Online Safety

Think before you send!

Cyberbullying

 

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like mobile phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behaviour.

Internet trolling is a common form of bullying over the Internet in an online community (such as in online gaming or social media) in order to elicit a reaction, disruption, or for someone’s own personal amusement. Cyberstalking is another form of bullying or harassment that uses electronic communications to stalk a victim; this may pose a credible threat to the victim.

Not all negative interaction online or on social media can be attributed to cyberbullying. Research suggests that there are also interactions online that result in peer pressure, which can have a negative, positive, or neutral impact on those involved.

Why people do it

 

Sometimes people choose to embarrass, upset, pick on or intimidate other people using the internet or a mobile phone because it feels safer this way. Sending a nasty message or text can be done quickly and it means the person doing the bullying can’t see how much it hurts the other person. They might feel more distant from what they’re doing.

The Effects

 

Cyber bullying affects people from any age or walk of life, including children, teens and adults who all feel very distressed and alone when being bullied online. Cyber bullying can make you feel totally overwhelmed which can result in many feeling embarrassed that they are going through such a devastating time, and not knowing what support is available to them. Many children feel unable to confide in an adult because they feel ashamed and wonder whether they will be judged, told to ignore it or close their account which they might not want to do.

The signs

 

  • Low self-esteem

  • Withdrawal from family and spending a lot of time alone

  • Reluctance to let parents or other family members anywhere near their mobiles, laptops etc

  • Finding excuses to stay away from school or work including school refusal

  • Friends disappearing or being excluded from social events

  • Losing weight or changing appearance to try and fit in

  • Fresh marks on the skin that could indicate self-harm and dressing differently such as wearing long sleeved clothes in the summer to hide any marks

  • A change in personality i.e. anger, depression, crying, withdrawn

Recent statistics show that:

  • 20% of children and young people indicate fear of cyber bullies made them reluctant to go to school

  • 5% reported self-harm

  • 3% reported an attempt of suicide as a direct result of cyber bullying

  • Young people are found to be twice as likely to be bullied on FB as any other social networking site.

  • 28% of young people have reported incidents of cyber bullying on Twitter

  • 26% of young people have reported incidents of cyber bullying on Ask.fm

Making a stand

Cyberbullying can happen to anyone, at any time.

 

Video from Childline. Being bullied online? Amy-Louise shares her story about being bullied on Facebook. Contact ChildLine online or call free on 0800 1111

What to do

Most of the apps and social networking sites are for people aged 13 and over. They also state that bullying, abusive behaviours which includes harassment, impersonation and identity theft are banned and not allowed. However, results from our national bullying survey, shows 91% of people who reported cyber bullying said that no action was taken. This can leave users feeling disbelieved, vulnerable and knock their self-esteem.

A general rule when making a complaint about being bullied online is to copy the terms and conditions which have been breached and take a screenshot of the comment or photo as evidence. This may prompt any of these sites and apps to take action as you have shown them their obligation to investigate and take appropriate action.

How to report bullying or abuse social media:

Facebook does not tolerate bullying and say they will remove bullying content when they become aware of it and may disable the account of anyone who bullies or attacks another. They have a set of community standards that they adhere to and it states that they will not tolerate:

  • Pages that identify and shame private individuals,

  • Images altered to degrade private individuals,

  • Photos or videos of physical bullying posted to shame the victim,

  • Sharing personal information to blackmail or harass people and

  • Repeatedly targeting other people with unwanted friend requests or messages.

You can report bullying on Facebook using the report links which appear near the content itself, normally on a drop down arrow which gives you menu option to report the image, post or comment.

Twitter – If you receive a tweet or reply that you don’t like, you can unfollow that person. If they continue to contact you, you can block the user (just click on the head icon on their profile and select block user). You may find that as they are unable to get through to you, they will lose interest. However, if this is not the case and you continue to receive unwanted replies, abuse or threats, you can report it here straight to Twitter directly. If you know a friend or family member is being abused on Twitter, they have advice pages that can help with step by step help.

YouTube – You have every right to use YouTube without fear of being subjected to bullying or harassment. Bullying can be reported and action taken when things cross a line.  To flag a video you think is inappropriate (click on the little flag bottom right of the video) and YouTube will take a look at it to see whether it breaks their terms of use. If it does then they will remove it. YouTube rules say you can’t upload videos with hate content, nudity or graphic violence and if you find one on someone else’s space, click on the video to flag it as inappropriate. If under comments, you are being bullied, harassed or threats are being made, they have a reporting tool page where you can report the bullying and they will investigate.

