Cyber Bullying

I went to school back in the 70s and 80s before the idea of Cyber Bullying ever existed, however bullying itself has been around since the dawn of time and using computers to commit cyber bullying is today's modern version. I hope you find this advice helpful





Having been bullied myself, I know how dreadful it can make you feel. It's also important to realise that it doesn't just happen in the classroom as a child either as it can also happen in the workplace.  People will often use bullying techniques to put "one over" on you to build themselves up and put you down - it might be more subtle than the playground but the principle is still the same as those used back at school.

Use the technology

Social Websites like Facebook and Google+ take Cyber Bullying very seriously and have mechanisms for blocking messages.The same can be done for emails and sometimes for SMS messages as well.

Magic Spells

A good way to think of bullying is that they are like the spells from Harry Potter - someone casts a spell in your direction and all of a sudden your arms and legs turn to jelly.  However, just like the Harry Potter films and the "Defence against the Dark Arts" lessons, you need a way of deflecting those bullying spells.

Old Magical Knowledge

One of the most effective ways is to burst the bullying spell by using magical knowledge from the old days:

 "A problem shared is a problem halved"

A bully often relies on the fact that you won't tell anyone else and they might even threaten you if you do - the reason why they threaten against this is that they know that it can break their bullying spell and they themselves can end up in a lot of trouble - as their spell is bounced back towards themselves.

So what you need to do is find someone that you trust, parents, brothers, sisters, aunty or uncle, best friend's parents, work colleague or teacher.  The important thing is that are an ADULT and you trust them and they need to have been supportive of you in the past.  Find a quiet time - after class or during a break and speak with them 1- to -1 about the problem. 

This gets "the magical crystal ball rolling" in defending yourself from those bullying spells.  You'll be able to work together with the other person to find a solution.

Speaking  from my own experience, I KNOW how difficult and frightening it might be talking to someone else about the problem but its the first step in producing the defensive spell - It's important to understand that sometimes the best "spells" in life require a bit of courage to produce.  

More help can be found at the excellent ChildLine , where they have people online and via the phone who know how to deal with bullying.

Remember: "A problem shared is a problem halved!"