Cyberbullying: What is it and how to prevent it?

This distance it establishes, together with anonymity, immediacy and ease of access, makes what happens behind the screen is perceived as more impersonal and, therefore, makes it easier for different forms of harassment to proliferate. Although bullying is not a new phenomenon, Information and Knowledge Technologies (ICT), such as the Internet or social networks, have generated new ways to develop it. cyber bullying.

Forms of cyberbullying

Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable stage of the life cycle. The person is "under construction" as he tries to combine the values ​​learned during childhood with the development of new skills. Personal identity is sought, based on one's own autonomy and emotional regulation, which implies an exploratory attitude with the environment. This scan can be impaired by various forms of cyber bullying. Let's see some of them.

• Sexting The term sexting comes from the union of the English words sex and texting (sending text messages). It is the preparation and sending of photos, videos or sexual messages about oneself through the Internet or mobile phone. It is estimated that around 20% of those under 12 to 17 years of age practice it. The main reason these types of messages are sent is because it is not perceived as risky and the negative consequences it can have are not appreciated. It can also be normalized as one more act of the relationship ("everyone does it") or for fear of saying no and the other person distancing themselves or simply as a joke or a way of having fun.

   

  • How to prevent this type of cyberbullying? It is essential that parents put aside taboos and become involved in transmitting specific attitudes and knowledge about and about relationships, promoting respect and responsibility and minimizing possible risks. What's more: No means no. If someone insists you, they are not respecting your criteria. And if they don't respect you, this person is more likely to spread what you send them. Think twice before submitting. Once it is sent, you lose control of where that photo or video can go, since it can appear anywhere or at any time. People and relationships can change over time, so a very close relationship now could spread images in the future. The images belong to their owner, not to the recipient. Instill teenagers not to spread images of other people.
  • In case of shipment: Expressly request that the submitted content not be forwarded. Do not include the face or identifying features (moles, tattoos, piercings ...). Do not include geolocation (via GPS). Delete images from the device itself to avoid problems in case of loss.
• Grooming One of the possible consequences of sexting can be grooming. Grooming means "cajoling" in English and is the set of strategies by which an adult through ICT involves a minor in a process of sexual abuse both directly (in person) and indirectly (sending messages or webcam with sexual content). It is estimated that between 2-4% of children under 13-14 years of age have suffered it, rising to 15.4% in 15-year-old adolescents. Grooming, which is another form of cyber bullying, begins when the adult tries to make friends with the victim by pretending to be another child or adolescent. It begins to obtain personal data and information and progressively detects its weaknesses and weaknesses. An increasingly significant relationship is established until the minor ends up doing what the abuser asks of him, using various tactics adapted to the vulnerabilities of the victim, such as bribery, coercion or making him believe that there is a genuine relationship between them affective-romantic. Once the abuser has obtained pornographic material, he blackmails the minor into sending him more material or to promote a physical encounter.

   

  • How to prevent this type of cyberbullying? Apart from the recommendations already exposed for sexting, it is important to: Support the minor, show affection, listen to him without judging or blaming him. Save evidence. Protect the minor: report the facts to the police, the Guard Court or the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office, as well as notify the school in case there may be other minors involved.
•  Another form of cyberbullying is Cyberbullying It consists of using ICT to exercise psychological harassment between equals. There are various forms of harassment: electronic insults, harassment, denigration, identity theft, extortion of private information and later disseminated it, exclusion from a social network, cyber persecution and happy slapping (recording of a physical attack and subsequent dissemination on the network). The harassment may have started in person before or simply appear on a virtual level, the harasser and the motives being unknown. Cyberbullying, unlike cyberbullying, has some peculiarities that make it particularly harmful:

It happens anywhere and at any time, there is nowhere to hide. The audience is much wider: anyone who connects. Anonymity of stalkers. Durability over time. If the information is not removed, it can remain on the internet for years. Immediacy of diffusion.

To do? Get help from an adult. Don't respond to provocations or make assumptions. Avoid networks where you are besieged until things are clarified. Review the protection and privacy of your device. Information about you is power to your stalker. Save evidence. Inform your stalker that they are committing a crime, that you have evidence, and explicitly request that they stop or you will take action. Report to the educational center, in case you know who the harasser is, so that the established Internal Regulations can be applied. Take legal action if the situation persists. Complaint.

Are adults exposed to cyberbullying?

Adults are also not exempt from cyberbullying, also called cyberstalking. It includes many types of behavior such as: defame information, surveillance, threaten, impersonate, damage the victim's equipment, use the stolen information to blackmail, send accusatory or humiliating messages, etc. Among the most common we find:

• Sextortion: threatening to distribute images with sexual content of the victim obtained through sexting or other means (such as digital theft).
• Networkmobbing: use of social networks, websites or blogs to defame or harass people in the workplace.
• Gender cyber violence: use of ICT as one more way to attack the victim.

Another dimension?

Advancing technologically also implies advancing in the way we use networks. Prevention is essential to prevent cyberbullying, but you also have to act accordingly when legal limits are crossed. So real is what is on one side of the screen as it is on the other, only with different formats.

• Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable stage of the life cycle, since the person is “under construction”.
• It is essential that parents put aside taboos and become involved in transmitting specific attitudes and knowledge about sexuality and relationships, promoting respect and responsibility and minimizing possible risks.
• Adults are also not exempt from digital bullying, also called cyberstalking. It includes many types of behavior such as: defame information, surveillance, threaten, impersonate, damage the victim's equipment, use the stolen information to blackmail, send accusatory or humiliating messages, etc.

Cristina Agud Specialist in Clinical Psychology