How to prevent cyberbullying

Think about what you post online

• Treat everyone you meet online with respect.
• Do not send, post or share anything that might hurt someone else.
• Think before you post anything online. It is safe to assume everything you post may eventually become public.
• Do not feel pressure to share naked images or videos of yourself. Be very careful who you trust, because once you send them, you cannot control who sees them or how they are used.
• Do not share personal information like your address, date of birth, contact information, school, credit card number or schedule.
• Search your own name in search engines frequently, including in an image search. If any personal information, images or videos come up that might be used by cyberbullies, visit NeedHelpNow.ca to get help having it removed.

Take care of your devices and accounts

• Do not share passwords, except with an adult you trust.
• Use your privacy settings. Find out how to keep your content as private as possible on the sites and apps you use. Check these privacy settings often, because they can change.
• Log out of online accounts when not using them. Saving passwords and staying logged on when you walk away from your computer or device makes it possible for someone to pretend to be you online.

Talk about and call out cyberbullying

• Talk to your friends about cyberbullying. Support those who have been targeted, and if you know anyone who cyberbullies, tell them to stop it.
• If you see negative comments toward someone else online, refuse to participate and take a stand. Cyberbullying continues when others either play along or do nothing.
• Say something. Sometimes this is all it takes for others to say something as well, and this is how we can stop cyberbullying together.