What is cyberbullying?

Social networking: What is cyberbullying?

Most social networking sites have a policy (like a set of rules) about how to communicate on the site. Not using rude language and being nice to other users is probably one of the main rules for whatever website you’re using.

When people are rude or mean to each other on social networking sites, it’s called cyberbullying. Like bullying in the offline world, cyberbullying can include a lot of different things, like:

• someone calling you names
• someone spreading rumours about you
• someone pretending to be you (this is also called identity theft)
• someone saying nasty things about you or to you

(When these sorts of things happen to you on your mobile phone, it’s called text-bullying)

There are lots of things you can do to prevent and stop cyberbullying. If you think you may have cyberbullied someone, click here for some tips on how to make sure you don’t do it again. If you think you might be being cyberbullied and would like to get some info on how to make it stop, click here. Or you can contact us on queries@netsafe.org.nz