What You Should Know About Adult Cyberbullying

Most people might think that the brunt of cyberbullying falls on teens. While that still might be true, teens aren’t the only targets of bullies. Social networking sites have increased in popularity, which means cyberbullying has increased, too — for all ages. Nonetheless, many American adults have reported facing harassment and threats online, showing that bullying certainly doesn’t end at 18.

According to a survey from the Pew Research Center, more than 40 percent of American adults have been bullied online. While there have been several creative anti-bullying campaigns online, both teens and adults still face Internet harassment at alarming rates. The following will talk about the definition of cyberbullying, and what you can do to protect yourself from online harassers.

Read More: I Am A Witness: Antibullying Emoji Campaign

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying takes place through several platforms, and includes several behaviors. Most harassment takes place through email, chat rooms, social media, website comments, or other digital messages sent to phones or computers. Cyberbullying can take the form of one user persecuting another for one reason or another, sharing private photos or videos of the victim online, or sending threatening message from one party to another.

Some of the types of cyberbullying are:

• Impersonation
• Cyber-stalking
• Outing and trickery, or sharing personal information or secrets online without the subject’s permission
• Denigration, or posting shameful information about someone online

The Traits of Cyberbullies

Cyberbullies are often difficult to track because they often want to preserve their anonymity by using pseudonyms or false pictures associated with the account. This is especially easy to do on social networks like Twitter. This anonymity, and even the vast number of victims available on the Internet, can make some people act in ways they wouldn’t in real life.

Fighting Back

If you feel like you are being cyberbullied or know someone who is, there are several steps to make sure that you can fight back. First, don’t get rid of the incriminating material. If someone sends you a nasty text or photo, make sure to keep it and make note of when it was sent. On many social media channels, you can report harassment, and the site can either block the user from contacting you, or block the user from the website altogether.

If the level of harassment you’re receiving starts to feel criminal, you can also contact law enforcement for your own protection. Sending sexually explicit material, invading your privacy, or threatening violence to your person — even virtually — are considered crimes. Authorities can deal with the cyberbullies who threaten you in this way.