying has the potential of having a negative impact on people's mental health. It's why it's so important that you reach out to someone you trust – whether it's a parent, teacher, friend or caregiver – and let them know what you're going through so that they can help you.

The well-being of our community matters hugely to us, and we recognise that cyberbullying can have an adverse impact on people's mental health. As well as taking strong action against content or behaviour that seeks to shame, bully or harass members of our community, we have partnered with experts to develop our well-being guide to help people learn more about improving their well-being, and keep TikTok a safe and inclusive home for our community.

4. Who should I talk to if someone is bullying me online? Why is reporting important?

If you think you’re being bullied, the first step is to seek help from someone you trust such as your parents, a close family member or another trusted adult.

In your school you can reach out to a counsellor, the sports coach or your favourite teacher – either online or in person.

And if you are not comfortable talking to someone you know, search for a helpline in your country to talk to a professional counsellor.

If the bullying is happening on a social platform, consider blocking the bully and formally reporting their behaviour on the platform itself. Social media companies are obligated to keep their users safe.

For bullying to stop, it needs to be identified and reporting it is key.

It can be helpful to collect evidence – text messages and screen shots of social media posts – to show what’s been going on.

For bullying to stop, it needs to be identified and reporting it is key. It can also help to show the bully that their behaviour is unacceptable.

If you are in immediate danger, then you should contact the police or emergency services in your country.

Facebook/Instagram

At Meta, we take bullying and harassment situations seriously. Bullying and harassment is a unique challenge and one of the most complex issues to address because context is critical. We work hard to enforce against this content while also equipping our community with tools to protect themselves in ways that work best for them.

If you're experiencing bullying online, we encourage you to talk to a parent, teacher or someone else you can trust – you have a right to be safe and supported.

We also make it easy to report bullying directly within Facebook or Instagram. You can send our team a report from a post, comment, story or direct message (DM). Your report is anonymous; the account you reported won’t see who reported them. We have a team who reviews these reports 24/7 around the world in 70+ languages and we will remove anything that violates our policies.

Meta’s Family Center offers resources, insights and expert guidance to help parents, guardians and trusted adults support their teen’s online experiences across our technologies. Additionally, the Meta Safety Center provides bullying prevention resources that can help teens seeking support for issues related to bullying like what to do if you or a friend is being bullied or if you've been called a bully. For educators , we have expert-backed tips on how to proactively handle and work to implement bullying prevention strategies

Bullying is something no one should have to experience, either in person or online. 

Snapchat’s Community Guidelines clearly and explicitly prohibit bullying, intimidation, and harassment of any kind. We don’t want it on the platform; it’s not in keeping with why Snapchat was created and designed. Learn more here .

Letting us know when you experience or witness someone breaking our rules allows us to take action, which helps to protect you and other members of our community. In addition to reporting violating content or behaviour to Snapchat, speak with a friend, parent, caregiver, or other trusted adult. Our goal is for everyone to stay safe and have fun!

Everyone has the right to feel safe and to be treated with respect and dignity. Bullying and harassment are incompatible with the inclusive environment we aim to foster on TikTok. 

If you ever feel someone is bullying you or otherwise being inappropriate, reach out to someone you trust - for example, a parent, a teacher or a caregiver – who can provide support.

We deploy both technology and thousands of safety professionals to help keep bullying off TikTok. We also encourage our community members to make use of the easy in-app reporting tools to alert us if they or someone they know has experienced bullying. You can report videos, comments, accounts and direct messages so that we can take appropriate action and help keep you safe. Reports are always confidential. 

You can find out more in our Bullying Prevention guide for teens, caregivers, and educators on how to identify and prevent bullying, and provide support.

Being the target of bullying online is not easy to deal with. If you are being cyberbullied, the most important thing to do is to ensure you are safe. It’s essential to have someone to talk to about what you are going through. This may be a teacher, another trusted adult, or a parent. Talk to your parents and friends about what to do if you or a friend are being cyberbullied.

We encourage people to report accounts to us that may break our  rules . You can do this on our  Help Center  or through the in-post reporting mechanism by clicking on the “Report a post” option.

Last updated: January 2022.

5. I’m experiencing cyberbullying, but I’m afraid to talk to my parents about it. How can I approach them?

If you are experiencing cyberbullying, speaking to a trusted adult – someone you feel safe talking to – is one of the most important first steps you can take.

Talking to parents isn’t easy for everyone. But there are things you can do to help the conversation. Choose a time to talk when you know you have their full attention. Explain how serious the problem is for you. Remember, they might not be as familiar with technology as you are, so you might need to help them to understand what’s happening.

They might not have instant answers for you, but they are likely to want to help and together you can find a solution. Two heads are always better than one! If you are still unsure about what to do, consider reaching out to other trusted people . There are often more people who care about you and are willing to help than you might think!

6. How can I help my friends report a case of cyberbullying especially if they don’t want to do it?

Anyone can become a victim of cyberbullying. If you see this happening to someone you know, try to offer support.

It is important to listen to your friend. Why don’t they want to report being cyberbullied? How are they feeling? Let them know that they don’t have to formally report anything, but it’s crucial to talk to someone who might be able to help.

Anyone can become a victim of cyberbullying.

Remember, your friend may be feeling fragile. Be kind to them. Help them think through what they might say and to whom. Offer to go with them if they decide to report. Most importantly, remind them that you’re there for them and you want to help.

If your friend still does not want to report the incident, then support them in finding a trusted adult who can help them deal with the situation. Remember that in certain situations the consequences of cyberbullying can be life threatening.

Doing nothing can leave the person feeling that everyone is against them or that nobody cares. Your words can make a difference.

We know that it can be hard to report bullying, but everyone deserves to feel safe online. If your friend is experiencing cyberbullying, encourage them to talk to a parent, a teacher or an adult they trust.

Reporting content or accounts to Facebook or Instagram is anonymous and can help us better keep our platforms safe. Bullying and harassment are highly personal by nature, so in many instances, we need a person to report this behaviour to us before we can identify or remove it. You can report something you experience yourself, but it’s also just as easy to submit a report for one of your friends. You can find more information on how to report something on our How to Report Bullying section  at the Meta Safety Center.

You and your friends may be reluctant to report to a technology platform for any number of reasons, but it’s important to know that reporting on Snapchat is confidential and easy. And remember: You can report Snaps (photos and videos), Chats (messages) and accounts – about your own experiences or on behalf of someone else. 

In the more public places of Snapchat, like Stories and Spotlight, simply press and hold on the piece of content and a card with “Report Tile” (as one option) will appear in red. Click that link and our reporting menu will appear. Bullying and harassment are among the first categories in the reporting list. Just follow the prompts and provide as much information as you can about the incident. We appreciate you doing your part to help us protect the Snapchat community!  

If you believe another member of the TikTok community is being bullied or harassed, there are ways you can provide support. For example, you can make a confidential report on TikTok so that we take appropriate action and help keep your friend safe. 

If you know the person, consider checking in with them and encourage them to read our Bullying Prevention guide so they can find out more information about how to identify bullying behaviour and take action.

If your friends are experiencing cyberbullying, encourage them to talk to a parent, a teacher or an adult they trust.

If a friend of yours does not want to report their experience, you can submit a bystander report  on their behalf. This can include reports of private information , non -consensual nudity  or impersonation.

7. How do we stop cyberbullying without giving up access to the Internet?

Being online has so many benefits. However, like many things in life, it comes with risks that you need to protect against.

If you experience cyberbullying, you may want to delete certain apps or stay offline for a while to give yourself time to recover. But getting off the Internet is not a long-term solution. You did nothing wrong, so why should you be disadvantaged? It may even send the bullies the wrong signal — encouraging their unacceptable behaviour. 

We need to be thoughtful about what we share or say that may hurt others.

We all want cyberbullying to stop, which is one of the reasons reporting cyberbullying is so important. But creating the Internet we want goes beyond calling out bullying. We need to be thoughtful about what we share or say that may hurt others. We need to be kind to one another online and in real life. It's up to all of us!

We’re continuously developing new technologies  to encourage positive interactions and take action on harmful content, and launching new tools to help people have more control over their experience. Here are some tools you can use:

• Comment warnings: When someone writes a caption or a comment that our AI detects as potentially offensive or intended to harass, we will show them an alert that asks them to pause and reflect on whether they would like to edit their language before it’s posted.
• Comment and message controls: Comments with common offensive words, phrases or emojis, and abusive messages or messages from strangers can be automatically hidden or filtered out with the ‘ Hidden words ’ setting, which is defaulted on for all people. If you want an even more personalized experience, you can create a custom list of emojis, words or phrases you don’t want to see, and comments containing these terms won’t appear under your posts and messages will be sent to a filtered inbox. All Instagram accounts have the option to switch off DMs from people they don’t follow. Messenger also gives you the option to ignore a conversation and automatically move it out of your inbox, without having to block the sender.
• Block and Mute: You can always  block  or  mute  an account that is bullying you, and that account will not be notified. When you block someone on Instagram, you’ll also have the option to block other accounts they may have or create, making it more difficult for them to interact with you.
• Restrict: With ‘Restrict,’ you can protect your account from unwanted interactions in a quieter, or more subtle way. Once Restrict is enabled, comments on your posts from a person you have restricted will only be visible to that person. You can choose to view the comment by tapping “See Comment”; approve the comment so everyone can see it; delete it; or ignore it. You won’t receive any notifications for comments from a restricted account.
• Limits:  You can automatically hide comments and DM requests from people who don’t follow you, or who only recently followed you. If you’re going through an influx of unwanted comments or messages — or think you may be about to — you can turn on Limits and avoid it.

Our priority is to foster a welcoming and safe environment where people feel free to express themselves authentically. Our Community Guidelines make clear that we do not tolerate members of our community being shamed, bullied or harassed. 

We use a combination of technology and moderation teams to help us identify and remove abusive content or behaviour from our platform. 

We also provide our community with an extensive range of tools to help them better control their experience – whether it's control over exactly who can view and interact with your content or filtering tools to help you stay in control of comments. You can find out about them on our Safety Centre . 

Since hundreds of millions of people share ideas on X every day, it’s no surprise that we don’t all agree with each other all the time. That’s one of the benefits of a public conversation in that we can all learn from respectful disagreements and discussions.

But sometimes, after you’ve listened to someone for a while, you may not want to hear them anymore. Their right to express themselves doesn’t mean you’re required to listen. If you see or receive a reply you don’t like, unfollow  and end any communication with that account. If the behaviour continues, it is recommended that you block the account . If you continue receiving unwanted, targeted and continuous replies on X, consider reporting the behaviour to X here .

We are also working proactively to protect people using our service through a combination of human review and technology. Learn more about how to feel safer on X here .

8. How do I prevent my personal information from being used to manipulate or humiliate me on social media?

Think twice before posting or sharing anything on digital platforms – it may be online forever and could be used to harm you later. Don’t give out personal details such as your address, telephone number or the name of your school.

Learn about the privacy settings of your favourite social media apps. Here are some actions you can take on many of them: 

• You can decide who can see your profile, send you direct messages or comment on your posts by adjusting your account privacy settings. 
• You can report hurtful comments, messages, photos and videos and request they be removed.
• Besides ‘unfriending’, you can completely block people to stop them from seeing your profile or contacting you.
• You can also choose to have comments by certain people to appear only to them without completely blocking them.
• You can delete posts on your profile or hide them from specific people. 

On most of your favourite social media, people aren't notified when you block, restrict or report them.

9. Is there a punishment for cyberbullying?

Most schools take bullying seriously and will take action against it. If you are being cyberbullied by other students, report it to your school.

People who are victims of any form of violence, including bullying and cyberbullying, have a right to justice and to have the offender held accountable.

Laws against bullying, particularly on cyberbullying, are relatively new and still do not exist everywhere. This is why many countries rely on other relevant laws, such as ones against harassment, to punish cyberbullies.

In countries that have specific laws on cyberbullying, online behaviour that deliberately causes serious emotional distress is seen as criminal activity. In some of these countries, victims of cyberbullying can seek protection, prohibit communication from a specified person and restrict the use of electronic devices used by that person for cyberbullying, temporarily or permanently.

However, it is important to remember that punishment is not always the most effective way to change the behaviour of bullies. Sometimes, focusing on repairing the harm and mending the relationship can be better.

On Facebook, we have a set of  Community Standards , and on Instagram, we have  Community Guidelines . We take action when we are aware of content that violates these policies, like in the case of bullying or harassment, and we are constantly improving our detection tools so we can find this content faster.

Bullying and harassment can happen in many places and come in many different forms from making threats and releasing personally identifiable information to sending threatening messages and making unwanted malicious contact. We do not tolerate this kind of behavior because it prevents people from feeling safe and respected on our apps.

Making sure people don’t see hateful or harassing content in direct messages can be challenging, given they’re private conversations, but we are taking steps to take tougher action when we become aware of people breaking our rules. If someone continues to send violating messages, we will disable their account. We’ll also disable new accounts created to get around our messaging restrictions and will continue to disable accounts we find that are created purely to send harmful messages.

On Snapchat, reports of cyberbullying are reviewed by Snap’s dedicated Trust & Safety teams, which operate around the clock and around the globe. Individuals found to be involved in cyberbullying may be given a warning, their accounts might be suspended or their accounts could be shut down completely. 

We recommend leaving any group chat where bullying or any unwelcome behaviour is taking place and please report the behaviour and/or the account to us.  

Our Community Guidelines define a set of norms and common code of conduct for TikTok and they provide guidance on what is and is not allowed to make a welcoming space for everyone. We make it clear that we do not tolerate members of our community being shamed, bullied or harassed. We take action against any such content and accounts, including removal.

We strongly enforce our rules to ensure all people can participate in the public conversation freely and safely. These rules specifically cover a number of areas including topics such as:

• Child sexual exploitation
• Abuse/harassment
• Hateful conduct
• Suicide or self-harm
• Sharing of sensitive media, including graphic violence and adult content

As part of these rules, we take a number of different enforcement actions when content is in violation. When we take enforcement actions, we may do so either on a specific piece of content (e.g., an individual post or Direct Message) or on an account.

You can find more on our enforcement actions here .

10. Technology companies don’t seem to care about online bullying and harassment. Are they being held responsible?

Technology companies are increasingly paying attention to the issue of online bullying.

Many of them are introducing ways to address it and better protect their users with new tools, guidance and ways to report online abuse.

But it is true that more is needed. Many young people experience cyberbullying every day. Some face extreme forms of online abuse. Some have taken their own lives as a result.

Technology companies have a responsibility to protect their users especially children and young people.

It is up to all of us to hold them accountable when they’re not living up to these responsibilities.

11. Are there any online anti-bullying tools for children or young people?

Each social platform offers different tools (see available ones below) that allow you to restrict who can comment on or view your posts or who can connect automatically as a friend, and to report cases of bullying. Many of them involve simple steps to block, mute or report cyberbullying. We encourage you to explore them.

Social media companies also provide educational tools and guidance for children, parents and teachers to learn about risks and ways to stay safe online.

Also, the first line of defense against cyberbullying could be you. Think about where cyberbullying happens in your community and ways you can help – by raising your voice, calling out bullies, reaching out to trusted adults or by creating awareness of the issue. Even a simple act of kindness can go a long way.

The first line of defense against cyberbullying could be you.

If you are worried about your safety or something that has happened to you online, urgently speak to an adult you trust. Many countries have a special helpline you can call for free and talk to someone anonymously. Visit  United for Global Mental Health to find help in your country.

We have a number of anti-bullying tools across Facebook and Instagram:

• You can block people, including any existing and new accounts they might create.
• You can  mute  an account and that account will not be notified.
• You can limit unwanted interactions for a period of time by automatically hiding comments and message requests from people who don’t follow you, or who only recently followed you.
• You can use ‘ Restrict ’ to discreetly protect your account without that person being notified.
• You can  moderate comments  on your own posts.
• You can  modify your settings  so that only people you follow can send you a direct message.
• We will notify someone when they’re about to post something that might cross the line, encouraging them to reconsider.
• We automatically filter out comments and message requests that don’t go against our Community Guidelines but may be considered inappropriate or offensive. You can also create your own custom list of emojis, words or phrases that you don’t want to see.

For more tips and ideas, visit Instagram’s Safety page and Facebook’s Bullying Prevention Hub . We also offer resources, insights and expert guidance for parents and guardians on our Family Center .

We want teens and young adults to be aware of the blocking and removal functions on Snapchat. Clicking on the person’s avatar will bring up a three-dot menu in the upper right-hand corner. Opening that menu offers the option of “Manage Friendship,” which, in turn, offers the ability to Report, Block or Remove the person as a friend. Know that if you block someone, they will be told that their Snaps and Chats to you will be delivered once the relationship is restored.  

It’s also a good idea to check privacy settings to ensure they continue to be set to the default setting of “Friends Only.” This way, only people you’ve added as Friends can send you Snaps and Chats.  

We also recommend reviewing your Friends’ list from time to time to ensure it includes those people you still want to be friends with on Snapchat.  

Alongside the work that our safety teams do to help keep bullying and harassment off our platform, we provide an extensive range of tools to help you control your TikTok experience. You can find these in full on our Safety Centre . Here are a few highlights:

• You can restrict who comments on your videos to no one, just friends or everyone (for those aged under 16, the everyone setting is not available)
• You can filter all comments or those with specific keywords that you choose. By default, spam and offensive comments are hidden from users when we detect them.
• You can delete or report multiple comments at once, and you can block accounts that post bullying or other negative comments in bulk too, up to 100 at a time.
• A comment prompt asks people to reconsider posting a comment that may be inappropriate or unkind, reminding them of our Community Guidelines and allowing them to edit their comments before sharing.

