When you hear about cyberbullying most of the time, you think there is just one kind, but actually, there are different types of cyberbullying that have to be approached differently.
These are some of the different types of cyberbullying that exist:
Trolling
Intentionally posting provocative or insulting messages, for example with racist or sexist content, to encourage a response. Merriam Webster defines the verb “trolling” as “antagonizing others on the Internet by deliberately posting provocative, irrelevant or offensive comments or other disruptive content.”
Flaming
Sending provocative messages to incite an argument. According to Lifewire, “flaming consists of insulting, offending or any other type of verbal hostility directed at a particular person.”
Harassment
Performing actions specifically directed at a person or group to annoy. Harassment can turn into stalking, a well-known term that means spying on another person.
Stalking
According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, “Cyberstalking involves using technology (the Internet!) To make someone worry about their safety. Cyberstalking includes taking someone’s personal and private information to scare them, sending them messages hundreds of times a day to let them know that you are spying on them, spying on their social networks to find out where they are, and being able to appear uninvited, or posting about the person continuously. and without your permission. ” In many places, cyberstalking is against the law.
Catfishing
Stealing someone’s Internet profile or creating fake profiles to start relationships online. This form of cyberbullying can also be used to spy on, shame, or manipulate children, teenagers, and even adults.
Fraping
Impersonating someone else or entering their profile to post inappropriate content. This constitutes a serious offense and, according to Business Insider, “it is now a crime that in Ireland could be punished with 10 years in prison.”
Griefing
Abuse and anger others in online games. According to the Oxford Dictionaries, a ” griefer ” is “a person who deliberately harasses or provokes other players or members [of an online game community] to spoil their fun.”
Outing
Publicly sharing personal, private, or embarrassing information, photos, or videos of another person. This can be very harmful especially among children and adolescents, who may not react compassionately.
Roasting
When an individual or, usually, a group harasses a person on the Internet until the victim “falls apart.” The blog Bark explains that ” roasting is a term from the world of comedy that consists of a comedian making good-humored jokes about another person”, but becomes problematic when it is done “without the consent or desire of the victim.” Although “it may start harmless and not serious … it doesn’t always end there.”
Sadly, the list is growing and adapting on time, so you must pay attention to the kids and their behavior so you can detect if he/she is been a target of one of these types of cyberbullying.
Once you detect something is happening, you talk to a professional to address it and never assume it will be ok on time.
