Cyberbullying

Last updated 29 Jul 2010

Cyberbullying can affect individuals of any age, and although most promenant amongst teenage girls, there has been an increase in the reports of cyberbullying experienced by adults.

This includes:

  • Cyberbullying in halls of residence. Common examples of this include hijacking social networking sites accounts and editing details.
  • Cyberbullying at work. Common examples include cruel emails being sent about individuals.
  • Cyberbullying in personal life. This includes ‘sexting’, having naked pictures of you put on the Internet, and unfavourable websites set up.
  • Just as is the case for children and young people, cyberbullying can have a very negative psychological impact on the victim, not least because of the way technology infiltrates most aspects of our society making escape from this type of bullying quite difficult.

There are few places adults can go for help or advice on these issues, but we recommend:

The Samaritans
Web: The Samaritans
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Phone: 08457 909090

Your Trade Union
Visit the TUC for further information.

Your Students’ Union
Visit the NUS for further information.

Talking to a friend

Additionally, it is important to remember that you have control of your online presence and it is important to stay in control. There are a few steps you can take to ensure this:

  • Update your privacy settings so only people you feel comfortable having access to your information do.
  • Don’t be afraid to block people online if they are abusing you.
  • Talk to someone about what is happening, especially if they are in a position to mediate between you and the bully.
  • Report any abuse you receive to the site provider. Although these services are often advertised only to younger people, you can make use of them.
  • Keep a log of any bullying which takes place, this will make it easier to report it.

For more information and options for reporting cyberbullying visit the Internet Watch Foundation.