We want everybody to be safe on X. We continue to launch and improve tools for people to feel safer, be in control and manage their digital footprint. Here are some safety tools anyone on X can use: 

• Select who can reply to your posts  – either everyone, only people you follow or only people you mention
• Mute – removing an account's posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking that account
• Block – restricting specific accounts from contacting you, seeing your posts, and following you
• Report – filing a report about abusive behaviour
• Safety mode  – a feature that temporarily blocks accounts for using potentially harmful language or sending repetitive and uninvited replies or mentions.

With special thanks to:  Meta, Snap, TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter). Last updated: February 2024.

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Home / Parenting, Kids & Teens / What is cyberbullying and how can it be prevented?

What is cyberbullying and how can it be prevented?

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Bullying has blighted childhood and growing up since time began. Bullying can include mean words, teasing, spiteful pranks, the spreading of false rumors, name-calling, the taking of personal items, exclusion from social groups and events, graffiti scrawled on a locker, pushing and shoving, harassment, threats, and in its worst form, physical violence. Bullying is repetitive, not just a single act of aggression.

Kids who are bullied often withdraw socially, begin to underperform academically, feel anxious, sleep badly, and may eventually become depressed and feel trapped if the bullying goes on long enough.

As seen in the media, extreme bullying scenarios have resulted in a tragic and growing list of young people who take their own lives, at least in part to escape persistent bullying.

Most forms of in-person bullying now also take place online, potentially doubling a child’s exposure to bullying. Online, screen-based or technology-based bullying, which can happen across any medium where social interaction takes place, is called cyberbullying.

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• Sharing photos or videos of people without consent to embarrass them, make them feel bad about themselves, or enact revenge for a friendship or relationship that has broken down.
• Name-calling, teasing, belittling, mocking or social exclusion.
• Spreading false rumors.
• Creating fake social media accounts in an individual’s name and posting outrageous statements about a peer to isolate, degrade and prank both people.
• Circulating a person’s private messages sent in confidence to a group for amusement and the power of violating privacy.
• Sharing a person’s videos sent in confidence with a chat group or a class to cause embarrassment and ridicule.
• Sending anonymous critical, harassing or threatening messages to people to damage their self-esteem, make them doubt that their friendship group cares for them or instill a sense of not being safe.
• Texting or direct-messaging explicit, unsolicited images, real, altered or fake.
• Leaking an individual’s personal information such as home address or phone number to peer groups to invade privacy and encourage personal attacks.
• Unsolicited forwarding to an individual hurtful or hateful comments that were made by a social peer to undermine confidence and cause conflict within a social group.
• Posting mocking or spiteful comments on an individual’s social media accounts both to cause upset and to encourage other followers, usually from the same school, to join in, triggering group cyberbullying.

” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is the percentage of cyberbullying?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: ““The good news is that bullying overall, including cyberbullying, tends to decline after its prevalence peaks in mid-adolescence,” affirms Dr Biggs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that cyberbullying is experienced by the highest percentage of kids in middle schools (33%) followed by high schools (30%) and primary schools (5%). Among high school students in the U.S., 1 in 6 has been cyberbullied, compared with 1 in 5 who has been bullied in person. Furthermore, for children who identify as LGBTQ+, the Cyberbullying Research Center reports that 31% experience cyberbullying versus 21% of heterosexual students.” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is the difference between cyberbullying and bullying?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Cyberbullying Facts: There are several ways that cyberbullying differs from in-person bullying:

• Bullies can use anonymous or fictional identities in addition to their own identities.
• Can take place 24 hours a day.
• Can have an audience of hundreds or thousands or even go viral as peers share, like or comment.
• Tattooed onto the internet for as long as the social media accounts of the cyberbully or cyberbullies exist, perhaps for a lifetime.
• Leaves a permanent record of behaviors that can be captured and shown to parents, school staff, and counselors — or authorities if there is suspected criminality.

” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What are the effects of cyberbullying?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “If you were ever bullied at school, you’ll remember how quickly you felt shut out of life and how going into school each day was fraught with fear or a feeling of torture. Targets of cyberbullying are affected in much the same way as those bullied in person and can develop some or all of the following symptoms:

• Difficulties sleeping.
• Not wanting to go to school.
• Declining academic performance.
• Acting distracted at home.
• Reduced self-esteem.
• Feelings of not fitting in or belonging.

As the extent or longevity of bullying increase, it’s possible for more extreme reactions to occur, including:

• Self-harming behaviors such as cutting or burning.
• Depression.
• Thoughts of dropping out of school.
• Suicidal thoughts.
• Suicide attempts

” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Why do people cyberbully?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “As with in-person bullying, bullies court popularity and power and see bullying as a means to exert influence, control friendships, and dominate classrooms and playgrounds. In making others feel small, they feel bigger. There are often familial factors behind bullying and cyberbullying, and those can include witnessing verbal or physical aggression at home, which can lead to similar behavior socially or at school. With cyberbullying, if the bully has a high number of followers on social media, the validation of likes and shares for bullying behaviors can be intoxicating and signal a formula for popularity.” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Is cyberbullying illegal?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Strictly speaking, no. But if cyberbullying touches on laws around stalking, criminal online harassment or sexting that involves third-party possession or wider distribution of nude photos of minors, then authorities can be engaged. And if cyberbullying — as with in-person bullying — leads to a physical attack on the victim, then assault charges may become valid. Relative to state and federal law, schools can intervene when bullying of a student is taking place by another student or group of students, though according to Pew Research Center, only 34% of parents whose child is being cyberbullied report it to the child’s school.” } },{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How can parents prevent cyberbullying?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “One can’t prevent cyberbullying. After all, it’s impossible to live screen-free in our world today. But Dr. Biggs does advocate parents helping their child divert focus toward building a healthy social circle.

“The effects of being bullied are mitigated when people have strong social support,” she explains. “Even one good-quality friendship can make a difference. If a child has this, then the child may feel able to say ‘That’s a chat group I don’t want to be part of.’ Parents can support their kids by encouraging the fostering of friendships and activities that are positive. You can even ask: ”Who do you want to surround yourself with?’ That’s a very positive coping strategy, surrounding yourself with good people.”

As well as encouraging positive friendships, parents can also help clarify context.” } }] }

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying involves actions like:

• Creating fake social media accounts in an individual’s name and posting outrageous statements about a peer to isolate, degrade and prank both people.
• Circulating a person’s private messages sent in confidence to a group for amusement and the power of violating privacy.
• Sharing a person’s videos sent in confidence with a chat group or a class to cause embarrassment and ridicule.
• Leaking an individual’s personal information such as home address or phone number to peer groups to invade privacy and encourage personal attacks.
• Posting mocking or spiteful comments on an individual’s social media accounts both to cause upset and to encourage other followers, usually from the same school, to join in, triggering group cyberbullying.

While cyberbullying seems at first glance different from in-person bullying, [WNJ1]  experts see similarities.

“It’s the same sort of behavior,” says Bridget K. Biggs, Ph.D., L.P., a psychologist at Mayo Clinic. “Verbal aggression like name-calling, relational aggression like spreading rumors and trying to cut people out of relationships, and threatening or physical aggression — the effects are about the same, broadly speaking: lower mood, reduced self-esteem and anxiety, particularly social anxiety.”

Dr. Biggs underscores one key difference: unlike in-person bullying — unless it is caught on school security cameras — cyberbullying can be proved.

“Cyberbullying leaves a trail of indelible evidence, with the exception of disappearing message capabilities unless one can take a screenshot fast enough. But if a peer sends an unflattering or sexualized video or photo, that’s out in cyberspace forever. So there are positives and negatives to this permanence.”

What is the percentage of cyberbullying?

“The good news is that bullying overall, including cyberbullying, tends to decline after its prevalence peaks in mid-adolescence,” affirms Dr Biggs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that cyberbullying is experienced by the highest percentage of kids in middle schools (33%) followed by high schools (30%) and primary schools (5%).

Among high school students in the U.S., 1 in 6 has been cyberbullied, compared with 1 in 5 who has been bullied in person. Furthermore, for children who identify as LGBTQ+, the Cyberbullying Research Center reports that 31% experience cyberbullying versus 21% of heterosexual students.

It’s no wonder that when Google surveyed U.S. teachers in 2019, bullying and cyberbullying headlined as their No. 1 concern.

What is the difference between cyberbullying and bullying?

Cyberbullying Facts: There are several ways that cyberbullying differs from in-person bullying:

What are the effects of cyberbullying?

If you were ever bullied at school, you’ll remember how quickly you felt shut out of life and how going into school each day was fraught with fear or a feeling of torture. Targets of cyberbullying are affected in much the same way as those bullied in person and can develop some or all of the following symptoms:

As the extent or longevity of bullying increase, it’s possible for more extreme reactions to occur, including:

• Suicide attempts.

“With traditional face-to-face bullying,” says Dr. Biggs, “when you get home, you at least get a break from it. But if that social connection is also online, then you are still connected via cyberspace when you get home. Cyberspace therefore becomes just one more place to experience bullying.”

In a rare minority of cases, there have been tragic, high-profile stories of kids in the U.S. driven to suicide by cyberbullying. However, research on this subject by Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center is careful to underscore that suicide is always complex, with multifaceted drivers.

“There’s an increased risk for suicidality if a child is being bullied, yes,” Dr Biggs adds. “But note that of all the kids experiencing bullying, it’s a really small number who commit suicide. That’s important for parents to know.”

Why do people cyberbully?

As with in-person bullying, bullies court popularity and power and see bullying as a means to exert influence, control friendships, and dominate classrooms and playgrounds. In making others feel small, they feel bigger. There are often familial factors behind bullying and cyberbullying, and those can include witnessing verbal or physical aggression at home, which can lead to similar behavior socially or at school. With cyberbullying, if the bully has a high number of followers on social media, the validation of likes and shares for bullying behaviors can be intoxicating and signal a formula for popularity.

How to stop a child who is cyberbullying

• Explain what cyberbullying is , how it traumatizes others and its consequences.
• Set out what behaviors are unacceptable and explain that you will monitor behavior.
• Praise improved behaviors and set consequences, such as limiting gaming time, if your child cyberbullies again.
• Propose a meeting with administrators at your child’s school if behavior deteriorates.

Is cyberbullying illegal?

Strictly speaking, no. But if cyberbullying touches on laws around stalking, criminal online harassment or sexting that involves third-party possession or wider distribution of nude photos of minors, then authorities can be engaged. And if cyberbullying — as with in-person bullying — leads to a physical attack on the victim, then assault charges may become valid. Relative to state and federal law, schools can intervene when bullying of a student is taking place by another student or group of students, though according to Pew Research Center, only 34% of parents whose child is being cyberbullied report it to the child’s school.

How can parents prevent cyberbullying?

One can’t prevent cyberbullying. After all, it’s impossible to live screen-free in our world today. But Dr. Biggs does advocate parents helping their child divert focus toward building a healthy social circle.

“The effects of being bullied are mitigated when people have strong social support,” she explains. “Even one good-quality friendship can make a difference. If a child has this, then the child may feel able to say ‘That’s a chat group I don’t want to be part of.’ Parents can support their kids by encouraging the fostering of friendships and activities that are positive. You can even ask: ”Who do you want to surround yourself with?’ That’s a very positive coping strategy, surrounding yourself with good people.”

As well as encouraging positive friendships, parents can also help clarify context.

“With cyberbullying,” Dr Biggs says, “if children show you a message that upsets them, which the cyberbully is calling a joke, you might say something like, ‘Well I didn’t find that very funny — I suggest you shrug it off and don’t engage, because this person just wants to pull you in.’ “

Dr. Biggs, a mother of two herself, sees conversations about cyberbullying as just another part of teaching children about online safety.

“Start having conversations about safe behaviors online as soon as your kid begins using technology. That shouldn’t be one conversation; it should be ongoing. You need to talk about phishing, scamming, people who may say they’re somebody but they’re actually somebody else and what information is safe to provide. And you should warn that there are people who do mean things online who might also do mean things in person. If kids already have that awareness, then when it happens, they can think, ‘I remember, a safe adult told me about that and predicted that this is something that could happen.’ “

Overall, though, Dr Biggs advises a delicate balance of supervision and distance.

“Not helicopter parenting and not letting them fly the helicopter,” she says. “Kids are more likely to use the internet safely and positively when their parents pay attention to what they are doing, provide guidance and set limits around use — but also allow some choice, input and autonomous decision-making, all while keeping the lines of communication open between themselves and their kids. It seems that providing some education about the benefits and dangers of the internet — including the possibility of aggression occurring in digital platforms — is beneficial. As with other responsibilities, it makes sense to ease restrictions and allow greater autonomy and choice as kids get older and as they demonstrate their ability to use the resource responsibly.”

How kids can limit their exposure to cyberbullying

• Never respond unless a parent encourages you to assert a clear boundary and take a screenshot of your request — for example, “Please stop saying these things to me,” “I don’t want you to treat me this way” — so it can be used as evidence of online harassment, if needed.
• Take a screenshot of all hostilities to establish a record of evidence.
• Show a parent the messages or comments and talk it over.
• Block and report cyberbullies on social media if doing so won’t inflame an already difficult situation.
• If your parents agree, arrange a discrete meeting with a teacher.
• Use privacy settings to protect personal posts on social media from being accessed by strangers.
• Wait for at least 60 minutes before acting on an impulse to share sensitive photos, videos or information with a peer.
• Have designated digital-free time each day .

The future of cyberbullying

Because it is next to impossible to live in a device-free world while growing up nowadays, parents may fear that nothing can stop their child being cyberbullied. However, Dr. Biggs cites one effective peer-to-peer method that does work: upstanding.

“Upstanding is when witnesses speak up and communicate that aggression is not acceptable and that treating others with respect is socially desirable or ‘cool,’ ” Dr Biggs says. “That does reduce bullying.”

There are also small poignant ways parents can reduce bullying of any type though, as Dr Biggs concludes:

“I heard of a parent responding to news that her child had been bullying another child on the bus. She told her son that she had heard that bullying had been happening — without indicating that she knew who was doing it — and asked him to look out for the child, as she knew that child to be a kind and responsible person. The bullying stopped.”

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• The Regulatory Review In Depth

Cyberbullying and the Limits of Free Speech

Jamison chung , aaron kaufman , and brianna rauenzahn.

Schools and policymakers confront balancing the protection of cyberbullying victims with free speech.

Bullying poses a pervasive threat to students in primary and secondary schools. This aggressive behavior , which involves a power imbalance between the bully and the victim, can have serious mental, social, and physical health consequences. For example, victims of bullying are at a higher risk of developing anxiety and depression. In severe cases, bullying is even associated with suicidal ideation in victims. Victims of cyberbullying in particular have a higher likelihood of self-harm.

Cyberbullying is bullying through the use of digital devices such as computers and smartphones. Unlike other forms of bullying, the online nature of cyberbullying permits attacks at any time, creates a permanent online record that can impact victims for years, and can be difficult for parents and schools to notice . As internet-based communication continues to rise, the prevalence of cyberbullying is expected to increase .

Currently, no federal laws directly address bullying of any kind. State laws, however, protect individuals against bullying in all 50 states, many of which specifically grapple with the issue of cyberbullying. Despite the existence of state laws, the National Center for Education Statistics reported an increase in cyberbullying in recent years. Cyberbullying often takes place off school grounds and is typically limited to speech, which is more difficult for schools to regulate effectively.

This week’s Saturday Seminar focuses on the challenges associated with legal strategies to address cyberbullying in primary and secondary schools.

• The development of the internet brought massive technological advancements but upset the delicate balance between freedom of speech and freedom from harm, Qasim Rashid writes in the Stetson Law Review . He traces the history of free speech in the United States and how U.S. Supreme Court decisions on hate speech and obscenity restrictions have shaped the current framework for cyberbullying legislation. He argues that physical proximity is an outdated method to assess the harms from free speech and proposes legislative modifications that would criminalize certain intentional online statements “that result in foreseeable proximate harm.” He suggests that these changes could help bridge the gap between America’s “dangerously archaic” free speech model and the realities of the internet.
• Cyberbullying can create a serious threat to the health and safety of victims, Philip Lee of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law argues in an article in the Utah Law Review . In fact, cyberbullying is so dangerous that it justifies reduced First Amendment free speech protections to aid primary and secondary schools that seek to prevent it, Lee writes . Schools have some flexibility in regulating speech on school grounds, but Lee notes that cyberbullies can target their classmates off school property with increasing ease. To regulate cyberbullying more effectively without giving schools unlimited power to limit students’ free speech, Lee advocates the use of a “foreseeability approach,” which allows schools to regulate speech “if it is reasonably foreseeable that the off-campus speech will reach campus.”
• Most state anti-bullying laws do not allow schools to address fully the complexities of cyberbullying, writes Emily Suski of the University of South Carolina School of Law in the Louisiana Law Review . Although bullying is associated with significant emotional and physical ramifications for victims, many state laws only give schools the power to suspend, expel, or exclude bullies from school, Suski observes . By analyzing cases from the Supreme Court that address student speech and the First Amendment, Suski concludes that the Court’s student speech jurisprudence highlights the inadequacies of current anti-bullying laws but also provides a framework that offers schools more freedom to suppress bullying in the form of speech.
• In an article published in the Akron Law Review , University of Illinois College of Media’s Benjamin Holden notes that courts are split over whether schools have authority to punish cyber-speech, even when it causes a disruption to the learning environment. In addition, the constitutional right to anonymity makes it difficult for minor victims of online bullying to seek legal redress outside of the school system, he explains . Holden proposes a new legal test for revealing the identity of cyberbullies who target minors with “school-related harassment.” If the victim can show that anonymous cyberbullies could be disciplined under applicable law if their identities were known, Holden argues that a court should be able to force an internet service provider to reveal the bullies’ identities.
• In an essay published in the Cornell Law Review , Northeastern University School of Law’s Ari Ezra Waldman concludes that anti-bullying laws alone cannot significantly reduce “bullying, cyberbullying, and suicidal thoughts among” LGBTQ teenagers. He finds that state laws that ban discrimination and promote LGBTQ inclusion more effectively reduce LGBTQ bullying in schools more than anti-bullying laws. Waldman suggests that existing anti-bullying laws are only “one part of a larger socio-legal approach to combating bullying in schools and online.” To reduce bullying, he recommends implementing state laws that protect the equality of LGBTQ individuals.
• Pervasive internet access and the rise of social media use among schoolchildren have led to an increase in suicides attributed to cyberbullying, according to Ronen Perry of the University of Haifa in a forthcoming UC Irvine Law Review article . He analyzes how school administrators are limited in their ability to regulate students’ online conduct both on and off campus by constitutional constraints and federal legislation such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act . He proposes that increasing civil liability for education supervisors, when paired with technological advancements that allow supervisors to collect and analyze digital information, is an underused regulatory tool that could help address the cyberbullying epidemic in schools and help reduce teen suicide.

