Internet Bullying

Bullying Online

Officially illegal practice, but how hard is it to monitor or Police. We think of bullying, in the mainstream, as being aimed at children yet internet bullying amongst adults is rife.

Tolerating Bulling

We seem to tolerate bullying on line because it is hard to imagine routine without internet, even for a casual user, problems can be created. Bullying amongst those who use social networking sites has risen as predicted with the increase of internet use, yet in the US cyberbullying has been experienced by up to two thirds of teens. In the UK almost a third of internet users were bullied on line, this included email and in many cases moved into text.

Stress

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives, it comes across in physical symptoms as headaches, stomach upsets, sweating among other relatively minor symptoms, but what happens when stress becomes unmanageable, when cyberbullying spirals out of control, when adults, often professional people encourage their colleagues to take part. Stress can reach a point where the symptoms can't be addressed, when the body had bowed to the strain and gives up.

What Can We Do?

Watch out on social networking sites for potentially damaging situations, encourage yourself to view the posts from the other persons viewpoint before posting. Try to avoid being drawn in to help defend someone else, one of the biggest issues amongst adults and young people who suffered at the hands of interent bullies, and these are generally people who would not consider themselves to be a bully, is that the support for on line abuse made it harder for them to fight back.

We would of course consider blocking users, changing screen names, using different sites and forums, but should the abused have to hide? If it was any other scenario we would say no, stand up be counted, you are equal, but on libe is taken less seriously by peers, and they are encouraged to switch off, change their patterns to accomodate everyone else.

Society and Life

Society promotes strong personalities, yet proclaims to support the underdog too, is that possible? How difficult do you find it to stand up and be counted? To be drawn in to a discussion only to find yourself having to defend your belief. Do you feel uncomfortable on social networking sites? Have you felt pressured to leave sites because you felt unhappy? Have you ever felt tearful or suicidal because of the internet?

Options

Yes, you can change your screen name, yes you can register again, it is far better to tell someone, whether you are an adult or child it can help to share your thoughts, because the person who has conflict with you may not see it the same way.

Block the offending user, open a new profile, make your personal details unavailable, don't ignore a problem it will only get worse. Ask for help, don't feel silly or scared.

Cyberbullying is illegal, the law is there to protect you, don't be a victim be a survivor