1. What is it? & What can I do to prevent it?

2. Cyber bullying is when somebody is teasing, taunting, or harassing someone else over the computer. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Formspring, Myspace, or AIM, if you offend someone you are bullying them. No matter what form of harassment you use. Maybe you are calling them names or telling them no one likes them, which may make you look cool in front of your friends, but, it is not excuse to tell an adult, parent, or administrator.

4. Use sites and services that have privacy settings. Do not share personal information. When you are finding a new site to put personal information on, make sure that you have your privacy settings on. The site needs to have a privacy policy and you must read it to make sure your information and photographs are safe. If the site has no source of privacy it is not a safe site and you should not use it or put any personal information on it.

5. Treat people the way you’d want to be treated. You could increase the chances of making yourself the target of cyber bullying by saying mean or disrespectful things about others. When you are posting things on websites you need to make sure you’re being respectful to people that can read the information. The things you post online may offend people so you always need to watch what you are saying.

6. If someone says or does something online that makes you uncomfortable, it is best to ignore them or block them altogether. Retaliation can encourage the bully to continue. When somebody says something to you online that offends you in any way, you must learn to ignore them. Block them online so that they can no longer say anything to you. If someone says something to you and you retaliate they will know it affects you and proceed to do it.

7. If the behavior continues and becomes increasingly extreme, work with your parents or another adult to save the offending messages, pictures or copies of online conversations. More serious forms of cyber bullying should be reported to the police. When someone offends you over the internet, you can save every single word they said to you. If you save the conversations and comments you can easily show an adult and call the police to inform them. If someone else knows, they can get you help.

8. If someone is harassing you (online or through your mobile phone), tell someone you trust. Report any bullying to the service provider of the email, phone, instant messaging, social networking or other online service that is being used by the bully. If the comments or content are illegal or break their terms of service, they can sometimes remove the disparaging content from the Internet. If the behavior is extreme enough, they may also provide appropriate account information and content to law enforcement in compliance with legal processes. If someone is doing things to upset you, you have to tell someone. It is illegal, due to many suicides, to bully anyone. So, if someone is bullying you, you must let a teacher/parent or any adult that you trust to get you help.

9. Even if you aren’t the bully, do not be a participant by simply watching someone else bully another classmate or peer. Stand up for the victim and report it to your parents, teachers, or other adult you trust who may be able to do something about it. Never participate in the bullying of another person. Even if you are a bystander and you have not said one word, you are participating because you have not helped the victim and you have witnessed a crime. If you see/read something that is another student getting hurt or made fun of, tell someone right away.

10. Cyber bullying is against the law and is not tolerated anywhere. Do not participate in it. If you are the victim of cyber bulling your best bet is to tell an adult you trust to get you help, right away.