Cyberbullying is the use of new technology, in particular mobile phones and the internet, to deliberately upset someone else.
Why is cyberbullying different from other types of violence?
- Anytime, anywhere and anonymous: cyberbullying can take place at any time and can happen anywhere. Cyberbullying can happen when you are in your personal safe space, like at home. The person cyberbullying may never be in the same physical space as their target and may attempt to appear anonymous.
- Large audience and a rapid reach: the difficultly in controlling electronically circulated messages, pictures or videos means the scale and scope of cyberbullying can be greater than other forms of bullying.
- “It’s just a joke!” Some instances of cyberbullying can be unintentional. It can be the result of not thinking, for example something sent as a joke may be deeply upsetting or offensive to the recipient.
- Evidence trail: many cyberbullying incidents can themselves act as evidence. A trail of evidence can be gathered from online and mobile communications.