5 Important Cyber Bullying Tips for Teens

Giving your teens cyber bullying tips so they can recognize and fight it when they see it is important. Bullying is certainly not a joking matter, and for teens, it is very serious. Cyber bullying has become too prevalent and if you are a teenager who is online, you have probably already dealt with it. Here are a few cyber bullying tips for dealing with this form of harassment and putting it behind you.

• How Do You Handle it When Your Child is Cyber Bullied?
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• Cyber Bullying Laws: Will They Protect Our Kids?

If you run into a situation in which a cyber bully shows up, nip it in the bud. Block or unfriend anyone who shows a tendency to be a cyber bully. The bullying doesn’t have to be aimed at you and you can get an indication about a person’s intentions by the way they deal with others. Even if someone isn’t bullying you, if they seem to be bullying someone else you don’t know when they will turn their attention to you.

Block them and don’t allow them to have the opportunity to harass you at all.

If someone is bullying you in cyberspace, take screen shots of it. You never know what will happen later on or how it will escalate but if you need to get the authorities involved — even school authorities — you will need proof. This may be one of our most important cyber bullying tips!

After taking screen shots of cyber bullying incidents, delete the posts if you can. If you can’t delete for one reason or another, hide or block the posts so you can’t see them. You don’t want the constant reminder of the things that were said. First of all, bullies pick on people because they have issues themselves and they want to project those issues to someone else to make themselves feel better. You don’t need to read and reread what they said, so delete it all and forget about it.

If you’ve been the victim of a cyber bully, get an adult involved. Whether it’s a parent or someone else, find an adult you trust and talk to them about what has happened. Show them the screen shots or the posts and ask them to help you work through what happened. The adult can listen to your concerns, give you advice, and step in when necessary.

You can’t be cyber bullied if you’re not in cyberspace. Spend time away from the Internet. Stay off of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and other sites for awhile. Pick up a non-web hobby, spend time with real life friends and family, and stay away from the web. Remember, cyberspace is not real life. Go out and enjoy the real thing for a change.

Cyber bullying incidents shouldn’t be ignored totally. Sure, ignore what someone says about you and don’t take it to heart, but if you are the victim of a cyber bully, take action! Take screen shots, talk to an adult, and put a stop to it.