A few practical tips
Bullying on the Internet is very similar to all the insults and injuries that some of your peers at school may have caused you. The difference is that on the Internet, bullies can remain anonymous or continue to find you, even if you live hundreds of miles away.
However, cyberbullying works by mechanisms that are easily predictable. That is why its counteraction is not so difficult. If you are disciplined enough and follow the practical tips below, you will certainly feel more comfortable in the next case of online harassment.
➢ Don’t answer—even if you think it’s right for the moment, don’t start a conversation and don’t respond to messages from people who are harassing you. The authors of such messages want to know that they have bothered and upset you. The chances of them getting bored and leaving you alone if you don’t answer are very high.
➢ Go offline—if you feel personally affected, remind yourself that you can turn off your phone and computer at any time. Leave virtual reality and replace it with real for a while
➢ Notify your mobile operator or Internet provider—they can restrict texts, calls and online messages from certain people, when, of course, you have no option to block them yourself.
➢ Change your contact details—use a new username, a new email, a new mobile number and share them only with your closest friends. Despite the harassment directed at you, you should never surrender or give up your own life.
➢ Tell someone—if harassment bothers you, don’t keep quiet. Talk to someone about it. If you feel that your parents won’t understand you, share your concerns with a friend, teacher, or someone you can trust. Look for more information on such situations, starting with the articles in our Toler@nce Platform.
➢ Notify the authorities—if the messages contain threats or for any other reason have seriously disturbed you, notify the authorities. Threats are illegal and the authorities can put an end to them. Part of their job is to protect you, and they definitely know how to deal with a situation like yours.
➢ Keep a record—you don’t need to read the messages, but keep a record of them with date and time. It can serve as evidence if you need it, as well as help the authorities understand where the messages are coming from.
Fortunately, there are many ways to deal with bullying on the Internet. The beginning always goes through sharing with an adult with more experience than you, which we advise you in many of our articles. In order not to leave the effect only on an individual level, it is important to become part of the big change ourselves.
• Check the rules for using the various social networks. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube have different privacy policies and different policies regarding hate and bullying.
• Keep track of new articles, events and initiatives within our Toler@nce Platform.
• You can write to us and share your story of how you dealt with a cyberbullying case in our Good Story section so that your example can serve more people!