The Saturday Seminar is a weekly feature that aims to put into written form the kind of content that would be conveyed in a live seminar involving regulatory experts. Each week,  The Regulatory Review  publishes a brief overview of a selected regulatory topic and then distills recent research and scholarly writing on that topic.

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Regulating artificial intelligence disinformation could test the First Amendment’s limits.

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Scholar suggests that public school students have a right to receive critical race theory education.

The Limits of Deplatforming

Scholars warn of the potential difficulties of using deplatforming to curb disinformation online.

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Cyberbullying: Everything You Need to Know

• Cyberbullying
• How to Respond

Cyberbullying is the act of intentionally and consistently mistreating or harassing someone through the use of electronic devices or other forms of electronic communication (like social media platforms).

Because cyberbullying mainly affects children and adolescents, many brush it off as a part of growing up. However, cyberbullying can have dire mental and emotional consequences if left unaddressed.

This article discusses cyberbullying, its adverse effects, and what can be done about it.

FangXiaNuo / Getty Images

Cyberbullying Statistics and State Laws

The rise of digital communication methods has paved the way for a new type of bullying to form, one that takes place outside of the schoolyard. Cyberbullying follows kids home, making it much more difficult to ignore or cope.

Statistics 

As many as 15% of young people between 12 and 18 have been cyberbullied at some point. However, over 25% of children between 13 and 15 were cyberbullied in one year alone.

About 6.2% of people admitted that they’ve engaged in cyberbullying at some point in the last year. The age at which a person is most likely to cyberbully one of their peers is 13.

Those subject to online bullying are twice as likely to self-harm or attempt suicide . The percentage is much higher in young people who identify as LGBTQ, at 56%.

Cyberbullying by Sex and Sexual Orientation

Cyberbullying statistics differ among various groups, including:

• Girls and boys reported similar numbers when asked if they have been cyberbullied, at 23.7% and 21.9%, respectively.
• LGBTQ adolescents report cyberbullying at higher rates, at 31.7%. Up to 56% of young people who identify as LGBTQ have experienced cyberbullying.
• Transgender teens were the most likely to be cyberbullied, at a significantly high rate of 35.4%.

State Laws 

The laws surrounding cyberbullying vary from state to state. However, all 50 states have developed and implemented specific policies or laws to protect children from being cyberbullied in and out of the classroom.

The laws were put into place so that students who are being cyberbullied at school can have access to support systems, and those who are being cyberbullied at home have a way to report the incidents.

Legal policies or programs developed to help stop cyberbullying include:

• Bullying prevention programs
• Cyberbullying education courses for teachers
• Procedures designed to investigate instances of cyberbullying
• Support systems for children who have been subject to cyberbullying 

Are There Federal Laws Against Cyberbullying?

There are no federal laws or policies that protect people from cyberbullying. However, federal involvement may occur if the bullying overlaps with harassment. Federal law will get involved if the bullying concerns a person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, disability, or religion.

Examples of Cyberbullying 

There are several types of bullying that can occur online, and they all look different.

Harassment can include comments, text messages, or threatening emails designed to make the cyberbullied person feel scared, embarrassed, or ashamed of themselves.

Other forms of harassment include:

• Using group chats as a way to gang up on one person
• Making derogatory comments about a person based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, or other characteristics
• Posting mean or untrue things on social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, as a way to publicly hurt the person experiencing the cyberbullying  

Impersonation

A person may try to pretend to be the person they are cyberbullying to attempt to embarrass, shame, or hurt them publicly. Some examples of this include:

• Hacking into someone’s online profile and changing any part of it, whether it be a photo or their "About Me" portion, to something that is either harmful or inappropriate
• Catfishing, which is when a person creates a fake persona to trick someone into a relationship with them as a joke or for their own personal gain
• Making a fake profile using the screen name of their target to post inappropriate or rude remarks on other people’s pages

Other Examples

Not all forms of cyberbullying are the same, and cyberbullies use other tactics to ensure that their target feels as bad as possible. Some tactics include:

• Taking nude or otherwise degrading photos of a person without their consent
• Sharing or posting nude pictures with a wide audience to embarrass the person they are cyberbullying
• Sharing personal information about a person on a public website that could cause them to feel unsafe
• Physically bullying someone in school and getting someone else to record it so that it can be watched and passed around later
• Circulating rumors about a person

How to Know When a Joke Turns Into Cyberbullying

People may often try to downplay cyberbullying by saying it was just a joke. However, any incident that continues to make a person feel shame, hurt, or blatantly disrespected is not a joke and should be addressed. People who engage in cyberbullying tactics know that they’ve crossed these boundaries, from being playful to being harmful.

Effects and Consequences of Cyberbullying 

Research shows many negative effects of cyberbullying, some of which can lead to severe mental health issues. Cyberbullied people are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts, actions, or behaviors and engage in self-harm as those who are not.

Other negative health consequences of cyberbullying are:

• Stomach pain and digestive issues
• Sleep disturbances
• Difficulties with academics
• Violent behaviors
• High levels of stress
• Inability to feel safe
• Feelings of loneliness and isolation
• Feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness

If You’ve Been Cyberbullied 

Being on the receiving end of cyberbullying is hard to cope with. It can feel like you have nowhere to turn and no escape. However, some things can be done to help overcome cyberbullying experiences.

Advice for Preteens and Teenagers

The best thing you can do if you’re being cyberbullied is tell an adult you trust. It may be challenging to start the conversation because you may feel ashamed or embarrassed. However, if it is not addressed, it can get worse.

Other ways you can cope with cyberbullying include:

• Walk away : Walking away online involves ignoring the bullies, stepping back from your computer or phone, and finding something you enjoy doing to distract yourself from the bullying.
• Don’t retaliate : You may want to defend yourself at the time. But engaging with the bullies can make matters worse.
• Keep evidence : Save all copies of the cyberbullying, whether it be posts, texts, or emails, and keep them if the bullying escalates and you need to report them.
• Report : Social media sites take harassment seriously, and reporting them to site administrators may block the bully from using the site.
• Block : You can block your bully from contacting you on social media platforms and through text messages.

In some cases, therapy may be a good option to help cope with the aftermath of cyberbullying.

Advice for Parents

As a parent, watching your child experience cyberbullying can be difficult. To help in the right ways, you can:

• Offer support and comfort : Listening to your child explain what's happening can be helpful. If you've experienced bullying as a child, sharing that experience may provide some perspective on how it can be overcome and that the feelings don't last forever.
• Make sure they know they are not at fault : Whatever the bully uses to target your child can make them feel like something is wrong with them. Offer praise to your child for speaking up and reassure them that it's not their fault.
• Contact the school : Schools have policies to protect children from bullying, but to help, you have to inform school officials.
• Keep records : Ask your child for all the records of the bullying and keep a copy for yourself. This evidence will be helpful to have if the bullying escalates and further action needs to be taken.
• Try to get them help : In many cases, cyberbullying can lead to mental stress and sometimes mental health disorders. Getting your child a therapist gives them a safe place to work through their experience.

In the Workplace 

Although cyberbullying more often affects children and adolescents, it can also happen to adults in the workplace. If you are dealing with cyberbullying at your workplace, you can:

• Let your bully know how what they said affected you and that you expect it to stop.
• Keep copies of any harassment that goes on in the workplace.
• Report your cyberbully to your human resources (HR) department.
• Report your cyberbully to law enforcement if you are being threatened.
• Close off all personal communication pathways with your cyberbully.
• Maintain a professional attitude at work regardless of what is being said or done.
• Seek out support through friends, family, or professional help.

Effective Action Against Cyberbullying

If cyberbullying continues, actions will have to be taken to get it to stop, such as:

• Talking to a school official : Talking to someone at school may be difficult, but once you do, you may be grateful that you have some support. Schools have policies to address cyberbullying.
• Confide in parents or trusted friends : Discuss your experience with your parents or others you trust. Having support on your side will make you feel less alone.
• Report it on social media : Social media sites have strict rules on the types of interactions and content sharing allowed. Report your aggressor to the site to get them banned and eliminate their ability to contact you.
• Block the bully : Phones, computers, and social media platforms contain options to block correspondence from others. Use these blocking tools to help free yourself from cyberbullying.

Help Is Available

If you or someone you know are having suicidal thoughts, dial  988  to contact the  988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline  and connect with a trained counselor. To find mental health resources in your area, contact the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline  at  800-662-4357  for information.

Cyberbullying occurs over electronic communication methods like cell phones, computers, social media, and other online platforms. While anyone can be subject to cyberbullying, it is most likely to occur between the ages of 12 and 18.

Cyberbullying can be severe and lead to serious health issues, such as new or worsened mental health disorders, sleep issues, or thoughts of suicide or self-harm. There are laws to prevent cyberbullying, so it's essential to report it when it happens. Coping strategies include stepping away from electronics, blocking bullies, and getting.

Alhajji M, Bass S, Dai T. Cyberbullying, mental health, and violence in adolescents and associations with sex and race: data from the 2015 youth risk behavior survey . Glob Pediatr Health. 2019;6:2333794X19868887. doi:10.1177/2333794X19868887

Cyberbullying Research Center. Cyberbullying in 2021 by age, gender, sexual orientation, and race .

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: StopBullying.gov. Facts about bullying .

John A, Glendenning AC, Marchant A, et al. Self-harm, suicidal behaviours, and cyberbullying in children and young people: systematic review .  J Med Internet Res . 2018;20(4):e129. doi:10.2196/jmir.9044

Cyberbullying Research Center. Bullying, cyberbullying, and LGBTQ students .

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: StopBullying.gov. Laws, policies, and regulations .

Wolke D, Lee K, Guy A. Cyberbullying: a storm in a teacup? . Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017;26(8):899-908. doi:10.1007/s00787-017-0954-6

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: StopBullying.gov. Cyberbullying tactics .

Garett R, Lord LR, Young SD. Associations between social media and cyberbullying: a review of the literature . mHealth . 2016;2:46-46. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2016.12.01

Nemours Teens Health. Cyberbullying .

Nixon CL. Current perspectives: the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health . Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2014;5:143-58. doi:10.2147/AHMT.S36456

Nemours Kids Health. Cyberbullying (for parents) .

By Angelica Bottaro Bottaro has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and an Advanced Diploma in Journalism. She is based in Canada.

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Cyberbullying

Written by David L. Hudson Jr., published on August 12, 2023 , last updated on May 7, 2024

John Halligan shows the Web page devoted to his son, Ryan, at his home in Underhill, Vermont, Feb. 7, 2007. Ryan Patrick Halligan, bullied by classmates for months online, killed himself in 2003. States from Oregon to Rhode Island are considering crackdowns to curb or outlaw the behavior in which kids taunt or insult peers on social websites such as MySpace or via instant messages. However, cyberbullying presents First Amendment issues because the statutes often criminalize speech and some of the language in certain laws and regulations arguably is overly broad or vague.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Cyberbullying, sometimes called cyber-harassment, is bullying or harassing committed by electronic means.  

Cyberbullying has become a major issue in schools, as well as society at large, particularly after several high-profile incidents where kids who were bullied online committed suicide. The White House called a summit on the phenomenon in 2011. 

More than 30 states have cyberbullying laws and other states have laws that require public school districts to amend their anti-bullying policies to include cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying presents First Amendment issues because the statutes often criminalize speech and some of the language in certain laws and regulations arguably is overly broad or  vague .  

Courts have found some cyberbullying speech laws too broad

For example, the New York Court of Appeals invalidated Albany County’s cyberbullying law as overbroad  in  People v. Marquan M .  The defendant, a high school student, posted sexually explicit pictures of classmates on the  Internet .

Prosecutors charged him with violating Albany County’s law, which read:

“any act of communicating or causing a communication to be sent by mechanical or electronic means, including posting statements on the internet or through a computer or email network, disseminating embarrassing or sexually explicit photographs; disseminating private, personal, false or sexual information, or sending hate mail, with no legitimate private, personal, or public purpose, with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten, abuse, taunt, intimidate, torment, humiliate, or otherwise inflict significant emotional harm on another person.”

The New York Court of Appeals reasoned that the law was too broad, because it “embraces a wide array of applications that prohibit types of protected speech far beyond the cyberbullying of children.” 

The North Carolina Supreme Court invalidated its state cyberbullying law in  State v. Bishop  (2016) .   This case also involved a high school student who posted negative comments about a classmate under a sexually explicit photo.  The state law prohibited the use of a computer to “post or encourage others to post on the internet private, personal or sexual information pertaining to minors” with the intent to  intimidate or torment a minor .

The state high court explained that the law failed to require that the subject of an online post suffer injury from the online tormenting and, thus, the law “sweeps far beyond the state’s legitimate interest in protecting the psychological health of minors.” The state court also noted the failure of the state legislature to define the key terms “intimidate” or “torment.”  Thus, the law could be applied to merely annoying speech protected by the First Amendment.

A related First Amendment cyberbullying issue involves school officials attempting to punish students for their cyberbullying speech that takes place entirely off-campus. Many state laws targeting cyberbullying apply whether or not the speech takes place on-campus or off-campus. In this photo, Sarah Ball, a victim of cyberbullying during her high school years, sits for a portrait at her home, Oct. 23, 2013, in Spring Hill, Florida. Ball, now a student at a nearby community college, maintains a Facebook site called “Hernando Unbreakable,” an anti-bullying page and mentors local kids identified by the schools as victims of cyberbullying. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Some laws regulate student online speech done off-campus

A related issue involves school officials attempting to  punish students  for their cyberbullying speech that takes place entirely off-campus.  Many state laws targeting cyberbullying apply whether or not the speech takes place on-campus or off-campus. 

However, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a couple of decisions that school officials lack the authority to discipline students purely for off-campus, online speech.  In one of those decisions,  Layshock v. Hermitage School District  (3 rd  Cir. 2011) , the Third Circuit wrote that “it would be a dangerous and unseemly precedent to allow the state, in the guise of school authorities, to reach into a child’s home and control his/her actions there to the same extent that it can control that child when he/she participates in school sponsored activities.”

However, most other circuits apply the familiar “ substantial disruption ” standard from  Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District  (1969) .   Most courts have applied the Tinker’s reasonable forecast of substantial disruption standard even to off-campus, online speech so long as there is a reasonable connection or nexus to school activities. 

There is another part of the Tinker test that is often forgotten.  In  Tinker , the Court intimated that school officials could punish students if their speech invaded the rights of other students.  Cyberbullying expert James C. Hanks explains in his book  School Bullying: How Long Is the Arm of the Law  that this part of the  Tinker  case could provide the legal justification for cyberbullying laws.

David L. Hudson, Jr . is a law professor at Belmont who publishes widely on First Amendment topics.  He is the author of a 12-lecture audio course on the First Amendment entitled  Freedom of Speech: Understanding the First Amendment  (Now You Know Media, 2018).  He also is the author of many First Amendment books, including  The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech  (Thomson Reuters, 2012) and  Freedom of Speech: Documents Decoded  (ABC-CLIO, 2017). This article was originally published in 2009.

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How To Write An Impactful Speech On Bullying (Sample Speech Included)

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• Speech Writing

If you attended an educational institution, chances are that you are familiar with the word ‘bullying’. Even if you were not the one bullied, maybe you witnessed someone else being bullied. Or maybe you’ve simply heard the term mentioned by your teachers or other people in authority during an anti-bullying campaign or a speech of some sort.

Whatever the context, most people are familiar with the term bullying and what it entails. And yet, statistics are proof that simply possessing the knowledge that bullying is real does not necessarily mean that people will–or are–doing anything about it.

One out of five students has reported being bullied. 70% of school staff have seen bullying. The number of anti-bullying campaigns might be on the rise, yes, but as you can see, the number of students being bullied remains just as abhorrently high.

If you’re going to be delivering a speech against bullying, then it’s important for you to know these statistics. It’s only when you realize this that you will understand that simply giving a speech against bullying is not enough.

