We explain what cyberbullying or cyberharassment is and the characteristics of each of its types. Also, how to prevent cyberbullying.
What is cyberbullying?
It is known as cyberbullying (from English bullyingharassment or bullying), cyberbullying or virtual bullying use of digital media platforms and media for the purpose of exercising emotional and psychological violence on an individual or a group of them, through constant personal attacks, disclosure of private information or false information, generally by aggressors protected by anonymity.
Given the omnipresence of the Internet and technological media in life at the beginning of the 21st century, this type of harassment causes the victim significant amounts of anguish, stress, humiliation and other more or less serious forms of emotional suffering, which can perfectly well be lead to major ailments. For this reason cyberbullying may constitute a crime in some cases and some legislations.
Numerous digital practices can be understood as cyberbullying, but in general they are carried out in a digital environment, by anonymous actors (or not), directly against an individual or group of them, in a periodic, insistent and malicious manner.
Furthermore, the fact that the harasser and victim do not have direct physical contact further accentuates the violence of the act, since it prevents the appearance of any vestige of empathy or compassion on the part of the harasser, when contemplating the victim's suffering first hand.
See also: Bullying
Types of cyberbullying
There are various forms of cyberbullying, many of which have received a neologism as a name, in an attempt to typify them and make them more recognizable. We refer to:
- psychological harassment. It consists of the public, constant and malicious disqualification of a person, exposing and/or exaggerating their weaknesses and defects, or systematically censoring their comments and interventions on online socialization platforms. The purpose of this practice is to humiliate the other and damage their self-esteem, by making them feel exposed or unfairly attacked in front of others.
- Cyberstalking. This is known as the practice of investigating the victim's digital information, with the purpose of finding old, confidential or personal information that can be used to currently attack him, expose him, ridicule him, etc.
- Pedophile harassment or grooming. In this case, it is a series of behaviors carried out by an adult, in order to gain the trust of a minor, with the aim of sexually seducing him or her. This can occur openly, or through disguises and tricks that seek to confuse the minor and make him believe that he is communicating with someone of the same age or close to him.
- Sextortion. It usually consists of blackmail, intimidation or extortion of a person at the hands of one or more individuals who have somehow obtained intimate material of their property (photographs, videos, messages, etc.). It often occurs at the hands of former partners, who disclose intimate content as revenge, and can be considered a type of gender violence, given that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the victim is a woman.
- Defamation on social networks. Through digital tools and fake accounts, many harassers launch campaigns of defamation, caricature or incitement to lynching against a person, either by impersonating them, falsely accusing them or disclosing confidential data (addresses, telephone numbers) so that receive unsolicited calls or messages.
- Communication bombardment. In this case, these are calls, messages or other types of communications that occur massively, insistently and overwhelmingly on social networks, video games or video calling, messaging and email services. These messages have no other purpose than to insult, attack and torture the victim, often as a dynamic of revenge or supposed punishment.
How to prevent cyberbullying?
Although no one is exempt from the risks of cyberbullying, its risks are usually greater in the case of children and young people, who are more dependent on technological instruments for their emotional life and less prepared to face the risks they entail. Thus, information and education on the responsible use of so-called ICTs will always be the main strategy to combat cyberbullying. This implies:
- In the case of child or juvenile victims, close communication between parents and children It will allow the latter to go to the former in case of emergency or doubt. It is key that parents know who and how their children communicate with, just as they would on the street.
- Learn about the technological platforms used: your risks, privacy profiles and options, to configure accounts in the most secure way and respectful of our individuality and privacy. In the case of a minor, this task must correspond to their parents or guardians.
- Design security strategies for accounts and devices as designed to safeguard your home or personal property: strong passwords, antivirus programs, and informed judgment about how you take risks online. Avoiding malware and harmful pages is key.
- Go to the authorities appropriate measures in the event of virtual harassment, and immediately suspend contact with the abusers: block, silence, report the misconduct to the website administrators or, in the worst case, temporarily suspend the account and the participation of the victim in the digital space.
- Avoid voluntary dissemination of sensitive material confidential or compromising on social networks. This applies to erotic material (especially if it reveals the face or other identifiable features), phone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc. Nothing that we would not give to a stranger on the street should be disclosed on our social networks.
Continue with: Stalking
References
- “Cyberbullying” on Wikipedia.
- “Cyberbullying: cyberbullying on social networks, video games, smartphones… and its prevention” (video) on Screens Amigas.
- “Cyberbullying: what it is and how we prevent it” in Ayuda en Acción.
- “What is cyberbullying?” on Portal of the Government of Mexico.
- “Cyberbullying” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
