Cyberbullying, which is sometimes referred to as online social cruelty or electronic bullying
Posted on
February 23, 2010 by
admin
Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and involves an imbalance of power or strength. Usually, it is repeated over time. Traditionally, bullying has involved actions such as: hitting or punching (physical bullying), teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying), or intimidation through gestures or social exclusion. In recent years, technology has given children and youth a new means of bullying each other.
Cyberbullying, which is sometimes referred to as online social cruelty or electronic bullying, can involve:
- Sending mean, vulgar, or threatening messages or images
- Posting sensitive, private information about another person
- Pretending to be someone else in order to make that person look bad
- Intentionally excluding someone from an online group (Willard, 2005)
Children and youth can cyberbully each other through:
- Emails
- Instant messaging
- Text or digital imaging messages sent on cell phones
- Web pages
- Blogs
- Chat rooms or discussion groups
- Other information communication technologies
Source: Department of Health & Human Services