Instead, you must strive to deliver your speech in such a manner that it actually impacts other people & results in tangible changes.

Sounds tough, I know. But it’s not as difficult as it sounds.

By keeping in mind a few things like keeping your audience & occasion in mind, incorporating stories & videos, varying your speech pattern, and having a powerful opening as well as closing, you can deliver an impactful speech on bullying.

Tips For Delivering A Speech On Bullying

1. Keep The Occasion & Audience In Mind

What is the occasion? Are you delivering your speech for a school assembly, or is it for a professional campaign? Is your audience going to be comprised of bullies/bullying victims, or are they simply ordinary individuals wanting to know more about bullying?

The answer to these questions is going to alter how you should go about structuring your speech. For example, if you’re delivering your speech to school-going children, then you’re going to have to alter your speech to fit their understanding level.

2. Make It A Perfomance, Not Just A Speech

A speech connotates something that revolves around the words and the act of speaking. However, a performance is so much more than a speech: think of it as speech leveled up by multiple levels.

A performance includes speech, yes, but it also includes other important things like your voice modulation, expressions, gestures, body language, emotions, and storytelling, to name a new. A performance is a wholesome experience.

By providing your audience a wholesome experience instead of simply delivering a speech–something that they’ve probably heard multiple times before–you increase the chances that they will actually take an action to do something about it.

Our article, A Guide To Making Your Speech Interesting , has more tips on how to make your speech intriguing to the audience.

3. Tell Stories

Storytelling is an absolute must for any speech. It becomes even more important to include stories when you’re talking about something as sensitive as bullying. By telling stories, you make your speech–and the experience of bullying–more real to your audience.

You make your audience empathize with you as well as your topic. You make them realize that the victims and survivors of bullying are not some nameless humans that the audience doesn’t care about. You make the bullying survivors–and the bullies themselves– real .

You make them relate an abstract concept to real life, and to see things that are probably happening around them, but they’d never seen before.

4. Use Props

Props are another element that you must definitely incorporate in any speech or presentation. Props, like stories, can make your topic more tangible and easy to understand for the audience. They can also add a touch of uniqueness to your speech, and make it more memorable for the people attending.

However, before choosing your prop, you must ensure that it is relevant to the topic. Don’t just add a prop to your speech for the sake of adding it.

5. Change Your Speech Pattern

It’s not just the content of your speech that matters. The way you deliver your speech plays just as internal of a role in the impact you’ll make on your audience as the actual speech itself. Speech pattern is key to making an emotional impact on your audience’s mind.

You don’t want to sound like a robot while delivering your speech. Instead, mix up your speech pattern. If you’re going to be delivering an impactful quote, pause for a moment. If you’re reaching a serious point in your story, slow down your cadence. Vary your speech pattern.

6. Show Videos

Videos are an excellent way to make a connection with the audience. Videos will allow you to tell your story without resorting to just words. Videos can capture your audience’s attention & enhances your narrative to another level.

You can include short videos that you can easily find online. Alternatively, if you want to take up the creativity another notch, you can customize a video on your own & include it in your speech.

7. Have A Dynamic Opening & End

The way you open your speech–and how you close it–play a key role in determining the kind of impact you will make on your audience’s mind.

If your opening isn’t interesting enough, then you’ll end up losing your audience’s attention even before you have it. Alternatively, if your speech ending isn’t impactful enough, then your audience will probably forget about it the moment they leave–which is definitely something that no speaker wants.

For some inspiration on how to close your speech, check out our article on 10 Of The Best Things To Say In Closing Remarks.

5 Ways To Open Your Speech on Bullying

1. Make Them Imagine

Imagination is one of the strongest tools in your arsenal as a public speaker. By channeling the power of imagination right in the beginning of your speech, you can make your audience form a personal connection with the topic right off the bat.

By making your audience imagine being in a scenario related to bullying, you can make them empathize with your topic better. This is key if you wish for them to take actual steps to stop bullying.

For example: Imagine if we lived in a world that was actually free…

2. Ask Them A Rhethorical Question

Questions are an excellent way to get your audience thinking. Questions can act as a cognitive ‘wake-up’ for your audience & get their thoughts flowing. By asking your audience a question right in the beginning, you prime them for the rest of your speech.

So, pose a question to your audience at the beginning of your speech. Rhetorical questions are great speech openers. Because, unlike a regular question that most likely has a straightforward answer, rhetorical questions make your audience think more deeply.

For example: If you met someone who’d bullied you 15 years ago in high-school, what would you do?

3. Tell A Personal Story

Another great way to begin your speech is by telling them a personal story. Stories–especially if they’re personal–can make the audience form an instant connection with the speaker and the topic.

Have you been bullied in the past? Or did you witness someone get bullied–or stand up for themself in the most awesome way imaginable?

Now would be the time to include them.

For example: I was bullied for over three years during my…

4. Make A Bold Statement

Surprising your audience is a great way to begin your speech. By making a bold statement, you not only achieve this, but you also make your audience see you as a more confident & respectable figure. This increases the chances that they will perceive your speech in a positive light.

So, start off your speech with a bold statement.

For example : I wish bullies were treated the same as murderers.

5. Use Facts & Statistics

Statistics and facts are an age-old way to have a foolproof beginning. Statistics and facts can add shock value to your speech opening, and awaken your audience. They might also cause the audience to see your speech in a different light.

However, one thing to keep in mind while incorporating facts or statistics is to ensure that they’re not too complicated or include a lot of numbers. You want to keep your facts simple, and relevant to the topic at hand.

For example: 1 in 5 children reports being bullied during their high school…

For more ideas on how to open your speech, check out our article on 10 Of The Best Things To Say In Opening Remarks.

Sample Speech On Bullying

Bullying: It’s More Than Getting Punched

“Why don’t you just kill yourself?” This is the gift that arrived in my inbox on the morning of my fourteenth birthday. A fourteen year old girl–statements like these were a common part of my daily life. I’d listened to them every single day since I entered high-school. In fact, they were precisely the reason why I begged my parents to home school me in the first place. When I began my home-schooling journey, I did so with a lot of hope. Hope that I would finally be able to get away from the words that had been hurled at me every single day for the last two years. And yet, here we were. Not even a week had passed since I left the concrete halls of my high-school for the comfort and safety of my home, and yet as it turned out, home wasn’t safe either. Nothing was. Not in this new, techonology-driven world where people don’t need to be standing in front of you to communicate with you–or bully you. Or threaten your life. A few quick thrusts on the keypad, a couple of clicks, and it’s done. When people think of bullying, they often picture giant, violent figures towering over tiny, sobbing ones. Or hordes of people screaming insults at cowering figures in the hallway. Or pushing them against walls and banging their heads against toilet seats. While the incidents I’ve described still happen–and too often–bullying is so much more than that. Bullying, in the modern world, is like a hydra monster from the Greek Myths: it doesn’t have one face but ten, and every time you shack off one head, another one pops up in its place. We all know what to do if we’re bullied–or see someone else get bullied. We’ve heard it before, or maybe seen in the pamphlets on bulletin boards or in videos shown in classrooms. But before we take steps to stop bullying, we need to first learn how to identify it. Because unless and until we can recognize bullying when it happens to us–or to someone else–how will it matter whether we know the ways to stop it or not? Bullying can come in many forms. Bullying can be whispered insults when you think no one else is listening. Bullying can be deliberately pulling someone down on their happiest day. Bullying can be starting rumors about someone. Bullying can be tiny actions with no consequences–not for you, at least. It can be little jokes made by your ‘friends’–or little ‘bits of advice to lose weight or gain weight.’ Bullying can happen on the internet, through a string of messages that you hurl behind the mask of anonimity. Bullying can happen in the workplace, or in your college. Bullying can take the shape of prejudice, in the form of stealing opportunties from someone. Bullying can even happen in your own houseold, in your own relationship–and not just romantic ones. Bullying is not just physical. It has more than one dimension. Bullying can be emotional, social, spiritual…and many more things. And yet it is only one aspect of bullying that we tackle, the only one that gets talked about. It is a common misconception. If you hold it, I don’t blame you. After all, even I–a victim myself–held for a long, long time. In fact, in the beginning I didn’t even realize that I was getting bullied at all. After all, nobody ever physically punched me. I was never shoved against the lockers or punched in the face. By conventional definitions of bullying, I was never bullied. And I’m not the only one–a study showed that 64 % of bullying victoms never speak up about their bullying. It was only the day that the message arrived in my inbox that I realized that bullying can come in more than one shape or form. And most of them are forms that we’re not familiar with–at least, not yet. But we need to be. We need to recognize bullying–and we need to get better at doing it. Look at the people around you. You might not know it–they might not know it yet–but they may be getting bullied. And if you want to stop it, you must learn to see it first. They asked me why couldn’t I kill myself. I ask you: do you have the ability to recognize who they are?

To sum up, writing a speech on bullying is simple, and no different than any other speech. Keep in mind a few things like keeping your audience & occasion in mind, incorporating stories & videos, varying your speech pattern, and having a powerful opening as well as closing, and you can deliver an impactful speech on bullying.

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Free Speech and "Cyber-bullying"

In an earlier entry , I discussed some of the legislative challenges we faced in a series of online censorship bills introduced in Congress in 2007. So-called “cyber-bullying” is the most recent threat to online speech to come into the public vernacular. The term has become popularized following the much-publicized story of Megan Meier, a teen who committed suicide after reading abusive messages allegedly sent through MySpace by a classmate’s mother. The incident has become the latest rallying cry to regulate content on the Internet.

“Cyber-bullying” is a loaded term to be avoided by anyone interested in engaging in an objective look at online speech. Like past legislative attempts to justify online censorship, such as the “Deleting Online Predators Act” (DOPA) and the “Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act” (SAFE Act) , the term is intended to stack the deck against the First Amendment . Specifically, it is meant to imply the regulation of unlawful conduct, not the censorship of protected speech, under the guise of protecting our children.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As reprehensible as some online speech may be, the First Amendment protects the bad with the good. Many commentators vilified the ACLU for defending the right of Nazis to protest in Skokie, Illinois , a town with a Jewish population of over 40,000, including over 7,000 survivors of Nazi death camps. Indeed, the ACLU lost over 30,000 of its own members by taking that courageous stand.

Quoting Cohen v. California ,the Illinois Supreme Court explained why the Nazis had a right to protest and display an offensive symbol like the swastika in a predominately Jewish community:

We do not doubt that the sight of this symbol is abhorrent to the Jewish citizens of Skokie, and that the survivors of the Nazi persecutions, tormented by their recollections, may have strong feelings regarding its display. Yet it is entirely clear that this factor does not justify enjoining defendants’ speech…. we are often ‘captives’ outside the sanctuary of the home and subject to objectionable speech. The ability of government, consonant with the Constitution, to shut off discourse solely to protect others from hearing it is, in other words, dependent upon a showing that substantial privacy interests are being invaded in an essentially intolerable manner. Any broader view of this authority would effectively empower a majority to silence dissidents simply as a matter of personal predilections.

Ashcroft v. ACLU , which struck down the “Child Online Protection Act,” and Reno v. ACLU both tell us that online speech is entitled to similar protection. The First Amendment does not permit targeting speech merely because it is offensive, reprehensible, or even hurtful to the unsuspecting listener.

Instead, censoring online speech is impermissible under the First Amendment, unless it falls into one of a few narrow exceptions or amounts to unprotected conduct. Recent news reports indicate that law enforcement has concluded that the mother’s alleged speech in the MySpace case did not cross either line. Laws on the books that criminalize intentionally harmful behavior and conduct are sufficient to address “cyber-bullying” to the extent that online activities do not encompass protected speech or other First Amendment rights.

The solution to offensive online speech is not to engage in the knee-jerk reaction of saying it should be banned. Rather, like any product available in a marketplace, it highlights the need for greater consumer awareness. Caveat emptor applies to the Internet’s marketplace of ideas. Parents, not the government, are best positioned to police the websites and content that their children access. Efforts to inform parents and their children about what is available online should be encouraged. Ultimately, the only way for the Internet to remain a true marketplace of ideas for the 21st Century is to continue to promote the free exchange of information and speech, with the understanding that online speech can be as beneficial or as hurtful as speech occurring offline.

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• Cyberbullying

Prevent Cyberbullying

Be Aware of What Your Kids are Doing Online

A child may be involved in cyberbullying in several ways. A child can be bullied, bully others, or witness bullying . Parents, teachers, and other adults may not be aware of all the digital media  and apps that a child is using. The more digital platforms that a child uses, the more opportunities there are for being exposed to potential cyberbullying.

Warning Signs a Child is Being Cyberbullied or is Cyberbullying Others

Many of the warning signs that cyberbullying is occurring happen around a child’s use of their device. Some of the warning signs that a child may be involved in cyberbullying are:

• Noticeable increases or decreases in device use, including texting.
• A child exhibits emotional responses (laughter, anger, upset) to what is happening on their device.
• A child hides their screen or device when others are near, and avoids discussion about what they are doing on their device.
• Social media accounts are shut down or new ones appear.
• A child starts to avoid social situations, even those that were enjoyed in the past.
• A child becomes withdrawn or depressed, or loses interest in people and activities.

What to Do When Cyberbullying Happens

If you notice warning signs that a child may be involved in cyberbullying , take steps to investigate that child’s digital behavior. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying , and adults should take the same approach to address it: support the child being bullied, address the bullying behavior of a participant, and show children that cyberbullying is taken seriously. Because cyberbullying happens online, responding to it requires different approaches. If you think that a child is involved in cyberbullying, there are several things you can do:

• Notice – Recognize if there has been a change in mood or behavior and explore what the cause might be. Try to determine if these changes happen around a child’s use of their digital devices.
• Talk – Ask questions to learn what is happening, how it started, and who is involved.
• Document – Keep a record of what is happening and where. Take screenshots of harmful posts or content if possible. Most laws and policies note that bullying is a repeated behavior, so records help to document it.
• Report – Most social media platforms and schools have clear policies and reporting processes. If a classmate is cyberbullying, report it the school. You can also contact app or social media platforms to report offensive content and have it removed. If a child has received physical threats, or if a potential crime or illegal behavior is occurring, report it to the police.
• Support – Peers, mentors, and trusted adults can sometimes intervene publicly to positively influence a situation where negative or hurtful content posts about a child. Public Intervention can include posting positive comments about the person targeted with bullying to try to shift the conversation in a positive direction. It can also help to reach out to the child who is bullying and the target of the bullying to express your concern. If possible, try to determine if more professional support is needed for those involved, such as speaking with a guidance counselor or mental health professional. 

How to Prevent Cyberbullying

This guide helps parents, caregivers, and youth learn ways to identify, prevent, and address cyberbullying.

78 Cyber Bullying Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best cyber bullying topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 interesting topics to write about cyber bullying, 👍 good essay topics on cyber bullying, ❓ questions about cyberbullying research.

• Cyber Bullying Issue Therefore, the goal of this paper is to analyse who the victims of cyber bullying are and the influence it has on them.
• Is Cyber Bullying Against Teenagers More Detrimental Than Face-To-Face Bullying? Social networking has also contributed greatly to the issue of cyber bullying especially in making it more harmful as compared to face-to-face bullying.
• Cyber Bullying Prevention in Learning Institutions: Systematic Approach To start with, the students are provided with ways of reporting their concern to the educational institution, and when the staff members of the institution receive the report, they evaluate the information together with the […]
• The Effects of Cyber-Bullying and Cyber-Stalking on the Society In particular, one should focus on such issues as the disrespect for a person’s autonomy, the growing intensity of domestic violence and deteriorating mental health in the country.
• Cyber Bullying as a Virtual Menace The use of information and communication technologies to support a deliberate and most of the time repeated hostile behavior by an individual or groups of people with the sole intention of harming others, one is […]
• Cyber Bullying Reduction Program Table of Activities Activity Significance Assembling parents/guardians, students and teachers to announce and explain the program in the institution To enlighten parents/guardians, students and teachers about the rules and regulation enacted due to the threat […]
• Discouraging and Eliminating Cyber Bullying Resources Role of the resource/input Statement forms To facilitate information transfer to the staff Counseling Personnel To arm students against the problem Bullying report system To create efficient internet enhance report system Regulation implementation documents […]
• Cyber Bullying and Its Forms The difference between the conventional way of bullying and cyber bullying is that in conventional bullying, there is contact between the bully and the victim.
• Ethics in Technology: Cyber Crimes Furthermore, the defendant altered the data, which compromised the integrity of the information to the detriment of the organizations involved. In this litigation, Aleksey Vladimirovich Ivanov was the defendant while the American government was the […]
• Ethical Case: Facebook Gossip or Cyberbullying? The best option to Paige is to apologize publicly and withdraw her comments. The final stage is to act and reflect the outcome of the choice made.
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• How Often Do Celebrities Suffer From Cyberbullying?
• What Are the Characteristics of Cyberbullying Among Students?
• How Does Social Integration of Children Help to Combat Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Correlation Between Suicide Rates and Cyberbullying?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Society?
• What Is the Correlation Between Depression, Bullying and Cyberbullying?
• Are There Gender Differences in Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Criminal Penalty for Cyberbullying?
• What International Associations Prevent Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Role of Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Cyberbullying?
• What Are the Solutions to Cyberbullying?
• Can Cyberbullying Be Called Cyber Crime?
• What Is the Role of Teachers in Preventing Cyberbullying?
• Can Internet Privacy Be Enough to Prevent Cyberbullying?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Children?
• How Many American Teenagers Are Cyberbullied?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Mental Health?
• How Is Cyberbullying Different From Physical Bullying?
• Is Cyberbullying an Example of Psychological Abuse?
• Can School Policies Reduce Cyberbullying?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Teenagers’ Self-Esteem?
• What Are the Consequences of Cyberbullying?
• Has the Proliferation of Social Media Led to an Increase in Cyberbullying?
• Is Cyberbullying Less Criminal Than Traditional Bullying?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Speech About Cyber Bullying

Did you know that 43% of students have been bullied online and 1 out of 4 of these students have been a victim more than once? This is why today I am here to tell you why cyber bullying is such a serious issue. Cyber bullying is when someone is being bullied online and Good morning fellow peers, I am Ben Dixon from Ignatius Park College and I am going to be telling you what the effects of cyber bullying . Firstly, I’m going to talk to you about is the number of schools that support the no tolerance of cyber bullying. Schools all around the world support the no tolerance of cyber bullying for example even Ignatius park college supports this. You can understand why so many schools support this because everyone knows how bad people feel because of this and no kid should have to do this. People feel so bad because they spend all their time being bullied and the only time that they aren’t being bullied is when they aren’t at school. They then can’t stop thinking about why they are being bullied and this causes depression. So many schools support this rule because they know that it is not right to go through this as a child. So that schools are aware that their school doesn’t accept cyber bullying. They normally hold some sort of meeting so that all students understand that they shouldn’t be doing this. Every year there are at least 70% of students who report seeing cyber bullying frequently. A couple of months ago there was a massive dispute about a young girl called Dolly Parsons

Effects Of Technology In Fahrenheit 451

According to DoSomething.org. , “About 37% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online. 30% have had it happen more than once.” Modern day technology has been proven to ruin reputations, relationships, and above all, lives as a

Bullying Dbq

The law regarding schools’ ability to punish students for disrupting the learning environments in schools needs to be strengthened. Schools in this day and age have been facing a more and more frequent problem of having to deal with harassment and bullying online for while the internet does not increase the amount of bullying it does provide a medium to do so that our legal system is not fully prepared to handle. The internet gives students the ability to put out opinions that can very easily make it to a wide audience and indirectly impact the learning environment regardless if there are at school or not. Teachers have even become targets of their own students harassment and it is uncertain whether it is the school 's responsibility to deal with it or not.

