Cyberbullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. The methods used are limited only by the child's imagination and access to technology. The cyberbully one moment may become the victim the next. Cyberbullying is usually not a one time communication, unless it involves a death threat or a credible threat of serious bodily harm. Kids usually know it when they see it, while parents may be more worried about the lewd language used by the kids than the hurtful effect on the victim.

• Instant Messaging (IM)/Text Message
  • Kids send direct hateful and/or threatening messages, death-threats, and/or photos and videos through instant messaging and texting. Text wars or text attacks are when kids gang up on the victim, sending hundreds to thousands of text messages to the victims mobile phone.
• Warning Wars
  • Many Internet service providers offer a way of 'telling on' a user who is saying inappropriate things, which can lead to kicking someone offline for a period of time. Instead of using this as a security tool, kids sometimes use this as a game or prank which is known as Warning Wars.
• Stealing Passwords
  • A kid may steal a victim's password and begin to use their account to chat with other people, pretending to be the victim.
  • A kid may also use a victim's password to change his/her social networking profile to include sexual, racist, and inappropriate things that may attract unwanted attention or offend people.
  • A kid often steals a password and locks the victim out of their account (social networking, email, general computer, etc.).
• Blogs
  • Blogs are online public journals. They are fun ways for kids and teens to send messages for all their friends to see, however, kids sometimes use these blogs to damage other kid's reputations or invade their privacy. Sometimes kids set up a blog or profile page on a social networking site pretending to be the victim and then say things designed to humiliate them.
• Websites
  • Kids create websites or pages on social networking sites to insult or unknowingly endanger a victim or group of people.
• Sending Pictures
  • There have been many cases of teens sending mass pictures to other users that could possibly be nude or degrading. Once an email or picture message like this is sent, it is passed around to hundreds of other people within hours; there is no way of controlling where it goes.
  • Kids often take embarrassing pictures of victims in the locker room, bathroom, or dressing room and post it online or send it to others through cell phones and email.
• Internet Polling
  • Who's Hot? Who's Not? These types of questions run rampant on the Internet polls, all created by kids and teens.
• Internet Gaming
  • Many kids and teens today are playing interactive games on gaming devices such as XBox Live, Sony PlayStation Network, and Nintendo DSI. These gaming devices allow your kids to communicate by chat and live Internet phone and access the World Wide Web and social networking sites.
• Sending Malicious Code
  • Many kids will send viruses, spyware, and hacking programs to their victims. They do this to either destroy their computers or spy on their victim. Trojan Horse programs allow the cyberbully to control their victim's computer remote control, and can be used to erase the hard drive of the victim.
• Porn and Other Junk Email
  • Often cyberbullies will sign their victim up for email and IM marketing lists, lots of them, especially to porn sites. When the victim receives thousands of emails from pornographers their parents usually get involved, either blaming them (assuming they have been visiting porn sites) or making them change their email and IM address.
• Impersonation
  • Posing as the victim, the cyberbully can do considerable damage.

Source: www.stopcyberbullying.org & www.netsmartz.org

Children who are cyberbullied are -

• Likely to be sad, angry, frustrated
• Report feeling sick
• Often afraid or embarrassed to go to school
• Experiencing low self esteem and family problems
• Involved in school violence
• Demonstrating delinquent behavior

Teach children and teens to follow these safety rules:

• Never give out passwords, PIN numbers, or personal information
• Do not open messages unless you know who they are from
• Do not post pictures of yourself or family pictures
• Understand that people use false identities on line. Someone may say, for example, that he is a sixteen year old boy, but in truth he might be a forty five year old man.
• Do not respond to insulting messages
• Be careful of sending angry messages. You cannot take it back.
• Never arrange to meet someone whom you met online unless your parents are with you.
• If it is threatening, call the police.

Educators can request that children sign an agreement saying they will not bully, establish use of cyberbullying policies in school, and tell parents to establish safety guidelines at home.

Police can stay up to date, understand the technology, and learn how to contact social networking sites to get cyberbullying comments removed.

Community leaders can organize community meetings informing the public about cyberbullying prevention. This can also be an opportunity to publicize the legal implications for cyberbullying.