Cyberbullying

Cyberbulling actually happens a lot more frequently and to people that you would probably never assume would have it happen to. I myself have been targeted in past years and it is not pleasant, I can tell you that. I could relate to some of the things that my partner and I discussed and questions asked.

There are many roles that are played when this happens, and they aren't fun ones like in drama class. There is the obvious Offender(s), the Target(s), the Bystanders, but there are only Upstanders on a few occasions. When I witness cyberbullying happening, I have only seen it happen a few times. The Target usually tries to fight retaliate, but other than that I find Upstanders to be a rare thing.

When there is retaliation though, that can cause the bullying situation to escalate or intensify. Parents and adults always say to either say something back or do nothing, but sometimes one can't just do nothing, and saying something back can make it worst. One time, I had a person commenting things on my profile page and on things that I had posted, and I would usually say something back because that is just something typical for my stubborn, pride filled self to do. The Offender eventually started personal messaging me, and it just got worst from there. Sometimes retaliating can lead to bigger problems. My friends had stepped in and started saying things too at this point, so the Offender eventually got the message and left me alone.

That's why it's important to be an Upstander instead of a Bystander. Sometimes it just takes that one other person saying that what they are doing is wrong, and the Offender will get the message and go away, and if not, than at least the Target will feel like someone is on their side.

I know it can sometimes be a hard thing to do, but my best advice is to do nothing. The Offender will get bored with no one to talk to, and they'll realize that you don't care, and if you do, you're not showing it. You should still tell someone about it, but unless you feel like you really should, I wouldn't interact with them, but if you see something happening, be the that rare Upstander in the situation. It will help a lot more than you might think.