Harlan Coben's Laws Against Cyberbullying

Cyber bullying can end a child as easily as adults can destroy a child hood. Why would we allow this if we know we, the children, are our future. If we want to succeed in the world we should help our fellow humans to make it so we can be just as great. We do not need to bring each other down just to feel

Cyberbullying Dbq

Cyberbullying is a huge problem in the United States, that happens everyday. Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. It affects many people in a negative way and it has to be controlled. In order to do this, schools should be allowed to limit students’ online speech because it affects people's lives and distracts everyone in a school environment. Bullying others through a screen can affect people’s lives mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Essay On Social Media Is Bad

a little girl was bullied and she never confessed that it was happening till 13 years later ( Atlantic Monthly Group).cyberbullying happens all the time because people are very judgmental and it is really easy to send a text message to somebody and it hurts theme because people are saying what they don't like about them.cyberbullying gets wors and wors every day and we can't help it .college students spied on the one student and saw something and told everyone and then he got bullied online( All Rights Reserved. NOBULLYING.COM).cyber bullying got worse every year and we can't help it because the technology becomes more advanced every day and it becomes easier to get. cyberbullying is permanent and cannot be erased.

Cyberbullying In The United States

Questions and Answers Project 2 If people have continued to commit suicide over cyberbullying, why hasn’t it been considered a crime? Cyberbullying is the most overrated way of harassing and bullying in society that has affected every age whether it’s in school or work. My question is, why hasn’t there been a law pass to make cyberbullying a crime. It is a question that I am eager to discover and understand the reasons of why it has not been considered a serious crime in today’s society.

Psychological Effects Of Bullying

Negative Psychological Effects of Homework: How It Affects High School Students Health Introduction Bullying has been problematic for many years and has taken various forms throughout the course of time. The most common form of bullying previously included verbal and physical actions in sometimes violent ways. Now, however, with the internet having been introduced in more recent years, a new form of bullying has emerged known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is “...bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets“ (7). The consequences that come with these actions are severe and are being fought against yet these efforts aren’t enough to stop this issue from growing.

Dbq Cyber Bullying Research Paper

Teachers should care enough, and be allowed to, check students online profiles to make sure no one is being bullied. The more that is put into stopping cyber bullying the less it will

Cyberbullying And Suicide Essay

Why isn’t there enough being done about this issue? Although cyber-bullying is hurting someone without physical contact, in reality it can hurt even more than physical abuse. Behind the screens are real people with actual feelings; some have been driven to depression, some have been driven to attempting or even committing suicide. Cyberbullying is when individuals assault other individuals on the Internet through social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so forth. The vast majority of teenagers were somehow tortured, harassed or even threatened on the web.

A Persuasive Essay On Bullying In Schools

Bullying in Schools What seems fun and harmless for some students, is painful and degrading to others. Bullying has been a critical issue around schools, but before it was not as dangerous and know as it is now. These do not means bullying was not happening, it means it was not taken into consideration by parents or teachers. They thought it was just peer pressure or a kids game, and sooner or later the kids would be friends again. At one point, bullies think it’s normal to be mean and abusive to other students.

Persuasive Speech On Cyberbullying

Cyber Bullying has become an increasing problem in our society that threatens physical and emotional harm to ever greater numbers of young people. The sad fact is, some youths are so deeply affected by the negative influence of bullying that they have taken their own lives. Although suicides represent a rare and extreme reaction to bullying, it is a real issue that our children are facing today. Cyberbullying is often a factor in young people becoming depressed and having low self-esteem. Cyberbullying has been an issue, in the United States as well as everywhere throughout the world.

Synthesis Essay On Cyber Bullying

Imagine an unpopular student, getting bullied and picked on at school. Going home after a long day feels like a blessing for that child. However, upon turning on their phone, they realize it has been bombarded with cruel messages and images. The constant messages are having a harmful effect on the student’s well-being, and they are trapped in a never-ending loop of bullying. Some argue cyberbullying is not a ‘real’ problem, however, cyberbullying is a significant issue that needs to be prevented because it commonly affects youth, it leads to physical injuries, and it causes psychological harm.

Stop Bullying Persuasive Speech

Why should we stop bullying? “I would rather be a little nobody, than to be an evil somebody.” ― Abraham Lincoln (GoodReads, n.d.). Bullying is a major problem that we haven’t been able to stop, bullying has been exceeding every year, and it is the time to make it stop!

Persuasive Essay On How To Prevent Bullying

Not many victims does this for fear of retaliation; nonetheless some victims are brave enough to fight back. The effects of bullying will affect the victim’s future as they grow up to become adults. If this issue continues, he/she has a right to report the incident or fight back their bullies. All forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying, are considered intolerable and criminal at school. Bullying occurs when the bully fights or insults the victims to the point of fighting back or seeking help from someone trustworthy to prevent their issue of being bullied.

Cyberbullying Informative Speech

It might be a small thing but it can destroy someone’s life. Do you know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about cyberbullying. Statistics shows that over 80% of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most popular form of technology and a common medium of cyberbullying. Statistics also shows that both boys and girls are likely to be cyberbullies or the victims and it affects all races.

More about Speech About Cyber Bullying

Related topics.

• Cyber-bullying
• Victimisation

What Educators Need to know about Social Media, Online Bullying, and Hate Speech in Schools

• September 29, 2020

The Internet has revolutionized much of modern life, especially when it comes to education. There are benefits when students can learn and socialize in online spaces, but it comes with a dark side.

Nearly three out of five U.S. teens say they have been harassed or bullied online. And most youth say adults aren’t doing enough to stop it.[1] Hate speech has flourished online, with racist, sexist, homophobic, and other speech sometimes leading to real-world violence or harm.

When bullying or hate speech happens in person, on school grounds, taking disciplinary actions for the aggressors and knowing how to aid the victims can be obvious. when that harassment is online, taking the right actions feels murkier. October is Bullying Prevention Month , so here are some things to know about online bullying and hate speech.

What Is Online Bullying, and How Widespread Is It?

Online bullying, or cyberbullying, has many of the same characteristics as other types of bullying in schools, but it takes place over cell phones or the Internet. It can be channeled through social media posts, while gaming, through direct messages, and much more.[2]

Cyberbullying statistics show that 59% of teens have reported being the target of cyber bullying, with name-calling, spreading rumors, and receiving explicit images they didn’t ask for as some of the most prevalent abusive behaviors.[1]

Cyberbullying has unique characteristics that make it especially troubling. While real-world bullying at least has physical boundaries, cyberbullies can stalk students wherever they go, whether at home or at school. Because many students have 24/7 access to a smartphone, online bullies can follow them around, giving no sense of relief. The victim can’t just walk away. It also is more permanent and pervasive—posts or messages can spread like wildfire and remain online indefinitely. Cyberbullying is also easier to hide from teachers or parents, who aren’t privy to the online communications students share.[2]

While cyberbullying can happen outside the school grounds, it can also take place and affect children when they’re in school. Of students who said they were bullied at school during the school year, 15% were bullied online or by text.[3]

Some common types of cyberbullying go beyond name-calling, though that is the most common kind, with 42% of teens saying they’ve been called names online. About a third of teens said someone has spread false rumors about them online, 21% report online stalking, and 16% say they’ve been the target of physical threats.[1]

When Online Speech Becomes Hate Speech

Most people who’ve been online have seen content that pushes the line of acceptable behavior or good taste but is protected in the United States by the First Amendment. Things get trickier when the content could be considered hate speech, and school professionals may need to take action.

What is hate speech? There’s not a concrete definition, but it can be any form of expression (online or off) intended to “vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or class of people.” Hate speech is like bullying in that it’s marked by aggressive behavior toward another. It’s different in that it specifically targets someone or a group of people for their characteristics.[10]

Bullying that centers on things like race, national origin, immigration status, sexuality or gender identity, and more could all be classified as hate speech. In the online world, that “speech” can extend beyond words and include memes or videos. Sometimes it’s difficult to nail down whether something is hate speech, especially when the poster will use dog whistles (a derogatory term with enough plausible deniability) or innocuous language in their messages.[4]

Hate speech online has been linked to real-world acts of harm and violence. Researchers found that perpetrators of racist attacks like those in Charleston, South Carolina, or El Paso, Texas, and more have often been active in online spaces where hate speech and conspiracy theories flourish.[9] Social media, with sophisticated algorithms fine-tuned to capture the user’s attention, allows ideas to spread quickly.

Freedom of Speech in Schools, Hate Speech, and Bullying

In a 1969 case (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District), courts ruled that students do have the right of freedom of speech in schools unless that speech “materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of the appropriate discipline in the operation of the school.”[4]

When it comes to online issues, a 2017 court ruling determined that social media activity that happens off campus can still be considered school speech, if those acts or posts were made by students and with the intention to disrupt school.

School districts and state policies might dictate an educator’s next steps when they suspect cyberbullying.[8] Half of US states have laws about bullying in schools, and 12 states have laws specifically targeted at cyberbullying in elementary schools.[13]

Districts have been sued for inaction when it comes to cyberbullying. That’s why some districts have started monitoring their students’ social media accounts. The methods range from simple alerts for mentions of the schools or “friending” students, to hiring outside firms to monitor social media and taking disciplinary action on problematic posts.[11] However, that’s led to questions about students’ rights. Civil rights advocates encourage schools to be mindful and handle online problems appropriately, while also respecting students’ free speech and privacy rights.[6]

How to Recognize and Help a Student Being Cyberbullied

Students can be traumatized by bullying or hate speech, even if there’s no physical violence involved. That’s just as true for cyberbullying and online hate speech. Even if the harassment is virtual, the pain is real. That’s when it can become an issue of discipline and require counseling in the school.

Because online bullying is almost impossible to overhear or see in the classroom, educators can be unaware it’s happening. The clues can be subtle, but may include signs from students who: ● Suddenly and unexpectedly stop using devices ● Become uneasy about going to school ● Attempt to avoid unstructured time ● Request not to work in groups or with a specific student ● Avoid discussions about what they are doing online[7]

In addition, students may exhibit classic symptoms of being bullied, like: ● Depression and anxiety ● Low self-esteem ● Showing signs in class of not getting enough sleep ● Chronic stress ● Self-destructive behaviors[12]

Many signs may not be immediately obvious or could indicate other problems. But adults must be ready to help a student who may be victimized by online hate speech or cyberbullying.

Educators can work with families to identify cyberbullying and promote positive, safe, and responsible media use. Educators can also help create a safe environment by publicly stating that harassment and intimidation have no place in schools, refusing to downplay hate speech, and showcasing other positive behaviors.

One thing that’s crucial to a students’ well-being is knowing that adults are there for them.

Child Psychologist Dr. Howard Stevenson says that children who have been victims of racial trauma tell him that the most hurtful moment isn’t the actual threat, “but when they realized the adults who were supposed to protect them had stayed silent.” Stevenson said educators must prepare themselves to speak out for their students.[5]

1. Anderson, Monica. “A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/09/27/a-majority-of-teens-have-experienced-some-form-of-cyberbullying/

2. Stopbullying.gov. “What is Cyberbullying.” https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it

3. National Center for Education Statistics. “Indicator 10: Bullying at School and Electronic Bullying.” https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_10.asp

4. Heller, Brittan and Larry Magid. “Parent’s and Educator’s Guide to Combating Online Hate Speech.” https://www.connectsafely.org/hatespeech/

5. The Educator’s Playbook. “How to Confront Hate Speech at School.” https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/educators-playbook/how-confront-hate-speech-school

6. American Civil Liberties Union. “Preventing Harassment and Protecting Free Speech in School.” https://www.aclu.org/other/preventing-harassment-and-protecting-free-speech-school

7. Cyberbullying Research Center. “Cyberbullying Warning Signs.” https://cyberbullying.org/cyberbullying-warning-signs

8. Oh, Erin Wilkey. “Teachers’ Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention.” Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-cyberbullying-prevention

9. Laub, Zachary. “Hate Speech on Social Media: Global Comparisons.” Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/hate-speech-social-media-global-comparisons

10. United Nations. “United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech.” https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/UN%20Strategy%20and%20Plan%20of%20Action%20on%20Hate%20Speech%2018%20June%20SYNOPSIS.pdf

11. PBS News Hour. “Schools are watching students’ social media, raising questions about free speech.” https://youtu.be/pQ1Zr-zEwpc

12. Waterford.org. “Your Guide to Preventing and Responding to School Bullies.” https://www.waterford.org/education/how-to-respond-to-bullying-in-schools/

13. Redmond, Jodee. “Cyberbullying in Elementary School.” Love to Know. https://kids.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Cyberbullying_Elementary_School

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Cyber Bullying Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on cyber bullying.

Cyber Bullying Essay: In today’s world which has been made smaller by technology, new age problems have been born. No doubt technology has a lot of benefits; however, it also comes with a negative side. It has given birth to cyberbullying. To put it simply, cyberbullying refers to the misuse of information technology with the intention to harass others.

Subsequently, cyberbullying comes in various forms. It doesn’t necessarily mean hacking someone’s profiles or posing to be someone else. It also includes posting negative comments about somebody or spreading rumors to defame someone. As everyone is caught up on the social network, it makes it very easy for anyone to misuse this access.

In other words, cyberbullying has become very common nowadays. It includes actions to manipulate, harass and defame any person. These hostile actions are seriously damaging and can affect anyone easily and gravely. They take place on social media, public forums, and other online information websites. A cyberbully is not necessarily a stranger; it may also be someone you know.

Cyber Bullying is Dangerous

Cyberbullying is a multi-faced issue. However, the intention of this activity is one and the same. To hurt people and bring them harm. Cyberbullying is not a light matter. It needs to be taken seriously as it does have a lot of dangerous effects on the victim.

Moreover, it disturbs the peace of mind of a person. Many people are known to experience depression after they are cyberbullied. In addition, they indulge in self-harm. All the derogatory comments made about them makes them feel inferior.

It also results in a lot of insecurities and complexes. The victim which suffers cyberbullying in the form of harassing starts having self-doubt. When someone points at your insecurities, they only tend to enhance. Similarly, the victims worry and lose their inner peace.

Other than that, cyberbullying also tarnishes the image of a person. It hampers their reputation with the false rumors spread about them. Everything on social media spreads like wildfire. Moreover, people often question the credibility. Thus,  one false rumor destroys people’s lives.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

How to Prevent Cyber Bullying?

Cyberbullying prevention is the need of the hour. It needs to be monitored and put an end to. There are various ways to tackle cyberbullying. We can implement them at individual levels as well as authoritative levels.

Firstly, always teach your children to never share personal information online. For instance, if you list your home address or phone number there, it will make you a potential target of cyberbullying easily.

Secondly, avoid posting explicit photos of yourself online. Also, never discuss personal matters on social media. In other words, keep the information limited within your group of friends and family. Most importantly, never ever share your internet password and account details with anyone. Keep all this information to yourself alone. Be alert and do not click on mysterious links, they may be scams. In addition, teach your kids about cyberbullying and make them aware of what’s wrong and right.

In conclusion, awareness is the key to prevent online harassment. We should make the children aware from an early age so they are always cautious. Moreover, parents must monitor their children’s online activities and limit their usage. Most importantly, cyberbullying must be reported instantly without delay. This can prevent further incidents from taking place.

