Additional Help

Bullying Resource Page

More Ways to Get Help With Bullying

Cyber Bullying Guide

Use the above links to explore the cyber bullying guide.

Have you tried everything to stop the bullying and nothing worked?
Are you unable to cope with the stress of bullying?

Click here for more ways to get help with bullying (DOC)

Use the following activities to end bullying: They will help you better understand what you have learned about cyber bullying.

Bystander Quiz (DOC)

Making Assumptions (DOC)

Talking to an Adult (DOC)

What's Your Opinion (DOC)

I Play a Role Cyber (DOC)

Nice it Forward (DOC)

CYBER BULLYING

If You See Bullying Happening

Most teens agree that they are against bullying, but many do not know what to do about it. Here we will show you what to do and what not to do when you see cyber bullying happening.

As a bystander, you are playing a role in the bullying. You can choose to make things better or worse. You might wonder, "How can I be a bystander if the bullying is not happening in front of me?" You are a bystander if you read it, see it, or hear about it.

Some examples of how bystanders support cyber bullying:

As a bystander you have a choice to take actions when you see or hear about cyber bullying. Now that you know what cyber bullying is and the hurtful effects it can have on the victim, you can change your behavior from encouraging the bully to helping the victim.

Below are specific actions you can take when you see cyberbullying.

Not all of these ideas may work best for you. Choose actions that you are most comfortable doing.

 

Responding to the bullying online.
You can stand up for the victim online by telling others what they are doing or saying is hurtful.

  • Do so in a neutral or positive way.
  • Say that you do not agree with the bully.
  • Use positive comments about the victim.
  • Do not engage in arguments, commenting wars, or act aggressively.

Talk to the victim.
This will let him know that someone cares about him.

  • If you know the victim, call him.
  • Ask if he knows or has seen what is going on.
  • If he has not, tell him not to log on, check him phone etc. Offer to go to him house and look at it with him.
  • If he has seen or does know about the bullying, offer support or advice.

Keep him calm.
Being the victim of cyber bullying can be overwhelming so the victim may need a voice of reason.

  • Remind him that overreacting is what the bully wants.
  • Remind him to breathe and to think before he acts.
  • If the person wants to respond, help him come up with calm and appropriate responses.

Help save evidence.
If the victim decides he is going to report the bullying, he will need evidence to show what happened.

  • First, ask the victim if he wants help keeping copies or notes, texts, emails, etc.
  • Offer to save all of the information for him so he does not have to look at it.

Click the following link to read our instructions on how to save evidence (DOC).

Offer to be Cyber Free.
The best thing the victim can do is to stay off of the websites, phone, or email that she was bullied on. Doing this with a friend will give him an incentive to stay off social networking sites for a week or two.

  • Tell the victim you will both stay off of the websites for a week together.

Remind him not to open it.
Anything the victim doesn't read cannot hurt him.

  • If he says he has an email or a text that he's worried is harmful, tell him not to open it and to delete it.
  • Open it for him and then delete it.

Make positive comments.
When a boy has been bullied, it feels good to know that others are thinking about him in a positive way.

  • Send him positive happy text messages through the day.
  • Write him nice notes.
  • Leave positive comments on the wall of his social networking site.

Encourage her to tell an adult.
Being cyber bullied can be embarrassing, so it can be hard to tell someone else about the situation. It is always best to find an adult and tell them what happened. Remember, this is not tattling. Tell her that you really think she should tell an adult.

  • Tell him that you really think she should tell an adult.
  • Offer to go with him.
  • Offer to do the talking if he feels uncomfortable.

Click here to learn how to talk to an adult about bullying.

Remember it's not tattling if…click here to learn the difference between tattling and telling (DOC).

 

Here are examples of how Mike might respond as a bystander.

Think you know?

The following questions will add to your understanding of what to do when you see cyber bullying. Work by yourself or with a friend and try to come up with answers on your own before looking at our answers.

Questions about the video:

First Mike encourages the bullying. Do you think he really feels this way about Adam?

Answer
  • Mike probably doesn’t feel this way about Adam.
  • Bullying can be entertaining to people so it can be easy to laugh or talk about it to others even if you do not agree with it.
  • Bullying on a social networking site like Facebook happens frequently, so although what was said was mean, Mike may not have recognized it as bullying.

When Mike’s friend says. “Well, it’s not me, so I can laugh about it.” Do you think this is supporting the bullying? Why or why not?

Answer

Yes, this is supporting the bullying for several reasons

  • Mike’s friend is not disagreeing with the bullying.
  • He is doing nothing to stop it.
  • He is laughing about the mean comment when he reads it.
  • He is discussing the mean comment instead of trying to help the victim.

What other things could Mike have done?

Answer
  • He could have gone up to Adam and asked him if he was okay, if he wanted someone to talk to, or if he wanted help talking to an adult.
  • He could have helped keep Adam calm and given him some ideas for how to calmly respond to the bullying.
  • He could have told Adam not to read anymore of the posts and offered to be cyber free with him.
  • He could have told an adult about what was going on.

Let's take a look at what happens next in If Bullying Happens To You →