CYBERBULLYING
Be an upstander!
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is the use of digital media tools, such as the Internet and cell phones, to deliberately humiliate and harass others, oftentimes repeatedly.
Cyberbullying can take a variety of forms, such as harassing someone, impersonating someone, spreading rumors, or forwarding embarrassing information about a person. A bully’s mean-spirited comments can spread widely through instant messaging (IM), phone texting, and by posts on social networking sites.
How to be an UPSTANDER
- Bystander: someone who sees cyberbullying happening, but does nothing to help
- Upstander: someone who helps when they see cyberbullying occur
- Empathize: to imagine the feelings that someone else is experiencing
Know that cyberbullying is as harmful as face-to-face bullying. Online harassment spreads rapidly and participating in cyberbullying can be active or passive.
To be an upstander,
- De-escalate when possible. If you have good standing with the offender and are comfortable, politely tell the offender to back off.
- Point out the offender’s motivation to the target. Comfort the target by explaining that many offenders act this way in order to gain control, power, or status.
- Tell the target you’re there for them. Just by offering a helping hand, you let a target know he or she is not alone and that you’re not okay with what’s happening.
- Help the target. Help the target find friends and school leaders who can help de-escalate the situation.
Put yourself in someone else's shoes...
Create a graphic organizer that describes all of the emotions and feelings someone who has been cyberbullied experiences. Use Photoshop to create an Anti-Cyberbullying poster to encourage others to be an Upstander!
By imagining yourself in someone else's position, you are showing empathy.
(MTLSS 5 & 6; visual organizers & photo editing tools)
Cyberbullying Information
All images are Creative Commons and/or licensed for reuse.