FAQs on Cyber Bullying

Q.1 Why is Cyberbullying dangerous?

A.1 Cyberbullying affects the mental peace of a person. It takes a toll on their mental health. Moreover, it tarnishes the reputation of an individual.

Q.2 How to prevent cyberbullying?

A.2 We may prevent cyberbullying by limiting the information we share online. In addition, we must make children aware of the forms of cyberbullying and its consequences.

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Best Bullying Essay Examples

Cyber bullying speech.

973 words | 4 page(s)

I . Introduction The topic of bullying is widely discussed today. Yet with the emergence of new technologies and the popular use of the Internet, the topic of cyber bullying has become quite popular. No wonder, since many children and adolescents are stumbling into this issue today. Importantly, online bullying (or cyber bullying) can be even more detrimental to one’s psyche than regular bullying. In particular, because the individual is left one-on-one with the bully in a virtual space where he or she cannot seek protection. Luckily, I did not have any personal experiences where I was bullied online. However, I had friends who encountered this phenomenon in their lives and shared their sad experiences with me. Furthermore, in order to make my arguments more credible, I have conducted a thorough research of the topic. This way, I will be able to present a most honest account of the issue of cyber bullying. In any case, cyber bullying can have numerous detrimental effects for one’s psyche. As to why it happens, just like with any other type of bullying, it may be the bully’s way of expressing his or her inner conflict by playing out the aggressor-victim situation with another individual.

Interestingly, cyber bullying is a phenomenon which is especially widespread among the younger population; therefore, I will focus on this age group in this speech.

Use your promo and get a custom paper on "Cyber Bullying Speech".

II. Body Hoff and Mitchell (2008) explain in their article that cyberbullying can be “deliberate and relentless” (p. 653), having numerous effects for the victims. Cyberbullies have endless access to their victims. They often hide their true identities and use “well-hidden internet protocol addresses” (Hoff & Mitchell, 2008, p. 653). Sometimes, even blocking the cyber bully online is not enough, since the bully may find new ways to reach the victim. Essentially, cyber bullying (like any other type of bullying) can effect the student’s capacity to learn at school. Victims of online bullying may experience various emotional affects, such as feelings of helplessness, depression, anxiety, and numerous others. Some parents are in denial that their child can be a cyber bully (Hoff & Mitchell, 2008). This makes it difficult to address the issue. Without the cyber bully’s parent’s support, when administrators or teachers attempt to intervene, little (or no) change can be achieved. It is crucial that parents and school staff become actively engaged for resolving the issue.

Essentially, we should keep in mind that cyber bullying effects do not go away when the abuse is over. The effects of bullying and cyber bullying can be especially detrimental and persist well into adolescence (Cowie, 2013). Research demonstrates that college students who once endured cyber bullying were more likely to experience depression, paranoia, or anxiety (Cowie, 2013). These individuals reported feeling unsafe and having a feeling of not being supported by others. Victims of cyber bullying can be targeted anywhere and anytime. This makes them especially vulnerable, as they can never prepare fully for the “attack.” Online, it is much easier to be a bystander. Special classes/sessions should be organized, where students are taught “to behave actively as bystanders” (Cowie, 2013, p. 168).

The topic of power imbalance should be addressed more closely when it comes to cyber bullying.

Technology has its own ways of creating “power imbalance” (Vaillancourt et al., 2017). The bully’s status is identified via the number of followers and supporters he or she has (which signifies his or her online status). The victim may feel intimidated if he or she has fewer online supporters. While the bully’s supporters may not directly support his/her actions, the victim may still feel that the person with the higher online status has more power. If more people spoke up to protect the person who is being bullied, this myth could be deconstructed. Humiliating messages and/or images that were previously sent to the bully when the relationship was good could be used to destroy/affect the victim’s reputation (Nixon, 2014). This is the most tricky situation, when personal data cannot be erased from another person’s database/computer. This is certain to create a power imbalance. Young people should be taught how to self-protect in such situations.

With all that has been said, it is crucial that we explore what can be done to lower the levels of cyber bullying, especially among children and teenagers.

III. Conclusion Cyber bullying is dangerous; it may lead to some unfortunate psychological consequences for the victim. Children/teens who were bullied have higher suicide rates (Nixon, 2014). Therefore, it is crucial that young people are protected from the dangers of online bullying at all costs. This can be done through special training and programs administered in schools where students learn to protect their information and to be active bystanders (vs. passive bystanders). Since this issue mostly affects young people, it is crucial that adults become actively engaged, helping students fight off online bullies. This way, a traumatic situation can be turned into a resourceful one. When young people learn that they can be stronger than the circumstances and feel supported by the other students and adults, they will feel motivated and inspired. What is more, we should remember that the bully also needs help and support, since he or she would not have become a bully if it were not for some deep inner psychological conflicts.

Do you want to read more college essay examples on cyber bulling? Make sure to check them out!

• Cowie, H. (2013). Cyberbullying and its impact on young people’s emotional health and well-being. The Psychiatrist, 37, 167-70.
• Hoff, D. L., & Mitchell, S. N. (2008). Cyberbullying: Causes, effects, and remedies. Journal of Educational Administration, 47, 652-65.
• Nixon, C. L. (2014). Current perspectives: The impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health. Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 5, 142-58.
• Vaillancourt, T., et al. (2017). Cyberbullying in children and youth: Implications for health and clinical practice. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(6), 368-73.

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Towards Descriptive Adequacy of Cyberbullying: Interdisciplinary Studies on Features, Cases and Legislative Concerns of Cyberbullying

1 Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

Paula Trzaskawka

2 Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland

In view of the complexity of cyberbullying, this paper aims to address the linguistic and legal aspects of cyberbullying from an interdisciplinary perspective. Based on authentic data collected from real cases, we will expound on features, defining properties and legal remedies of cyberbullying in the countries that contribute to this special issue, such as Nigeria, France, Poland and China. Firstly, we will present an overview of cyberbullying and its definition, along with cyberbullying’s attributes. Next, we will cover the various forms of cyberbullying, such as hate speech, harassment and trolling. Each of these forms of cyberbullying result in numerous outcomes, many of which are serious and, in the worst case, can result in a victim’s death. A discussion of such consequences and the legal remedies for cyberbullying will be provided. On a final note, the contributors seek to enrich the forthcoming studies on cyberbullying by offering suggestions towards descriptive adequacy of cyberbullying.

Introduction

The last decades have witnessed the remarkable development of the Information Communication Technology (ICT), the prosperity of social media platforms in particular. However, while people harvest the convenience and freedom of online communication, some are haunted by cyberbullying. For example, one of the authors of this editorial introduction was bullied online and flooded with hate speech when she uploaded a video on TikTok in Poland. Even though she received support and comfort from her family and decided not to read and reply to those negative and harmful comments, offensive words, which were like punches in her face, are still remembered. Statistic data show that teenagers are the most vulnerable group of people who tend to experience cyberbullying [ 13 ], but as a matter of fact, even adults can also be reduced to victims of cyberbullying [ 24 ].

In 2019, Wagner postulates a theory for E-communication and E-victimization [ 42 ]. Taking cyberbullying as an example, she explores the triadic relationships among the victim, the perpetrator and the media facilitator, and takes anonymity, exposure, frequency and insecurity as indicators to analyse cyberbullying crimes and assess harm done to victims. It is noticed that “emojis express what words cannot say, as they are universal, save space and time, and most importantly capture the attention of the sender’s audience. The shorter the messages, the more powerful, more visible, and the more attractive the messages are for the recipients” [ 42 ]. In 2020, the first issue devoted to E-discourse aggressiveness was published in the journal Social Semiotics (Volume 30, Issue 3, 2020). It was the first attempt to gather global information about the phenomenon of cybercrimes and cyberbullying. Interesting findings have been found, such as emotional features of emojis [ 40 ], conflicting functions of emojis on gender equality and sexual discrimination, and on forest protection [ 28 ], and aggressiveness of emojis in law [ 6 , 43 ]. These studies are dedicated to the features, functions and consequences of emojis used in cyberbullying. Little attention has yet been paid to language of cyberbullying, the primary carrier of meaning, and to legal remedies of cyberbullying.

Chomsky [ 7 ] once mentioned that linguistic analysis is supposed to be adequate at three levels: observational adequacy, descriptive adequacy and explanatory adequacy. In view of the current research on cyberbullying, particularly the fact that there is no consensus on the definition of cyberbullying, it is vital for linguists to dig deeper and work towards the second level of adequacy. And this is where linguists can contribute the most to this topic. Contributors of this special issue, by drawing on authentic linguistic data and real cases from different parts of the world (such as Nigeria, Poland, France and China), analyse cyberbullying from an interdisciplinary perspective and intend to explore more fundamental issues, including but not limited to: its defining attributes and distinct linguistic patterns. Others focus on legal issues including the necessity to introduce new legislation regulating cyberbullying and available legal remedies for its victims. In the following sections, the defining properties, forms, consequences and legislative concerns of cyberbullying will be discussed, the main ideas and major findings of this Special Issue will be introduced, and suggestions for further research will be put forward.

Definition and Defining Properties of Cyberbullying

There exist many definitions of cyberbullying, but one of the most common states that cyberbullying is “an aggressive, intentional act or behaviour that is carried out by a group or an individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself” [ 30 ]. National Crime Prevention Council claims that “Cyberbullying is similar to other types of bullying, except it takes place online and through text messages sent to cell phones” [ 31 ]. Moreover, cyberbullying is also regarded as “the process of using the Internet, cell phones or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person” [ 12 ]. Below we list definitions of cyberbullying used by contributors in this Special Issue.

In Nigeria, cyberbullying is defined as the “process of using the internet, cell phones or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person”. The word “cyberbullying” is often used interchangeably with “cyber stalking” and in fact as Adediran [ 1 ] observes, the Cybercrimes Act 2015 of Nigeria uses the word ‘cyber stalking’ to refer to any course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. In Poland, the Polish Criminal Code amended in 2011 recognizes cyberbullying and stalking as a criminal offence. Currently, this offence is punishable under article 190a of Polish Criminal Code [ 29 ]. Pyżalski [ 36 ] further proposes 5 types of electronic aggression based on types of the victim, such as electronic aggression against celebrities and electronic harassment against group members. In France, cyberbullying is defined by Article 222–33-2–2 of the Criminal Code as follows:

The fact of harassing a person by repeated comments or behavior with the purpose or effect of degrading his or her living conditions resulting in an alteration of his or her physical or mental health is punishable by one year’s imprisonment and a fine of €15,000 when these acts have resulted in a total work incapacity of less than or equivalent to eight days or have not led to any work incapacity. (Criminal Code, Article 222-33-2-2 [ 19 ]).

In China, there is no official definition proposed for cyberbullying per se. However, when students are involved, it is regarded as an online form of bullying and is regulated by relevant anti-bullying rules and regulations. In 2017, the Ministry of Education and other 10 competent departments issued the Measures for Strengthening the Comprehensive Treatment of Bullying Among Primary and Secondary School Students in 2017, and defined bullying as follows:

Bullying among primary and secondary school students refers to incidents taking place inside or outside the campus (including primary and secondary schools and secondary vocational schools) between or among students, with one party (an individual or a group of people) deliberately or maliciously conducting insults through physical, language or online methods for one or more times, resulting in the other party (individual or group) suffering from physical injury, property loss or mental distress.

To sum up, cyberbullying is a form of bullying or harassment effected via electronic means and intends to do harm to the victims. Sometimes, the term “cyberbullying” is used interchangeably with “cyber harassment”. Nevertheless, cyberbullying has its distinct features and defining properties. Sadly, it is found that except two shared properties, i.e., intent and repetition, scholars fail to reach a consensus even on the defining properties of cyberbullying, let alone its definition [ 46 ]. For example, Huston [ 22 ] regards electronic form of contact, an aggressive act, and harm of the victim as the other three core features of cyberbullying, while Ira-Katharina and Petermann [ 23 ] take power imbalance, direct and indirect cyberbullying and the victim’s perception as other defining features of cyberbullying.

Forms of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying behaviour includes posting rumours, threats, sexual remarks, revealing the victim’s personal information, or pejorative labels including hate speech [ 8 ]. However, the distinction between the expressions of offence, hate speech and cyberbullying is often blurred. The problem in defining them unequivocally stems from the fact that cyberbullying is constantly evolving due to new tools and ways of attacking people online. The complexity of cyberbullying can be visible when the victim is not only harassed but also attacked verbally though comments posted on the internet.

One major form of cyberbullying is hate speech. There is a specific reason for the comparison of hate speech with cyberbullying at the same place. Most cyberbullies use hate speech to offend their victims. Hate speech is defined as a “public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation” [ 4 ]. Moreover, hate speech is “usually thought to include communications of animosity or disparagement of an individual or a group on account of a group characteristic such as race, colour, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or sexual orientation” [ 32 ].

The second form of cyberbullying is internet trolling [ 29 ]. It is a common form of cyberbullying and aims to evoke a reaction, cause disruption, gain personal amusement or even draw attention of the public [ 9 , 11 ]. Trolling is present in social networking sites when a troll is provoking a response through the use of bad language, or even insults. Internet trolls spend time looking for heated discussion topics where they can attack somebody verbally. In most cases trolls act this way to feel better by making others feel bad.

The third form of cyberbullying may be cyber stalking which is “the transmission of any communication through the means of a computer to bully, threaten or harass another person where such communication places another person in fear of death, violence or bodily harm amounts to cyber stalking” [ 1 ]. Cyber stalking happens when a person is making real threats. Sometimes such threats may change their form from online into real life.

Exclusion, harassment and outing are other forms of cyberbullying. The first one, namely exclusion, is the deliberate act of leaving someone out and it may happen in different ways such as being excluded from friends’ parties or activities, not being tagged in online conversations in group chats or a person may not use social networking sites at all and is being cyberbullied about it online by the peers. The second one, viz harassment, is a sustained, constant and intentional form of sending messages to a victim via a phone or the Internet. The third one, called outing, is a deliberate act of embarrassing or publicly humiliating somebody through the online posting of sensitive, private or embarrassing information without their consent [ 18 ].

There are other forms of cyberbullying which are fraping, creating fake profiles, dissing, trickery or catfishing. Fraping is a dangerous form of cyberbullying in which a bully is impersonating a victim and is posting in his/her name [ 44 ]. Dissing refers to the behaviour that one sends or posts cruel gossip or rumors about the other to damage the other’s reputation or friendships with others [ 18 ]. A cyberbully may post photos, screenshots or videos to put somebody down and to draw one’s attention to the fact that the cyberbullied is not a nice person. In this case, as with the previous one both harasser and the victim probably know each other very well. Another form of cyberbullying is trickery. A perpetrator gains the victim’s trust so that he/she reveals secrets or embarrassing information that then the perpetrator publishes online. Once the trust is gained, the perpetrator sends private information about the victim to a third party. The last form of cyberbullying known to the authors of this editorial is catfishing. Catfishing [ 26 ] is when “another person steals somebody’s online identity, usually photos, and re-creates social networking profiles for deceptive purposes” [ 8 ]. Here, the identity of a cyberbully is also hidden. This person may steal some of the victim’s photos and create an account with fake name and information or it may be other way round. Nevertheless, the good name or image of the person may be destroyed.

To sum up, cyberbullying may exist in various forms, with using hate speech, cyber harassment and cyberstalking as common forms. Due to its aggressive nature, some argues that “cyberbullying is another name for internet aggression” [ 25 , 34 ] which are ‘overt, intentional acts of aggression toward others online’” [ 47 ].

Consequences of Cyberbullying

It appears that consequences of cyberbullying vary a lot. It may be a disturbance to routine life, but can also be extremely harmful or even deadly. The contributors in this Special Issue provide us with many examples of fatal consequencese. In some of the reported cases, victims of cyberbullying have committed suicide as a result of fear or shame [ 1 , 41 ].

According to the statistics provided by IPSOS 2018 online, harassment and bullying are now ubiquitous and widespread in modern societies. It is a worldwide phenomenon but in different regions of the world the numbers of cyberbullied and their bullies differ. For example, Latin America has the highest level of social media bullying, reaching 76%. North America comes second at 67%, followed closely by Europe at 65%, the Middle East/Africa at 61%, and the Asia Pacific at 53%. As for specific countries, Peru is number one with the highest level of social media bullying at 80%. Argentina comes second at 74%, followed by Mexico (73%), Brazil (70%), Malaysia (71%), Great Britain (69%), Canada (68%), and the USA (67%).

It is a well-known fact that when a person is being a target of cyberbullying, he/she may have a higher tendency to abuse drugs or alcohol. Additionally, they will probably suffer emotional trauma and any other physical issues causing low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, delinquency or family problems. In cases of cyberbullying at school, a victim may have problems with grades or he/she may even avoid classes. The consequences to a person who is cyberbullying is not regulated thoroughly. For example, in the USA only 14 states impose criminal penalties. These penalties can include fines (as high as $2500) or jail time (a year). When it comes to cyberbullying at school some school districts must include policies that will fight against such acts to be in compliance with current laws. the bully may be suspended. However, statistics can be terrifying. 1 According to Ditch The Label 2018 the most negative impact on the cyberbullied person may be as follows:

• i. social anxiety (37%),
• ii. depression (36%),
• iii. suicidal thoughts (24%),
• iv. self-harm (23%),
• v. skipping classes (21%),
• vi. developing antisocial behaviours (12%),
• vii. developing eating disorders (10%), and
• viii. running away from home (10%).

