How To Cope With Cyber Bullying

"How to cope with cyber bullying?". I'm sure many of us have thought or asked ourselves this question before. We all know that cyber bullying isn't anything new for us, it has been going on ever since social media became a big thing, and I'm sure most of us have been through it (or are going through it). These things can really get to us, but, remember that you aren't alone on this! There are so many people around the world who are going through the same thing as you are. It isn't necessarily a good thing that there are others out there who are experiencing the same thing, but in a sense, it's good to have people out there that could relate to you. Anyhow, back to the question; how do people cope with cyber bullying? Well, I'm sure the majority of us who have been through cyber bullying have our own ways with coping. But, there are also many out there who have absolutely no idea what to do in these situations! Before we get on with what you can do, lets take a look at some of our experiences with cyber bullying first, shall we? 

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Our Stories and Experiences

"Hello, this is my own personal story and experiences with cyber bullying and how I cope with them. I've had many encounters with cyber bullying and it isn't something I want anyone to go through. I've grown up in a family that moves around a lot, which isn't necessarily a good thing. You get tired of moving so much, once you've settled down in one place, you move again. Having moved around to 3 different countries, I often got bullied; not just online but also at school and such. People would make fun of me for being Asian, joke around and say real nasty things. At one point I even hated myself for being Asian. But, this happened during elementary school and the only way I dealt with it was by telling my parents. Everything was okay again, until i moved to Thailand. I got put in a lower year level since I couldn't speak or write Thai (I'm half Thai). It was really hard on me since I could only speak English, at first it was okay but after a while people really started looking down on me, I felt so ashamed for not knowing my own language. One thing lead to another, people started hating on me and calling me a 'wannabe'. They started putting up things on FB, telling me to go die and even saying really mean things about my family. At the time, I was in Thailand alone since my parents have gone off to work in Taiwan. I had no friends at school. It really frustrated me and put me in a hard spot, I didn't want to go to school and I had no one to turn to. At one point, I kinda just had enough of all the negative things and I changed myself for the worse. I started talking back to my bullies and I got into fights. I would often get called into the dean's office and they would ring my uncle (he was my guardian at the time). It got so bad to the point where my parents had to come back from Taiwan to take me away. We were in Thailand for a few months before they decided to move to New Zealand. Since then I've changed, some might say it's for the better and some might say for the worse. But, I know for a fact that I would never let anyone get me down like that again. People have said mean stuff to me on social media since my stay here, but I think it's just stupid. That stuff won't get to me anymore. I think sometimes you just have to stand up for yourself. Don't be the weak one, you've really got what it takes to stand up to these people. You're strong, believe that." 

"A boy in my sixth grade math class called me mean names. Like four eyes, alien and more just for wearing glasses. It made me very upset. I don't think that kids who wear glasses should get made fun of. It's not someone's fault for wearing glasses."

"I've been bullied on Twitter, by two people in the last couple of weeks. I've told them to stop and to leave me alone, but they keep at it. After I told them to stop and leave me alone, I stopped communication with them but they still kept tweeting me. I feel like I can't say anything with someone on Twitter bullying me. I try to make it look like I don't care and all, but it never seems to work. I've reported and blocked them."

"A guy I know (he is a good friend of mine now) used to be pretty cruel to me in front of my friends, mocking me. But I just want to say to every victim out there, don't stop believing it will all get better. Stand up for yourself, fight it, do whatever you can. Peace."

"I think that cyber bullying is one of the worst things that a teenager may be exposed to. But in this age kids cannot act properly. The cyber-bullies are not always self-confident children and, in many cases, envy their victims. I was bullied twice. The first incident happened 2 years ago in a new social site - Formspring.me In this site you can send your opinion or question anonymously. One person sent me a message claiming that I was fake and that I wasn't a good friend. I was too offended to answer and I just disabled my account. The second incident happened a year ago. Those who I had considered my "best friends" tended to tease me often about my appearance. This teasing eventually led to harsh words exchanged over Facebook, which in a month resulted in cyber-bullying. The bullying ended when I blocked them, and moved after the school year. So if you are bullied the best thing to do is to block those people or just find a different social network. Don't pay attention to the bullies because most of things they say are not true. However, if the bullying becomes very serious then an adult should be informed for help."

"I stopped being friends with this girl who was just a bad influence on me, and she got a couple of her friends to hate me. On MSN they had a group chat room, and it was the two girls, and they were threatening to bully me at school, and I got scared about it. The first girl said if I came to school she would beat me up during recess, so during that day I hid in the bathroom at lunch."

"I broke up with this guy because I wanted to keep our relationship secret. So after a week he all of a sudden started texting me and saying how me and my brother were brats and how I was a B****. He said some pretty nasty things. I asked him why he said it and he said it was because I broke his heart and he was getting revenge from that. Me and my friends often get bullied, it's one thing if it's at school but to bring it home was another. We have to stick up for each other. I thought school was supposed to be safe."

"I was on Facebook when a friend of mine wrote on my wall that whenever I was in someone's life their life started to get fucked up. That hurt a lot because I trusted this person. He verbally bullies me whenever he gets the chance. I don't want to tell my mom because she'll make a big deal about it. I'm really getting hurt from this. Why does he have to be a wimp and say it online and not to my face? He'd be a man if he did."

 How To Cope With Cyber bulling

There are so many ways to deal with cyber bullying. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with it, but, that doesn't mean it's always the best and healthy way! Here are  some ways to cope/prevent cyber bullying. Lets get going, shall we? 

1. Never Respond

Don't reply to anything, whether it's a nasty comment or picture. Do not do the same thing back. Saying something nasty back or posting something humiliating in revenge won't help. It'll make matters worse and could even get you into trouble.

2. Screenshot

If you can, always screenshot anything that you think could be cyber bullying and keep it for evidence.

3. Block and Report

Most online medias/platforms have this option. Make sure you block and report offensive content and users.

4. Talk About It

Most of the time you don't want to talk about these things, but believe it or not, it helps! Cyber bullying can affect you in many different ways. You're not alone! It'll really get it off your chest and it's always good to rely on someone in this situation. 

5. Report It

If it's someone from your school or someone you know, report it to a teacher or adult. If someone is threatening you, giving out your personal information or making you fear for your safety, you should contact the police or an adult immediately. 

6. Be Private

One of the best ways is to keep your social media privacy settings high and do not connect with anybody who you do not know offline. You wouldn’t talk to random people on the street, so why would you do it online? People may not always be who they say they are and you could be putting you and those that you care about the most at risk.

7. Talk To Them

Sometimes you have to stand up to these bullies and confront them. Tell them that what they are doing is wrong and that you don't like it. If they fail to listen, you can ask an adult to talk to them, depending on how serious the situation is.

8. Sympathize

Always keep in mind that happy and secure people do not bully others. People who bully are going through a difficult time themselves and will often need a lot of help and support.