At one point in your life you may have been the victim of bullying. Bullying is not a recent phenomenon, however as technology improves there are more avenues that bullies can use to target their victims. Cyber bullying is just another form of bullying that takes place using interactive digital technologies. Whether a child is being bullied at school or an adult is bullied in the work place, bullying can have a huge impact on anyone’s life. But what is bullying? Who gets bullied and who are the bullies? Most importantly, what can you do about cyber bullying? Here are some answers to these questions:
What is bullying?
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, bullying can be defined as “any form of aggressive behaviour that isrepeated, intended to cause harm, characterised by an imbalance of power and is hidden from or unacknowledged”. Power imbalances can take many forms: Group power, older/younger power imbalances, experienced- inexperienced and imbalances between socially isolated people and those who are socially connected. These power imbalances can often create a platform for the bullying to begin.
Bullies can use technologies in a variety of ways: creating derogatory websites about victims, sending derogatory mobile phone or email messages and harassing on forums or social networking sites. The intention of bullies could be to defame, threaten, humiliate or badger. There is evidence to suggest that cyber bullying can be more harmful than other types of bullying. This is because a wider audience can witness the bullying adding to the humiliation of the victim. It also means every insult is digitally recorded for the victim to relive so there is less opportunity to escape the harassment.
Who bullies?
Often a child who was bullied themselves will become an adult bully, but adults and children might bully for different reasons. According to the website, Online Bullying, when an adult gets bullied it is usually because they are popular, well liked or good at their job. However, a child is often targeted because they will not or cannot fight back. In most cases, the bully is driven by envy and/or motivated by a need to release feelings of frustration and anger. The following are examples of three types of bullies:
What is bullying?
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, bullying can be defined as “any form of aggressive behaviour that isrepeated, intended to cause harm, characterised by an imbalance of power and is hidden from or unacknowledged”. Power imbalances can take many forms: Group power, older/younger power imbalances, experienced- inexperienced and imbalances between socially isolated people and those who are socially connected. These power imbalances can often create a platform for the bullying to begin.
Bullies can use technologies in a variety of ways: creating derogatory websites about victims, sending derogatory mobile phone or email messages and harassing on forums or social networking sites. The intention of bullies could be to defame, threaten, humiliate or badger. There is evidence to suggest that cyber bullying can be more harmful than other types of bullying. This is because a wider audience can witness the bullying adding to the humiliation of the victim. It also means every insult is digitally recorded for the victim to relive so there is less opportunity to escape the harassment.
Who bullies?
Often a child who was bullied themselves will become an adult bully, but adults and children might bully for different reasons. According to the website, Online Bullying, when an adult gets bullied it is usually because they are popular, well liked or good at their job. However, a child is often targeted because they will not or cannot fight back. In most cases, the bully is driven by envy and/or motivated by a need to release feelings of frustration and anger. The following are examples of three types of bullies:
The ‘accidental bully’: their behaviour may be a response to stress and they also may be unaware of the impact they have on others.
The ‘narcissistic bully’: they have a desire for power and will cut down anyone who gets in their way. They may not intentionally set out to be a bully and their behaviour is more of a reaction to any perceived attempts to take away the power.
The ‘serial bully’: they may set out to intentionally hurt others and they are often lacking in empathy or remorse. This bully-type usually does everything out of self interest.
Being bullied can lower self esteem and make one feel sad, alone and scared. The bullying can have a negative impact on psychological and physical health; in some cases a victim could become depressed or anxious as a result of bullying or become physically sick as a result of the stress. While it can be tricky to deal with a cyber bully, you can overcome cyber bullying.
What can you do?
Making threats or harassing someone is illegal and you can report this to the police, your manager or principal. If you want to report the bullying you may have to accumulate some evidence and take action. For example you can take a snap shot of the screen displaying the offensive material and save it. You can also block the offender from sending you emails. If you need instruction on how to do any of these things and more go to www.cyberbullying.ca
Alternatively, you can ignore the bully. If you are being bullied online, one of the initial ways of dealing with it is to ignore the bully. If the bully cannot get a reaction out of you then they do not get what they desire. Usually when someone does not get what they desire they move on to something else. While an adult may have the ability to ignore a bully, a child is not always as capable. If your child needs help, the following book maybe useful:
Field, E. (2007). Bully blocking: Six secrets to help young children deal with teasing and bullying. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
If you are experiencing work related bullying you may find the following book useful:
Field, T. (1996). Bully in sight: How to predict, resist, challenge and combat workplace bullying. Oxfordshire, UK: Success Unlimited Books.
References
www.bullyonline.org
www.aic.gov.au (Australian Institute of Criminology)
www.psychology.org.au (Australian Psychological Society)
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