It appears that people of different age groups could be victims of cyberbullying. Not only middle and high school children but also adults as it is confirmed by examples given by the authors of this Special Issue [ 1 , 41 , 46 ]. One terrible thing is that cyberbullying seems to have gained normalcy: even though bullies are aware of the criminal connotation of their actions but feel no remorse because of the anonymity provided by the Internet in an unprecedented scale. The very fact that perpetrators do not need to face their victims makes them brazen.

Concerns and Challenges in Legislating Cyberbullying

In view of the severity of cyberbullying, such as the suicide of the American teenager Megan Meier in 2006 and the Canadian teenager Amanda Todd in 2012, many countries have taken a quick action to legislate cyberbullying. New acts are enacted or existing laws are amended. For example, statistics from https://cyberbullying.org/bullying-laws show that by 2015 all states in America have some form of anti-bullying laws, most of which explicitly include cyberbullying in the legal provisions. In France, Article 222–33-2–2 of the Criminal Code was created in 2014 to define cyberbullying and set out the penalty [ 41 ]. In Poland, cyberbullying is punishable under Article 190a of the Polish Criminal Code effective as of 2011 [ 29 ]. In Nigeria, cyberbullying is expressly criminalized by the Cybercrime Act 2015, the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code Act [ 1 ]. In addition to the Cybersecurity Law, China also adds one article to the newly amended Law on the Protection of Minors in 2021 [ 41 ].

The report “Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies” released by the U.S. Department of Education in 2011 (“the Report” for short) finds that “Eighteen state laws include specific statutes addressing the rights of bullying victims to seek legal remedies under law” [ 39 ]. In fact, to make it clear that victims have the right to pursue other legal remedies, many state laws include provisions titled “victims’ rights to redress”. For example, the Oregon statute expressly asserts that the state law “may not be interpreted to prevent a victim of harassment, intimidation or bullying or a victim of cyberbullying from seeking redress under any other available law, whether civil or criminal” [ 39 ]. It is thus evident that legislators make great efforts to offer a legal shield to protect the victims of cyberbullying.

Despite these efforts, some scholars still show great concerns about the necessity and effectiveness of legislation to criminalize cyberbullying. For instance, Justin W. Patchin [ 35 ], a co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center and criminal justice professor, confesses that, “I am not convinced that a state or federal law which criminalizes cyberbullying is necessarily the best approach”. He argues that “The vast majority of all cyberbullying can be effectively handled informally… In the rare event that a cyberbullying incident rises to a level warranting criminal intervention, we already have existing laws which can be utilized (stalking, criminal harassment, felonious assault, etc.).” Apparently, the necessity of legislating cyberbullying is under question. Nevertheless, the assumption may be correct as some researchers point out that bullies are minors [ 27 ] and therefore there are limits to their penalization resulting from the fact that they have not attained the age of majority and may not have full comprehension of their deeds.

Besides, the effectiveness of legislation is also challenged. The Report [ 39 ] points out that “[t]he review of state bullying legislation reveals clear differences in the terms used to define bullying and harassment”. As a matter of fact, it is found that the legislative language used in bullying laws are more often than not directly borrowed from harassment statutes, which may blur important legal distinctions between “bullying” and “harassment” [ 15 ]. It is thus not surprising that in the legal context, the use of inconsistent or even contradictory terms “sometimes contributes to confusion concerning how a specific incident should be treated” [ 39 ].

Several reasons may account for the above concerns for legislating cyberbullying. Firstly, a lack of a uniform definition of cyberbullying makes it hard to pin down the exact subject matter of the legislation. Ira-Katharina and Petermann [ 23 ] notice that scholars often tailor the definition of cyberbullying to their own study. They find that there are at least 24 new definitions on cyberbullying from 2012 to 2017, let alone previously proposed ones. Sadly, even the concept analysis of defining attributes of cyberbullying end with different results. As a result, little consensus has been achieved concerning the denotation of cyberbullying. However, there is the more complex reason that may be the root of inconsistency – different nations are sensitive to different types of massages. Thus, the same message may be considered humorous in one country while in another it may be damaging and bullying. The same rule applies to discriminatory actions and other types of harassment (e.g., sexual in the form of allusions or jokes).

Secondly, as an umbrella term of online aggressive behaviour, the connotation of cyberbullying remains quite vague. Doo et al. [ 14 ] find that definitions of cyberbullying are invariably connected either with the place where cyberbullying occurred or with the contents which cyberbullies used to cyberbullying victims. In other words, the “electronic forms of contact” [ 37 ], such as the use of e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, social media platforms and cell phones [ 20 ], set the scene for cyberbullying and make the term cyberbullying encompass almost everything that happens online. Apart from differences in various places of occurrence, a vast array of “the aggressive act” [ 22 ] of cyberbullying behaviour complicates the problem. Apart from the typologies presented above we may refer here to the categorization by Willard [ 45 ] who differentiates seven major types of cyberbullying behaviours: flaming, harassment, denigration, impersonation, outing and trickery, exclusion and cyberstalking. As a result, it is hard to pin down the boundaries of cyberbullying.

Thirdly, the tension between the attempt to protect the victims of cyberbullying and the right to free speech poses a further challenge to legislative attempts. On the one hand, people enjoy the fundamental human right to freely express themselves. This right is expressly provided by Article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” On the other hand, victims of cyberbullying are intimated or tormented by online aggressive speech, with some choosing to put an end to their own lives. As a result, cyberbullying cases may draw wider attention from the society than other cases and arouse more heated debates. The problem is the thin red line between the freedom of speech and freedom of expressing one’s opinions and the act of cyberbullying (e.g., by hate speech). It turns out that delineating the borders of the freedom of speech and cyberbullying may be very subjective even in the course of enacting legislation and conducting trials.

Among others, the constitutionality of statutory laws on cyberbullying is one of the central issues to be decided by courts. Current rulings in America reveal that courts attach different degrees of importance to freedom of speech and cyberbullying. For example, the New York Court of Appeals invalidated Albany County’s cyberbullying law in 2014 in People v. Marquan M. By contrast, in 2015, in State v. Bishop, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld North Carolina’s cyberbullying statute and rejected Bishop’s First Amendment challenge to the law. Despite disagreements among scholars and practitioners on the intersection between freedom of speech and cyberbullying, it is nevertheless apparent that cyberbullying is a “loaded term” [ 38 ] and problems brought by “the breadth and vagueness of the statutory language” on cyberbullying are to be solved [ 21 ].

To conclude, it has been a trend worldwide to legislate on cyberbullying. However, current challenges and debates on legislating cyberbullying have much to do with terms used to refer to cyberbullying acts and with statutory language defining cyberbullying.

Research Topics and Major Findings of This Special Issue

In this special issue, contributors either focus on theoretical or practical problems of cyberbullying. We are interested in the following questions: How to define cyberbullying? and What can be done to improve research on cyberbullying? The first three papers show examples of cyberbullying through different social media towards different groups of people, such as hunters or foresters. The second group of papers deals with linguistic aspects of cyberbullying in China. The authors carry out their analyses with the usage of corpus linguistics tools.

Wagner points out that “Cyber bullying remains a nebulous concept that can be deciphered in many ways.” [ 42 ] The first perspective is the theoretical perspective with regard to the mechanism of cyberbullying [ 41 ]. In their paper “ Machiavellian Apparatus of Cyberbullying: Its Triggers Igniting Fury with Legal Impacts ”, Anne Wagner and Wei Yu discuss Machiavellian Apparatus which “proves to be sophisticated, given its powerful nature, and results in its victims being ensnared in a cyber net from which they see very little escape”. They divide young netizens who are the most vulnerable to cyberbullying into the silent readers and the active readers, and differentiate three main types of online players, namely, the newbie, the troll and the flamer [ 42 ]. They examine the two triggers that expose the tyrannical mechanisms of such a discourse, which serve as power amplifiers for young netizens. Drawing on real cases, they illustrate how these power amplifiers ignite the fuse that triggers this social networking madness.

The second perspective may be based on laws and regulations unique to a particular country [ 1 ]. In his paper, “ Cyberbullying in Nigeria: Examining the Adequacy of Legal Responses ”, Adediran examines the effectiveness of legal responses to cyberbullying in Nigeria. He finds that cyberbullying, particularly outing, trickery, trolling and roasting, is rampant in Nigeria. He notices that while in theory, most forms of cyberbullying can be prosecuted under the Cybercrimes Act, little notable enforcement of the law to prosecute cyberbullying has been documented. As a result, the author alleges that “the protection of image rights will go a long way to assist in curbing the act of cyberbullying in Nigeria” [ 1 ].

The third perspective focuses on communities which are especially frequently bullied or stereotypically perceived [ 28 , 29 ]. In “ I Would Kill the Director and Teachers in the School” Cyberbullying of Hunters in Poland, Matulewska and Gwiazdowicz [ 28 ] analyze online linguistic aggression towards hunters, in particular, the use of emotion-loaded language in shaping the image of hunters. They find that “people brought up in cities, far away from nature, are easily convinced to attack other groups which they perceive as deviant” [ 3 ]. Due to limited knowledge about nature and its laws, overly idealistic and naïve approach may easily lead to verbal and non-verbal aggression towards the community of hunters.

In another similar topic titled “ Cyberbullying in Polish Debate on the Białowieża National Forest”, Matulewska, Kic-Drgas and Trzaskawka [ 29 ] focus on hate speech concerning the opponents and proponents of the cut out of the Białowieża National Forest due to the attack of the bark beetle in Poland. Their analysis summarizes linguistic patterns of aggressive and vulgar statements. For example, they find out that there are four strategies of staging anger online, including offensive and sometimes vulgar language, irony, rhetorical questions, and using analogies and metaphors. Besides, the authors note that the shorter the comment is, the more vulgar and hateful it is.

Apart from the above mentioned three perspectives on cyberbullying, the second part of this Special Issue aims at analyzing the discourse of cyberbullying and depicting the scenario of cyberbullying in China. In The Invisible Aggressive Fist: Features of Cyberbullying Language in China, Youping Xu [ 46 ] presents lexical and syntactic features of cyberbullying language targeted at adults. Drawing on data from her corpus based on a high-profile defamation case arising out of cyberbullying in China, she argues that if we want to detect and identify cyberbullying through language more efficiently in the future, it is vital to find out: (a) how a group of people target at a victim; (b) how harm is inflicted intentionally to the victim in a repeated way; and (c) how the victim perceives the bullying. She finds that distinct features, such as a high density of the second personal pronoun “you” used to drag the victim into the face-to-face online interaction and an unconventional use of interrogative questions ending with exclamation marks to denounce the behaviour of the victim, will be helpful for further research on parameters in cyberbullying detection.

While Xu [ 46 ] shows interest in the civil dispute of a defamation case arising out of cyberbullying, Jinshi Chen is more concerned about criminal behaviors of cyberbullying. In his paper ‘Y ou are in trouble!’ A Discursive Psychological Analysis of Threatening Language in Chinese Cellphone Fraud Interactions , Chen [ 5 ] analyses 20 pieces of cellphone conversations in the authentic fraud cases from Chinese media (together with the use of Praat 6.1.13). From the discursive psychological perspective, Chen analyzes how cellphone fraudsters construct their fake identities (police officers, procurators, telecom staff or gang leaders) through information gap and information sharing in their turn-taking designs. He finds that fraudsters use such conversational skills in a threatening tone as repetition, interruption, higher pitch and louder speech to trigger victims’ psychological panic based on prepared and designed scripts. The findings of this paper will be conducive to the fight against fraudster’ online threats and bullies.

The last paper From Flaming to Incited Crime: Recognising Cyberbullying on Chinese WeChat Account written by Shaomin Zhang [ 48 ] analyzes twenty-six suspicious Chinese online flaming articles concerning poisoning of dogs posted on the WeChat subscription account. Based on the Speech Act Theory, this quantitative corpus linguistic analysis of Keyness and semantic prosody (AntConc 3.5.7.) intends to find out the lexical, semantic and pragmatic manifestations of cyberbullying, explore how cyberbullying language hurts some readers by the writer’s attitudinal meaning, and discuss typical linguistic items in the cyberbullying article that may incite unlawful action or wrongs. This study helps in penetrating and recognizing online flaming articles in Chinese social media and will provide references for protecting the mass audience from being victims.

By June 20, 2021, the coronavirus (Covid-19) has caused over 3.8 million of deaths worldwide [ 17 ], with over 177 million confirmed cases in over 210 countries and regions. While the coronavirus disrupted the economy of the world, shattered the normal life of numerous families and brought pain to endless individuals, cyberbullying, an invisible “virus” also does great harm to society. According to the statistics from the i-SAFE foundation [ 16 ], a non-profit foundation whose mission is to “educate and empower youth to make their Internet experiences safe and responsible”, over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying. Obviously, the infectious rate of cyberbullying is much higher than coronavirus. Sadly, while we are clear about the structure and properties of coronavirus and have vaccines, little consensus has even been reached as to the definition of cyberbullying. That is why Patchin [ 35 ] urges that “Legislators stop and work to develop a law that is reasonable, practical, constitutional, and informed by research.” To this end, concerted efforts are to be made among a group of experts to identify the real issues going on in cyberbullying.

This Special Issue has been a pioneer to bring together linguists, law professors and forestry experts, addressing the issues of the definition, forms and legislative concerns of cyberbullying based on real cases in four countries through three continents. It covers a wide range of topics and presents the latest findings on cyberbullying. As a complex social phenomenon, we may have just touched a little bit of the corner of the iceberg and filled some research gaps. More joint efforts are expected to be made in the future to address the following issues:

Linguistic Analysis of Interaction Among Various Participants

Though cyberbullying takes on various forms, such as posting a picture or sharing a video, most of the bullying behaviors are executed through language. As a result, language will be the main and sometimes the sole evidence that records cyberbullying. While most of the current studies focus on the interaction between cyber bullies and victims, some have paid close attention to other participants in cyberbullying. According to Olweus [ 33 ], in the Bullying Circle, along with the students who bully and student who is bullied, there are bystanders who play six different roles in bullying. These roles fall on a continuum and are displayed in a U-shape, including Follower, Supporter, Passive Supporter, Disengaged On-looker, Possible Defender and Defender. Thus, to reveal the nature and features of cyberbullying, it is vital to analyze the interaction among these eight roles, including their participation framework, role play and role change.

Construction of Large Corpora of Cyberbullying

Computer sciences scholars who are interested in automatic cyberbullying detection primarily use English data collected from Twitter, MySpace and Formspring [ 46 ]. In this Special Issue, contributors construct their own small-scale corpus in French, English, Polish or Chinese. Their corpus-based study has enlarged the scope of language varieties to the existing literature, showing interesting language-specific and cultural-loaded linguistic patterns of cyberbullying. However, in the era of big data, it is vital to construct large corpora of cyberbullying centering on different languages and to conduct comparative studies. During the construction of such a large corpus, linguistic findings on cyberbullying are urgently needed in data collection, tagging and data analysis. Based on the corpus, the common features of cyberbullying could be found and candidate parameters to distinguish bulling and non-bullying language could be postulated.

Semiotic Analysis of Cyberbullying Through Verbal and Nonverbal (e.g. images) Messages

There is another threat around the corner as such channels of communication (social media) as TikTok, Instagram and others are the most popular platforms nowadays. Why is it a threat? The increasing popularity of such media is going to affect cyberbullying. There is huge possibility of bullying through posting pictures, photos, mems, movies of visual, audiovisual and verbal quality. As it was mentioned in the introduction of this Special Issue it is the fact that even one of the authors experienced this type of online hatred. However, bullying as such may happen also through movies or pictures rather than words. In today’s world we have a tendency to make everything shorter and quicker. Attaching an emoji to a picture or a video can be only one example of this tendency. As it can be seen, the issue may be analyzed through different aspects and semiotic analysis of particular examples may prove that it is not only a one case study.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Cyberbullying Detection and Prevention

As a complicated social phenomenon, cyberbullying has aroused interest among sociologists, psychologists, linguists, law experts and computer scientists. While most scholars approach cyberbullying from their own field of expertise, some [ 27 , 41 ] in this Special Issue) have started to explore cyberbullying from an interdisciplinary perspective. As advocated by Janet Ainsworth, President of International Association of Forensic Linguists and law professor of Seattle University, cross-fertilization is needed to nourish the research on language and law [ 2 ]. Hence, the collaboration between law experts and linguists is of great importance to cyberbullying, particularly in the drafting of bullying statutes. Besides, to effectively detect cyberbullying, it is urgent for computer scientists and linguists to cooperate with each other so as to lay down the linguistic conventions in data tagging and the extraction of distinctive linguistic features. Last but not the least, cooperation among educators, psychologists and linguists will undoubtedly be productive in terms of developing manuals and guidelines for cyberbullying prevention.

Cyberbullying is such a complex issue that joint efforts from different walks of life, such as researchers, educators, policy makers, school administrators, parents and Internet users, are urgently needed. This Special Issue is one of the first attempts where the authors provide some examples of cyberbullying towards specific groups from their countries of origin. Global approaches or global databases could broaden our legal and linguistic knowledge in the issue at hand and may allow us to take proper steps to combat cyberbullying. At present, joint efforts are expected to decipher cyberbullying so as to find out its defining features and reach a consensus on its definition. Only in this way can subsequently studies on the automatic detection of cyberbullying and effective prevention of cyberbullying make sense. This urgently call for interdisciplinary efforts made towards descriptive adequacy of cyberbullying.

