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Bullying is a horrible practice in all its forms, but the rapid development of technology in recent years has resulted in a potentially even more hurtful phenomenon: cyberbullying. By using modern methods of communication such as text, email, and social media platforms, cyberbullies can intimidate, humiliate or otherwise negatively impact others – often anonymously.
The physical, mental, and emotional tolls that cyberbullying can take on a person are real. Indeed, a recent study found that cyberbullying can more often lead to suicidal thoughts than traditional forms of bullying. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to combat the practice. If you believe you’re a victim of cyberbullies, these simple techniques could help to reduce your exposure and relieve some of the stress you may be experiencing.
1. Do not engage
For many people, their instinctive reaction to experiencing cyberbullying might be to fight back. While this might feel right in the moment, it’s only likely to serve as a red rag to a bull and the war of words could quickly escalate out of control. Ignoring a bully’s attempt to goad you, on the other hand, could show them that there is nothing to be gained from their persecution of you and they may become bored with their sadistic game.
2. Block and mute
Most hardware devices (such as phones and tablets) and most service providers (such as email, social media, or forums) have in-built capabilities to block unsolicited and unwanted messages from certain sources. Explore these options and enable them for those who are targeting you. If a cyberbully’s voice cannot be heard, they’re powerless to impact you negatively.
3. Report
Cyberbullying is against the code of ethics of almost all websites, platforms, and forums. If you find yourself being belittled, threatened, or otherwise targeted by a member of the community, you should report their behavior to the relevant administrators. This will not only be useful in limiting their ability to attack you, but can also save others from their toxic attention.
4. Curate your content
Think very carefully about any media you upload or messages you post online. A photo, video or comment might seem innocuous enough at the moment but will have a virtually infinite lifespan on the internet and could be later used against you. As such, it always makes sense to only ever post things you’re comfortable with the whole world seeing.
5. Clean up your online presence
You should also retrospectively audit your social media profiles and general internet presence to make sure you aren’t providing a cyberbully with ammo. Since you will likely have used the internet for several years and in a variety of ways, the list of tasks ahead of you to perform the job thoroughly is an extensive but not insurmountable one. Alternatively, you could hire a third-party company that specializes in such data removal services to tackle the job for you more efficiently and effectively.
Cyberbullying is not acceptable, wherever it occurs. Don’t suffer in silence – follow these tips to increase your safety from its thoughtless perpetrators today.
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