Online Bullying: What It Is And What To Do?

Last night I watched Jesy Nelsons BBC documentary “Odd One Out” and it really hit home what the effects of online comments can do to someone.

Online bullying can have a huge impact on someone’s life

It can affect person’s self-esteem, confidence and social skills and in some cases make a person feel like life is no longer worth living!

In a recent National (UK) bullying survey, 56% of young people said that had seen others being bullied online and 42% had felt unsafe online.

Online bullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can go viral very fast!

What are the types of Online Bullying?

• Harassment: sending offensive and abusive messages
• Denigration: sharing photos of someone for the purpose to ridicule and gossip
• Flaming: purposely using extreme and offensive language to cause a reaction and get into a fight
• Impersonation: hacking someone’s account to post vicious or embarrassing material to/about others
• Cyber Stalking: repeatedly sending messages that make a person afraid for their safety
• Exclusion: intentionally leaving someone out of a group chat/other online engagement
• Rumors: this is usually done by someone who was once close to the person
• Blackmail and Grooming: pressurizing someone to send naked photos and then threatening to share those photos online if they don’t do certain things

Ask for Help!

Cyberbullying is not against the law, but harassment or threatening behaviour is

That means if someone keeps making you feel scared on purpose, what they’re doing could be illegal and should be reported to the Police.

If you don’t feel ready to speak to the police, it’s so important to confide in someone you trust.

If you are seeing someone being bullied, then know that there is no such thing as an innocent bystander. You may feel like it is easier to ignore it but you must report it.

LAMSA’s note: we would like to thank Doctor Shireen for her collaboration