Cyberbullying information for youth aged 16 - 17
- Cyberbullying
- Online Reputation
- Sexting and Sextortion
- Booklet
- Fact Sheets
- How to deal with cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
You already know what bullying is; cyberbullying is the online version. When someone is mean or tries to threaten, hurt, or embarrass someone else online, that’s cyberbullying. It can be:
- Making fun of someone or how they look
- Sharing sexual images of someone with others
- Threatening, harassing, excluding, or ganging up on someone
- Spreading hurtful gossips, secrets, rumours, or lies
- Creating a poll that makes someone look bad
- Impersonating someone and getting negative attention
- Screen capturing and sharing messages of what was supposed to be temporary or private
Where does it happen?
Cyberbullying can happen anywhere you interact with people online, including:
- Text, chat or instant messaging
- Social media and apps
- YouTube and live-streaming
- Multiplayer games
How does it affect you?
Cyberbullying can be very harmful because there is no safe zone. Cyberbullying can reach you anytime and anywhere, even at the dinner table or in the privacy of your bedroom — and can quickly be seen by a lot of people.
Those who are cyberbullied may:
- Feel an intense sense of isolation, fear, loneliness and despair
- Have their self-esteem and friendships negatively impacted
- Have trouble eating, sleeping or performing well at school, activities, or jobs
- Try to harm themselves or even attempt suicide
Those who cyberbully may:
- Damage friendships and reputations
- Face criminal charges with punishments that could include imprisonment
- Limit their future education and career opportunities
How to protect your online reputation
Just like your reputation in the real world, your online reputation is how other people see and think of you based on what you say and do. Our online actions are seen and judged by others in the same way as at school or while hanging out with friends.
It is important to be aware of your online reputation because it may shape what other people think about you or how they treat you — sometimes even before you meet.
What contributes to it?
When you are online, you leave a record of what you do and say. Much of this is permanent, so others are able to see, judge, and respond to it. Things that can contribute to your online reputation include:
- The stories, videos and pictures you post or share with others
- Opinions you express or statements you make
- What you like or dislike and agree or disagree with
- Comments and posts you make about yourself or others
- Comments and posts other people make about you
- Things you buy and rate online
How can it affect you?
Friends, teachers, neighbours, parents, employers — if anyone is curious about you, they can find out information about you online. If your online reputation is good, it can help you find friends, connections and future opportunities. On the other hand, if you have a history of cyberbullying others, or saying, agreeing with or sharing negative or inappropriate things, it can:
- Give others a negative impression of you
- End, change or limit your friendships and relationships
- Open the door to more negative comments or cyberbullying
- Leave you feeling isolated, resentful or full of despair or regret
- Limit your future social, education or career opportunities and credit rating
How can you protect it?
There are many ways to improve and protect your online reputation, including:
- Think twice before you post: Is what you are saying, showing, liking or sharing going to make fun of or hurt someone else? Is it meant to be private?
- Assume everyone will see it: What you put on the internet may not stay private, so how would you feel if your friends, parents, teachers or future employers saw it?
- Protect your privacy: Frequently update your social media privacy settings, use strong passwords and don’t share them with anyone
- Know who your friends are: Be careful who you accept, pare down your list, and restrict access for friends of friends and the public
- Clean up after yourself: Delete accounts you no longer use and negative content where possible, go to NeedHelpNow.ca if you need help removing sexual images
- Build a positive presence: Make your posts and comments empowering or encouraging, or about a cause or subject you are passionate about
- Ask for help: If you made a mistake or are worried, feel threatened or are being cyberbullied, talk to your parents or another adult you can trust
How to deal with sexting and sextortion
What is sexting?
Sexting is creating, sending or sharing intimate or sexual messages, images, or videos with friends, people you know or even strangers online or through a connected device. It could be sending naked pictures of yourself or others, sharing a video of someone naked or having sex, or sending a text describing sexual acts.
What is sextortion?
Simply put, sextortion is blackmail. It’s when someone threatens to send a sexual image or video of you to friends, family or other people if you don’t pay them or provide more sexual content.
How can it impact you or your friends?
Sharing naked images may seem harmless at the time. But, in the wrong hands, they can end up hurting you or other people in different ways:
- It can make you a target of people who want to force or pressure you into sexual situations you don’t want to be in
- It can be very upsetting when they are shown to or commented on by other people
- It can affect the way people see you or act around you, and how you see the world
- It can damage your mental health and self-esteem
- It can have a negative impact on your future education, career and other opportunities
- In many cases it is against the law to share sexual materials
What can you do?
You cannot control what other people do, so it is best to avoid the situation:
- Understand what a healthy relationship looks like – loving, respectful and caring, not manipulative, intimidating or pressuring
- Don’t give in to pressure to share intimate materials – it is always okay to say no
- Know that whatever you share may not stay private
- Be careful who you trust – consider how you would feel if they shared your images with their friends or yours
- If you get sent sexual materials, don’t forward them to others – you may hurt someone else and you may be breaking the law
If you are worried about images you’ve sent or are being sextorted, you can:
- Immediately block and stop all communication
- Refuse to give in to threats – do not send more naked pictures or pay them money
- Keep the correspondence to show those who will help you
- Ask for help from parents, teachers, or another safe adult
- Report it to Cybertip.ca or the police
- Get help removing it from the internet at NeedHelpNow.ca
Booklet
Cyberbullying booklet for youth ages 16-17
Find additional information in this booklet for youth aged 16-17
Fact Sheets
- Cyberbullying: What is it and how to stop it (ages 16-17)
- Your online reputation: What it is and how to protect it (ages 16-17)
- Sexting and sextortion: What is it and how to deal with it (ages 16-17)
How to deal with cyberbullying
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