How to report bullying or abuse on messaging apps

Instagram – Bullying or abuse on Instagram can happen in many ways. It can be either negative comments, fake profiles or hacking of accounts. Instagram take all of these violations very seriously and have plenty of advice on their pages if you or someone you know is being bullied or abused on Instagram. Their advice initially is to block and unfollow the person who is being abusive. However, if it continues or it has gotten worse, you can use their in-app reporting tool. This page has details on how to report the abuse directly to them.

Snapchat – Snapchat is an app that allows users to send pictures to each other that disappear off screen within a set amount of time. Unfortunately, there is bullying on Snapchat in the form of screenshots, sending pictures without permission, negative comments and more. If this is the case for you or someone you know they can block a user, tap the Menu icon, select “My Friends,” locate their name in the list and swipe right across their name. If you would like to delete a friend from your contacts, press “Delete.” Even if you haven’t added the user as a friend, their name will still appear in the “My Friends” list under “Recent” if they have sent you a message recently. If you receive an inappropriate photo or someone’s harassing or bullying you, report it by filling out their online form.

WhatsApp – WhatsApp Messenger lets people sends instant messages, videos, photos, and short audio messages to either one person or within a group chat. Messages can only be sent to other smartphone users who also have WhatsApp. Once you install the app, it checks your address book to see if anyone else you know is already using WhatsApp, and connects you automatically. You have to be over 16 to use WhatsApp legally. Bullying can take many forms as it is a messaging service and we often hear of abusive group chats. You can block and delete the contact. You can find out more by emailing them at support@whatsapp.com.

STAYING SAFE

Staying Safe Online

Keep it private – Don’t post anything on a social networking site which gives your real name, address, school, phone number or which will allow a stranger to contact you in real life. Make sure you don’t ID your friends either.

Don’t upload anything that might embarrass you at a later date. You might not realise it but things you post on the internet now could come back to cause problems for you later on, for instance when you go for an interview for college or a job. So if you are not happy for it to be shown to the world then do not hit send. Remember once you send it you have lost control of that image or comment.

If you have a webcam or smartphone never be pressured into taking pictures of yourself that you wouldn’t want other people to see. Trust your gut instinct over this. Once again, once you hit send, you have lost control over that picture and this can cause anxiety and stress.

If you’re using a shared computer at school, in an internet cafe or library then you’ll stay logged on even when you close the browser. So don’t forget to log off when you’ve finished the session. Read more tips about staying safe online.

Protecting your tweets – on Twitter you can choose to protect your tweets so that people can only follow you if you approve them first. You can select this by going into the ‘settings menu’ then ‘security and privacy’ and ticking the box for ‘protect my tweets’. Find out more about the difference on Twitter between public and protected tweets.

Location settings – Many social networks like Facebook and Twitter allow you to post your location or check in each time you tweet or post a status update. This might seem like fun for your friends to know where you are, but it can also mean that people you don’t know will see where you are, especially if you’re tweeting from your mobile on a profile that is public. To turn off the location settings, go into the ‘Settings’ menu, scroll down ‘Security and privacy’ then to ‘Tweet location’ and untick the checkbox that says ‘Add a location to my tweets’. You can also press the button that says ‘Delete all location data’, to clear information about where you’ve been in the past.

Snapchat has developed a new feature called Snap Map which can show your location. It is very important to turn this feature off so you are able to keep safe. Snap Map tracks your current location and places your avatar on a map like a pin. This can allow others to zoom in and find exactly where you are. It doesn’t take effect until you update the app, and it has an opt-out option. If you’re opening the app for the first time after the update, Snapchat will walk you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the Snap Map. First, it’ll show you how to pinch and zoom in the camera tool to access the map. Then, it’ll ask who you want to see your location. You get three choices: all your friends, select friends, or only me. Choosing ‘only me’ activates what it calls ‘ghost mode’ meaning you can see others but they can’t see you. To turn off location data altogether, you’ll need to visit your phone’s settings where you can scroll down to Snapchat, click on ‘location’, and choose to never share.

Hashtags – Be wary of using hashtags as that can open up your post to be visible on that particular hashtag thread on any social network or app. It can open up your post and your account to a wider audience than you originally intended.

Inappropriate behaviour – If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed online then please tell your parents or someone that can help. If they’re doing it to you then they might also be doing it to other people. It’s particularly important never to meet up with anyone you meet online in real life, if anyone suggests that to you and particularly if they suggest you keep it secret that’s a real danger sign. Read more about recognising dangerous websites.

