We live more and more of our lives online. With this transition, a lot of the issues that we confront in the offline were transferred in the online. Among them is bullying. It mainly consisted of using technology to threaten, harass or embarrass another person.

The phenomenon of cyberbullying grew larger and larger due to the „absence” of the direct confrontation. The online gave bullies, and sometimes their victims, the means to express their thoughts and feelings without being forced to confront the person directly. The practice spread fast as the bullies were no longer having to see the damage they inflicted upon their victims. Everything was indirect, and many times cyberbullying became a game for the bullies.

Cyberbullying is very wide spread within the teenager communities. Teenage is the time where a lot of changes occur, thus the teenagers are very easy influenced as they are in the period when they are trying to define themselves as future adults. Cyberbullies could damage their self-esteem and affect their psychological development.

How does a cyberbully become a cyberbully? Bullies can come from anywhere, most of the times the bullies are persons who know the victim even offline. Many times the bullies don’t even realize what they are doing until it’s too late. Sometimes cyberbullying starts as a joke that gets too far. Other times, cyberbullying can come as a revenge or a reaction to a similar situation.

What can you do about it?

As a victim, what can you do about it is talking about the issue. Due to technology, cyberbullying can be hidden quite well and many times the bullies take advantage of that. Despite that, the issue can be solved by taking to parents, friends and reporting it to the authorities. There area a series of measures that can be taken against this type of behavior.

Another way to fight cyberbullying is to resist the urge to respond to the bullies. If you get in their game, the issue will continue as they see that the issue upsets you so they’ll continue.

Remember you can always walk away. Bullies carry on the harassment as they see that it’s bothering you. Many times walking away is the best option.

Even if cyberbullying is mainly affecting teenagers, the issue is spreading fast and we have to be prepared to tackle it. There are measures being taken against such malign online practices, but you can always contribute by reporting such cases.