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What Is Cyberbullying and How Can it be Obstructed?

Bullying is not new as bullies and means people have always been there. With the development of technology, these bullies have found a new way for their actions. Bullying can have severe consequences both in the real-world and online world. The internet and technology have reduced the distance between people, and they have come close now, whether for good or bad. It is a fact that as much as people use this technology for constructive purposes, its misuse is common too. We have come up with the answer to the most asked question, “What Is Cyberbullying and How Can it be Obstructed?” So, without any further ado, let’s get into this article.

What is Cyberbullying?

If harassing and insulting someone is something we call bullying, then all these things in a digital world are termed as cyberbullying. The basic concept and components of bullying are intact, it’s just the platform that varies. All the methods are used through online platforms and devices.

These days, contacting someone is pretty easy. We have got numerous ways and platforms to connect to someone. There are instant messaging apps, social media handles, and much more. A bully uses all these things to harass someone or mentally torture his/her. Cyberbullying can be just as simple as calling out others’ names to torturing others to the point that they break out. The important thing is to recognize and remove cyberbullying at its early stage before it gets worse. Cyberbullying leaves intense effects. It can devastate someone completely. A person who is a victim of this kind of bullying may suffer damage to his mental as well as physical health. It can be a temporary trauma or sadness, or it can lead to permanent damage and loss.

Forms of Cyberbullying

The most crucial point regarding cyberbullying is its recognition. The virtual world is expanding and prevailing with time. This prevalence and expansion are giving rise to various ways to bully someone. It’s becoming hard to remove all these channels and platforms where cyberbullying happens. Let us look at the various forms of cyberbullying and determine if you are a victim of any of these.

Abusive Messages on Social Media

It is the most common form of cyberbullying. It ranges from leaving a comment at someone’s post on Facebook to Tweeting at them.

If we talk about social media’s monitoring system and the security and privacy concerns, there is a huge flaw. There are no rules and regulations about the posting of content on all these media handles. This gives an open ground to play and a white canvas to draw to the bullies. All these abusive tweets and comments reach and exploit the victims before it can get removed-if ever. There is a lack of management and safety on all these social media handles. That is why cyberbullying is prevailing with each passing day.

Bullying In Chatrooms and Chat-Based Software

There are numerous chat-based software that are available in the market and allow people all around the world to connect. Discord is one such software that enables people that live in different regions of the world to talk to one another. It is basically done through a single server, which is divided into several chatrooms.

The working of this chat-based software is simple. The server’s creator is the main authority who then appoints several moderators to ensure the smooth running. The quality of moderation and the server’s running is affected by the team’s efficiency only.

The servers vary in their working. Some servers of chat rooms are susceptible to any abusive content. They have a strict set of rules and take action against bullying or harassment immediately. Others work on automated systems. The offensive messages and chats are removed before even reaching the other person.

But in chat-based software, too they are some servers that are quite lenient in this regard. They have no rules and regulations and have a loose approach towards all kinds of offensive and abusive messages. This leads to the creation of an environment that lets people feel free. The bullies do not feel any pressure and say everything they can to bully others. This paves the way for bullies and causes their prevalence in society.

Creating Websites Intended to Ridicule the Victim

Creating a website is pretty easier these days. This convenience and ease have made websites an efficient tool for cyberbullies. These bullies love to create such websites that exploit a person, and they then spread the website secretly.

These websites spoil the reputation of the victims in all ways possible. Sometimes these websites slander the victims and call them rude and bad names. They may contain edited videos and images of the person. These websites exploit and defame the person to encourage people to say bad things about the victim.

These websites may contain bad content about numerous people and cause them mental and physical damage. These kinds of websites are prevalent these days.

Cyberbullying in Video Games

It sometimes happens that the cyberbully doesn’t have any personal connection with the victim. He doesn’t even know the victim in the real world. Video games come with an option of in-game chatrooms. The bully uses these chatrooms to harass others.

It’s either through typing in the chatrooms or the microphones available in some games that the players communicate. This communication aims to talk about the game and play it in a light and fun mode. But at times, the games get heated.

Several actions are performed during the game and are meant to harass someone. For example, in the game Minecraft, a griefer will destroy other player’s creations. Similarly, in some games, one player is targeted more than others. All of these are kinds of harassment and cyberbullying.

How to Stop Cyberbullying

Although social media handles are not fully under your control, they come with some tools that’ll enable you to self-moderate your feed. You can choose the stuff you want to see on your handles. Numerous social media sites have the block option to block the user who is causing you any trouble. If someone is bothering you to the point that it started affecting you, block him right away.

If you’re facing any racial discrimination or people are calling out your name or using some specific term for you, you can filter that term out from your feed. This will filter all the messages containing that term.

If you are a  gamer and are looking for a game that ensures your privacy and security, find out a game with good moderation and stick to it. Some games come with a player-made server, and others have a mute-chat option. So, you can mute the chart and prevent any toxicity from reaching you.

If we talk about the websites that people usually create to harm others, sadly, there are no options to block such websites. But you can always go to the terms and conditions or terms of service of such websites and see if you can find something out.

The terms of service of the websites don’t usually allow people to create any websites meant to harass or bully someone. If you find this point in terms of service of the website, contact the host’s customer support and report the site immediately. There is a fair chance of the site to get taken down for violating the terms of service.

Cyberbullying is a Crime!

Now you know, “What Is Cyberbullying and How Can it be Obstructed?” You need to be strict in this matter and make sure that no cyberbullying goes unnoticed. It’s a crime, and it needs to be reported.

 

 

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