When you go into a social networking site people might approach you to be a friend but remember that no matter how much they tell you about themselves, they are still strangers and they might not be telling you the truth about themselves. There have been cases of adults pretending to be young people to chat to them online and try and involve you in inappropriate activities. This is called grooming and is a criminal offence. CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) investigates cases of sex abuse and grooming on the internet. Incidents can be reported by clicking the red button on the top right hand corner of the CEOP website.

Although the police can get information from your computer’s hard drive, it’s helpful if you don’t delete anything you think is dodgy until the police have decided whether they need it as evidence.


Removing or blocking

Facebook – click on their profile, then on the ‘message’ button dropdown and you will see the option to ‘unfriend’. You can also block a person this way.

Twitter – to remove or block someone on Twitter, click on the button with a head icon on it next to the ‘Follow’ button on a user’s profile. If you click on this you will see a menu with the options to BLOCK the user to prevent them from seeing your profile, and vice versa, and you can also REPORT FOR SPAM, which will alert Twitter to any users who are abusing the service. Read our article about Twitter safety.

YouTube – go to your account page and click on “All Contacts” link in the “Friends and Contacts” section. Choose which person you want to unfriend and the click on “Remove Contacts”. From then on the person won’t be on your “Share Video” list.

WhatsApp – You can click on the name and then you will be taken to a dropdown menu and you can then choose to block the person.

Snapchat – to block a user who added you follow the steps below. Tap ‘Added Me’ on the Profile Screen. Then tap their name, and tap the wheel icon next to their name. Press ‘Block’ to prevent them from sending you Snaps, Chats, or from viewing your Stories.

Instagram – when you block someone, they can’t see your profile or posts. People aren’t notified when you block them. To block or unblock someone, tap their username to open their profile and then tap the three dots and press the option to block user.

How to be safe online, from a young person | Aurelia Torkington | TEDxYouth@Christchurch

Further Support

 

CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection)



CEOP is a law enforcement agency and is here to help keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online. We help thousands of children and young people every year who have been in a similar situation to you. CEOP are unable to respond to reports about bullying, fake accounts or account hacking.

We are here to help and give you advice, and you can make a report directly to us if something has happened online which has made you feel unsafe, scared or worried. This might be from someone you know in real life, or someone you have only ever met online.

If you make a report to us about sexual abuse or grooming online it will be read by one of our Child Protection Advisors who will get in contact with you on the phone number or email address that you give to us to make sure that you are safe.  They will also discuss with you what will happen next. Please try not to worry, you have done nothing wrong and we will do all we can to help you.

We work together with lots of other professionals whose jobs are also to make sure you are safe, this includes other police agencies.  If a crime has been committed we will work together and use our specialist skills to identify the person or people responsible and bring them into the criminal justice system.

The CEOP Thinkuknow website also has information and advice to help you to stay safe if something has happened to you online.

CEOP are unable to respond to reports about bullying but if you are being bullied and would like to talk to someone in confidence right now you can call Childline on 0800 1111 or talk to them online - no worry is too big or too small. Please also tell an adult that you trust, like a parent/carer or teacher.

Who are CEOP Child Protection Advisors?

A CEOP Child Protection Advisor is someone who:

  • Will try to help you

  • Will listen to what you have to say

  • Will not be shocked by what you tell them

  • Will be honest with you

  • Will not judge or blame you

  • Will make decisions jointly with you wherever possible

  • Will work with other professionals to keep you safe

  • Will talk to your parents/carers for you, if you want them to, to explain what has happened

SHOUT

Shout is an affiliate of Crisis Text Line® in the UK that provides free, confidential support, 24/7 via text. It’s the first free 24/7 texting service in the UK for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere. Shout is available in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

 

Text SHOUT to 85258 in the UK to text with a trained Crisis Volunteer

or

Text BLUE to 85258 to get resources and sign posting information.

 

Every texter is connected with a real-life human being trained to bring people from a hot moment to a cool calm place through active listening and collaborative problem-solving. All of our Crisis Volunteers donate their time to helping people in crisis.

Health Services in Schools Youth Workers

HSIS Youth Workers are a team of professionally qualified youth workers. The team currently work in Wirral Secondary Schools, Wirral Six Form and Wirral Met College.


Each school/college has a designated HSIS Youth Worker that provides young people with an opportunity to access confidential support on any issues which may be affecting them.

We provide support to young people around Building Resilience, Reducing risks, Relationships, Sexual Health (including issuing condoms in some schools) Drugs, Alcohol, Emotional Health and Well-Being, Stress and Anxiety.

To get support in school/ college contact your school pastoral lead of head of year.

Download a copy of our latest timetable