Tackling Cyberbullying
The last thing a cyberbully wants is for their attacks to be found out. Therefore, it is vital that if a person is a victim of this type of Internet abuse they should inform the appropriate authorities. The following advice should be followed by victims of cyberbullying:
- If it is a defamatory web site then the ISP should be contacted as well as the police.
- Beware of responding to abusive or controversial topics raised in on-line services such as chat rooms or newsgroups. Most of the time these statements are designed to start 'flame wars' and cause offence to as many people as possible.
- Do not give out any personal information such as mobile phone numbers or e-mail addresses.
- Keep a record of all cyberbullying incidents by saving messages, e-mails, etc. for evidence purposes.
- Inform the moderator of a chat room or discussion forum if any cyberbullying activity is taking place.
- Immediately contact the police or mobile phone operator if e-mail or text messages are particularly disturbing.
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