Cyber Bullying : Protect Yourselves and Value Others

Cyber Bullying is Real!!!

If you are reading this blog, this means that you are not new to the internet, and if you spent even a small amount of time over the internet you must have heard about the very common term,  "Cyber Bullying".

Whoa!, sounds bad, doesn't it?

Well as a matter of fact it is. The term Bullying in itself is horrifying and combining it with another fancy term, such as Cyber makes it even more horrible. 

In simpler terms, Cyber Bullying is an act of Bullying or harassing someone over the internet. Be it abusing, shaming, trolling, or any other ...ing, if that happens over the internet then it is known as Cyber Harassment or Cyber Bullying.

This is most common amongst Students, Teenagers, Pre-Teens and more collectively, Youngsters. 

Cyberbullying.org defines it as:  “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices”

• Willful: The behaviour has to be deliberate, not accidental.
• Repeated: Bullying reflects a pattern of behaviour, not just one isolated incident.
• Harm: The target must perceive that harm was inflicted.
• Computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices: This, of course, is what differentiates cyberbullying from traditional bullying

This is important to understand that single instances of mistreatment cannot be accurately equated to bullying, as it should involve harmful behaviour of a repetitive nature. But this is not the case always.

Sometimes, even the one-off incidents of mistreatment can have serious consequences. So it is always better to mind what we write or say over the internet.

Bullying prevention is very important. And educating the younger generation about the responsibilities they have when they are online is very necessary. When on the internet watching what you post and what you say is very important. 

School students are the most vulnerable and need the most attention and overlooking and education. An empathetic learning approach should be chosen with students and they should be taught to respect the feelings of others be it online or offline.

Also if learning isn't enough, it is very important to know that Bullying is a criminal offence and carry severe penalty and punishment to the offender. Keeping this in mind everyone should refrain from being MEAN online, or any place else.