1 https://comparecamp.com/cyberbullying-statistics/ [accessed on 22.06.2021].

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Contributor Information

Youping Xu, Email: moc.nuyila@300gnipuoyux .

Paula Trzaskawka, Email: [email protected] .

Internet use statistically associated with higher wellbeing, finds new global Oxford study

Links between internet adoption and wellbeing are likely to be positive, despite popular concerns to the contrary, according to a major new international study from researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, part of the University of Oxford.

The study encompassed more than two million participants psychological wellbeing from 2006-2021 across 168 countries, in relation to internet use and psychological well-being across 33,792 different statistical models and subsets of data, 84.9% of associations between internet connectivity and wellbeing were positive and statistically significant. 

The study analysed data from two million individuals aged 15 to 99 in 168 countries, including Latin America, Asia, and Africa and found internet access and use was consistently associated with positive wellbeing.   

Assistant Professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute and Professor Andrew Przybylski, Oxford Internet Institute carried out the study to assess how technology relates to wellbeing in parts of the world that are rarely studied.

Professor Przybylski said: 'Whilst internet technologies and platforms and their potential psychological consequences remain debated, research to date has been inconclusive and of limited geographic and demographic scope. The overwhelming majority of studies have focused on the Global North and younger people thereby ignoring the fact that the penetration of the internet has been, and continues to be, a global phenomenon'. 

'We set out to address this gap by analysing how internet access, mobile internet access and active internet use might predict psychological wellbeing on a global level across the life stages. To our knowledge, no other research has directly grappled with these issues and addressed the worldwide scope of the debate.' 

The researchers studied eight indicators of well-being: life satisfaction, daily negative and positive experiences, two indices of social well-being, physical wellbeing, community wellbeing and experiences of purpose.   

Commenting on the findings, Professor Vuorre said, “We were surprised to find a positive correlation between well-being and internet use across the majority of the thousands of models we used for our analysis.”

Whilst the associations between internet access and use for the average country was very consistently positive, the researchers did find some variation by gender and wellbeing indicators: The researchers found that 4.9% of associations linking internet use and community well-being were negative, with most of those observed among young women aged 15-24yrs.

Whilst not identified by the researchers as a causal relation, the paper notes that this specific finding is consistent with previous reports of increased cyberbullying and more negative associations between social media use and depressive symptoms among young women. 

Adds Przybylski, 'Overall we found that average associations were consistent across internet adoption predictors and wellbeing outcomes, with those who had access to or actively used the internet reporting meaningfully greater wellbeing than those who did not'.

'We hope our findings bring some greater context to the screentime debate however further work is still needed in this important area.  We urge platform providers to share their detailed data on user behaviour with social scientists working in this field for transparent and independent scientific enquiry, to enable a more comprehensive understanding of internet technologies in our daily lives.' 

In the study, the researchers examined data from the Gallup World Poll, from 2,414,294 individuals from 168 countries, from 2006-2021.  The poll assessed well-being with face-to-face and phone surveys by local interviewers in the respondents’ native languages.  The researchers applied statistical modelling techniques to the data using wellbeing indicators to test the association between internet adoption and wellbeing outcomes. 

Watch the  American Psychological Association (APA) video  highlighting the key findings from the research.

Download the paper ‘ A multiverse analysis of the associations between internet use and well-being ’ published in the journal Technology, Mind and Behaviour, American Psychological Association.

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• Facebook hate crime statistics

10+ Facebook hate speech and crime statistics in 2024

Facebook’s influence reaches globally, with over 3 billion active monthly users spanning nearly every country. With such a vast user base, it’s no surprise that the platform suffers from high levels of misconduct. In this guide, we’ve brought together the latest Facebook crime statistics so you can learn more.

As one of the world’s leading social networks, Facebook is a breeding ground for various fraudulent activities, from romance scams to deceptive marketplace listings and malicious posts aimed at phishing and disseminating malware.

The sheer size of Facebook’s user community results in a diverse range of ideologies, some of which include deep-rooted prejudice, misinformation, or outright hate speech. In this article, we have compiled essential crime statistics to highlight the scope and severity of these issues on Facebook.

Top Facebook Crime and Hate Speech Statistics for 2024

Below, you can see a compilation of the worst Facebook hate speech statistics:

1. On Facebook, racism accounts for 53% of all hate speech

According to the latest research from Gitnux , more than half of all hate speech incidents on Facebook are race-motivated attacks.

2. Facebook removed more than 27.6 million pieces of hate speech in 2023

The information gained from Facebook by Statista revealed that the social media giant had to remove more than 27 million pieces of hate speech from its platform in the second and third quarters of 2023 alone. This underscores the breadth of the problem.

3. In 2021, Facebook reported a 50% drop in hate speech

Facebook publishes limited information regarding the amount of hate speech it encounters. According to Facebook’s 2021 Community Standards Enforcement Report – the prevalence of hate speech was around 0.05% of all content viewed. That accounts for around 5 views per every 10,000 posts. At the time, Facebook said hate speech had gone down “by almost 50% in the last three quarters”.

4. In Q4 of 2023, Facebook found that violations remained consistent

In 2023 Facebook reported that “violating content remained relatively consistent across a wide range of violation areas.” This highlights that even with the introduction of enhanced proactive detection technologies that help to block offending content, including hate speech, users are still using Facebook for misconduct at unnerving rates.

5. Facebook is leveraging AI to block offending content before it is published

In 2021, Facebook announced it was doing much better at blocking offending content using AI. According to the company, 97% of the hate speech the platform took down in the latter half of 2020 was removed by its automated systems long before a human user flagged it. This means that although the prevalence of posts containing hate speech is still high, the amount getting through to users is decreasing.

6. 62% of Facebook users encounter scams every week

According to Aura, nearly two-thirds of Facebook users encounter scams every week. This is a reminder that the platform is jam-packed with criminals seeking to use posts, fake marketplace ads , and malicious direct messages to engage in phishing, malware dissemination, ide theft, and fraud.

7. 40% of romance scam victims say it started on social media

Reports published by the Federal Trade Commission in 2023 reveal that 40% of internet users victimized by Romance Scams meet their scammer on social media sites, including Facebook. This is a reminder that any website or service that allows for direct social interaction harbors the risk of scammers.

In 2022, 70,000 US victims lost a whopping $1.3 billion to romance scams. $520 million of the dollars lost started on social media sites like Facebook.

8. UK police believe there are more Facebook crimes

According to research by the UK’s Surrey Police Department , crimes originating on Facebook are believed to be more common than on Twitter and Instagram.

Surrey police used a survey to question UK police officer’s perception of the prevalence of crime on social media. The results showed that around two-thirds of police officers from 43 British forces believed crimes are worse on Facebook.

9. More than a third of Facebook Marketplace ads are scams

Research conducted by TSB Bank reveals that a whopping 34% of Facebook Marketplace listings are scams. The report suggests UK customers are losing over £160,000 a day making purchases via Facebook. In 2023, UK consumers potentially lost a staggering 60 million pounds via the platform.

10. Between 2021 and 2023, social media became the #1 place for classified scams

In 2021, classified scams by email, SMS, and the internet were more common. However, by 2023, social media had completely overtaken all other forms of classified scams, accounting for 36% percent of all reports.

11. 16% of all UK crime originates on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram

According to research conducted by This is Money in 2023 , 16% of all crimes in the UK originate on one of Meta’s three platforms: Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. The researchers were quick to point out that this means social-media-related crimes involving Facebook are more prevalent than burglaries, robberies, homicide, and knife crimes in the UK.

12. US Police Agencies on Facebook overreport on black suspects

According to research carried out by Stanford University , US police are helping to exacerbate discrimination and prejudice on Facebook. It found that police agencies on Facebook “overreport on black suspects in all violent crime categories”.

Stanford University researchers found that despite accounting for just 20% of the criminals arrested for violent crimes, black suspects were named in 32% of police agencies’ Facebook posts. That accounts for a massive 138% over-representation.

Stanford researchers rightly point out that this will negatively affect public perception and help to further antagonize racial devices.

13. Facebook account takeovers are skyrocketing

In March 2024, The Verge reported that 41 Attorneys General sent a letter to Meta demanding they do more to protect users against account takeovers. The request made to Meta’s Chief Legal Office asked the company to invest in protecting accounts to lessen the burden on Attorney General resources in the wake of skyrocketing takeovers. The latest stats reveal that account takeovers spiked from 73 in 2019 to 783 in 2023 in New York state alone.

14. 3 in 4 cyberbullying targets suffered on Facebook

According to research by ADL , three-quarters of cyberbullying victims experienced bullying on Facebook. This makes Facebook the most common platform for victims to suffer cyberbullying when compared with other popular social media sites (Twitter (24%), YouTube (21%), Instagram (24%), WhatsApp (11%), Reddit (9%), Snapchat (15%), Discord (7%) and Twitch (6%).

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How parler’s ex-ceo john matze is looking to fix social media — with a new app called hedgehog.

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The ex-CEO of conservative social media site Parler has launched a new app called Hedgehog that looks to promote “rational discussions,” even as it looks to eliminate cyberbullying and online “mobs” that have plagued other sites — including and especially Parler.

John Matze said he has developed the new app, which has been likened to a hybrid of Flipboard, Reddit and X, after learning hard lessons from his time running Parler — famously shut down in January 2021 over accusations that it helped enable the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.

The tech entrepreneur co-founded Parler in 2018 partly in response to questionable clampdowns on “misinformation” by social media apps including Facebook and Twitter that frequently targeted conservatives. Parler’s lax regulation, however, left it vulnerable to promoting conspiracy theories during the 2020 presidential election.

Hedgehog, on the other hand, is looking to walk a line to become a destination for news junkies whether they lean to the left or the right — and who are interested in sorting through the facts.

“Hedgehog is going to be successful the more diverse the people are on the platform,” Matze told The Post. “Getting a broad spectrum of people on the platform is our target.”

“The fringe left and the fringe right, that’s not our target demographic,” he added. “They probably don’t want to have those good-faith discussions, the debate and the discourse that we are trying to create on the platform.”

Launched in mid-February, the new app aims to accomplish this partly through “guardrails,” which include active community moderation on the platform. But he’s also looking to attract healthy dialogue across the political spectrum by serving up opposing viewpoints in unusual ways.

That means pulling news from a large swath of “trusted sources” that include both Fox News and CNN. Other outlets include ESPN, CBS News, The New Yorker, Sky News, Axios, Business Insider, NASA, The Daily Dot, NPR, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Post, NBC and Politico.

Parler was booted from Amazon servers shortly after Jan. 6 due to claims the app failed to police threats posted by users.

Matze was ousted from the company in February 2021 after he reportedly clashed with co-founder Rebekah Mercer over how to deal with the spread of violent messages on the platform in the wake of the attack.

Matze sued Parler that March over his firing and claims that the platform’s leadership stole his 40% stake in the company.

“I founded and ran Parler with the best of intentions, and I’m ashamed it was hijacked by bad actors to promote toxicity and drive a malicious political agenda,” Matze said. “I’m now pursuing a lawsuit against those bad actors, and I fully expect to win.”

Matze laid out some of the tools he’s implemented in Hedgehog to promote a more positive environment. The company employs a three-part system, in which all content first runs through a “carefully trained and built” artificial intelligence system designed to “filter the most obviously inappropriate and unsafe content.”

Beyond that, human moderators review content that has been flagged for their attention by AI to ensure that it complies with Hedgehog’s rules.

“It’s clear to me that social media hasn’t done enough,” the exec said, referring to the proliferation of misinformation during the 2020 presidential election and around the Jan. 6 riots.

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“If you try to go on X and have a discourse, it is not possible,” he said. “You’re going to get shouted down or not even seen because so much of what is controlled is through a complex set of algorithms.”

Members of Hedgehog are also free to report content they feel is inappropriate, which triggers a community poll to decide whether the content should be removed or the person who created the content should be removed from the chat, the company said.

“It’s a community-first system, basically, with a well-built structure supporting them and ensuring their safety,” a rep from Hedgehog concluded.

Hedgehog doesn’t use algorithms to determine what users see on their feeds. Instead, the just see content from topics that interest them.

Users can opt for an ad-supported version of the site, which includes access to curated news stories and community posts, as well as the ability to create topics of conversation and comment on them.

For $4.99 a month, subscribers can become “contributors,” which means they can manage conversations, access data on the engagement of their posts, become leading voices on the platform and have an ad-free experience, among other things.

Although the company did not reveal how many users are currently on the platform, it said it “grew accounts by the mid-double digits in April.”

Matze said his goal is to garner 20 million users and 1 million contributors in the next five years.

While that seems like a steep climb, the platform has the muscle behind it to invest in that growth.

Fox Corp., a sister company to The Post owner News Corp., is a Hedgehog investor. The media giant led Hedgehog’s series A funding with $4 million, plus another $1 million if the platform hits certain performance goals.

Matze said Hedgehog seeks to expose users to different kinds of news outlets partly by obscuring the source of a news headline until a user clicks on it.

For example, Hedgehog recently posted a news story with the headline: “Liar, liar car on fire? Feds looking at possible Tesla wire fraud charges over self-driving claims. (Did Elon overpromise?).”

Clicking on the headline opened a Reuters story with the relatively dry headline: “In Tesla autopilot probe, US prosecutors focus on securities, wire fraud.”

The decision to not broadcast the source of the story is deliberate, Matze said, adding that he hopes that readers will not only be exposed to different sources, but also that the platform will develop a sense of “trust” with the audience.

So far, the company said it is seeing strong interest in stories on the impact of artificial intelligence, inflation concerns, soaring housing and food prices, and international affairs, especially what’s happening in Russia and Haiti.

The company plans to lean more into cultural interests by creating spaces on the platform designated for super fans to discuss topics like gaming and food later this month.

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https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/05/13/before-and-after-school-childcare-what-is-wraparound-childcare/

Wraparound childcare: Everything you need to know about before and after school childcare

We’re supporting working families through the UK government’s biggest ever investment in childcare, to make it more affordable, available and flexible.

As part of this announcement, we’re expanding wraparound care for primary school children across England by increasing the number of places available, to support working families.

But what exactly is wraparound childcare? We explain everything you need to know, from what it is to how you can access it.

What is wraparound childcare?

Wraparound childcare is before and after school care for primary school aged children in England during term time, such as  and regular afterschool provision that runs until 6pm or later.

The childcare should be available every school day outside of regular  school  hours and is aimed at helping parents access more  childcare  and work the hours they want to.

This is different from out-of-school activities, or school clubs, which are less frequent and can be a one-off activity.

Around 60 percent of primary schools across England offer wraparound childcare, both before and after school.

Private, voluntary, and independent providers, including childminders and early years settings, are also able to offer wraparound childcare. Often, it’s run on a school site or another setting in the local area.

How do I find wraparound childcare near me?

Parents looking for  childcare options  for their primary school child should speak to their child’s school or the Family Information Service run by their local authority to find out what wraparound childcare is currently available in the area.

From September 2024, parents can expect to see an increase in the number of wraparound childcare places available across the country.

We expect all parents who need it to have access to wraparound childcare, either from their school or from another provider in their local area, by September 2026.

We encourage parents to talk to their child’s school or the Family Information Service in their local authority about their need for wraparound childcare, even if it’s not currently available.

Who will be eligible for wraparound childcare?

Our ambition is that all parents in England with primary school aged children will be able to access wraparound care in their local area by September 2026.

How much will it cost and is financial support available ?

Providers will set their own fees for wraparound places, so prices will vary.

Parents will pay their wraparound childcare provider directly for their child’s place.

Parents eligible for  Tax-Free Childcare  or  Universal Credit Childcare  will be able to use the support to help pay for wraparound care.

Tax-Free Childcare could save eligible parents up to £2,000 per year for children aged up to 11, or £4,000 per year for children aged up to 17 with disabilities.

Universal Credit Childcare could save eligible parents up to 85% of their childcare costs for children aged up to 16.

To check if you are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare, visit the Childcare Choices website.

What if wraparound childcare is not available in my area ?

If you live in England you can request that your child’s school consider setting up wraparound childcare for your child if they don’t already provide it.

You should write to your child’s school by letter or e-mail and include when you most need wraparound childcare, detailing the days and times you need it. The school will get back to you with a decision within a school-term.

How are we supporting local authorities to deliver the wraparound childcare expansion?

To make more available wraparound care possible, local authorities will receive a share of £289 million to help map out and accommodate the needs of parents in their area.

They will also be able to use the funds to test different ways to increase their wraparound options, including working with local private providers or partnering with schools.

We’re also giving local authorities a share of a further £100 million to ensure childcare settings in the area – including both early years and wraparound settings – have enough physical space to roll out the programme from next year.

What else are we doing to improve access to childcare for under 5s for working parents ?

We’re doubling the amount we are investing in childcare over the next few years from around £4 billion to around £8 billion each year.

As part of this investment, by September 2025, working parents will be able to claim 30 hours childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, all the way through from nine months up to their child starting school.

Nurseries are also set to receive a £204 million cash boost which they can use to ease cost pressures such as staffing costs, training and bills.

You can read more about how we’re investing in childcare in England on the Education Hub .

You may also be interested in:

• Thousands of parents of two-year-olds benefit from 15 hours free childcare - here's how
• Free childcare: How we are tackling the cost of childcare
• How to apply for 30 hours free childcare and find out if you’re eligible

Tags: After school childcare , Before school childcare , Breakfast Clubs , Childcare , What is wraparound care , What is wraparound childcare , Wraparound care , wraparound childcare

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