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For the vast majority of people the internet provides a positive and very useful experience. However, cyberbullying or online harassment is something that can potentially affect anyone. It can also take different forms from the annoying, to the traumatic – and everything in between. Experiencing online harassment can have a huge impact both emotionally and physically on the victim, but there are ways to deal with it, and supports are available to people.

 

Types of Online Harassment

 

This behaviour includes receiving threatening messages, posting abusive and threatening comments on the victim’s profile or other websites.

This involves setting up fake profiles and web pages that are attributed to the victim and it can also involve gaining access to someone’s social media profile or messaging apps and using it to contact others while impersonating the account or profile owner

This can include repeatedly sending unwanted messages, or making phone calls. Using social media or message boards, to repeatedly harass, or to post derogatory or defamatory statements. Tracking a person’s activity and collecting information about them. 

This can include blocking an individual from a popular group or community such as a school or class group, deleting them from friends lists, and/or using ‘ignore functions’

This behaviour involves posting images or videos intended to embarrass someone, it can involve users sharing and posting images or videos of victims being abused or humiliated offline, or users sharing personal communications such as e-mails or messages with a wider audience than was intended by the sender

This behaviour involves making false reports to the service provider or reporting other users for a range of behaviours with a view to having the user’s account or website deleted.

 

What can I do?

 

What to do if a friend is being bullied online?

Remember to be a good friend and digital citizen, if you see someone being harassed online or are aware of bullying, there are steps you can take to help that person. 

If you are worried a friend or someone you know is being bullied online:

 

No one should ever experience harassment online, we can all help make the internet a better place by standing up to online harassment and bullying.

Helplines

Talk to someone

Worried about something you have seen online or concerned about your child? Childline and the National Parents Council Primary offer free advice and support service.

Childline is a support service for young people up to the age of 18.There is a 24hr telephone, online and mobile phone texting service.

1800666666
50101
Get started


The National Parents Council Primary enables and empowers parents to be effective partners in their children’s education.

01 887 4477
helpline@npc.ie

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