Online bullying, cyberbullying, digital bullying: these are terms we use for bullying and narking on the internet and social media.
Bullies feel protected by their anonimity and take it much further than other forms of bulllying.

What is cyber bullying?

Digital bullying can happen in many ways, such as: 

• Misuse of personal data (such as stealing passwords and making fake profiles)
• Exclusion from private chat groups, such as on WhatsApp
• Hate posts on social media
• Spreading video- and photographic material (such as intimate pictures or violent videos)
• Threatening tweets and messages

What can you do about it as a school / parent?

Digital bullying is often invisible, but schools and parents can pick up on signals. Do you have suspicions a child is being bullied? Then go talk to someone at school. Invite the parents for a conversation and brainstorm together on a good approach. Most schools have a protocol for these cases. This states how the school should handle cyber bullying. 

oewel digitaal pesten vaak onzichtbaar is, krijgen scholen en ouders wel signalen. Vermoed je dat een kind (online) wordt gepest? Ga dan met iemand van school praten. Nodig de ouders uit voor een gesprek. Denk samen na over een goede aanpak. Veel scholen hebben een protocol cyberpesten. Hierin is vastgelegd hoe de school omgaat met online pesten.

How to prevent bullying

It helps to increase a child's defensibility. Talk to children about their online ongoings and write up good agreements:

• Never share private data, such your name, your adress or your school.
• Make up a good nickname (together).
• Make your profile as private as possible. Look for security settings and put them on 'friends only'. 
• Only place neutral photographs online and especially no sexual photos. It's even better not to publish any photo's with your face on it. 
• Be selective in what friend requests you accept. You should only do this if you've met the person in real life. 
• Remove people you don't know from your friendslist. 
• Keep your passwords and login data secret at all times, even for your best friends. Only your parents can know this information.
• Don't bully or use hate speech. You wouldn't want to hurt people's feelings in real life either. 
• Did you see anything threatening? Did something happen to you? Tell someone you trust, such as a parent, a neighbour or a teacher.

Fighting bullying: what you can do.

If you encounter a child that is being bullied, do the following:

• Compliment the child for coming to you with the problem.
• A child that is being bullied, needs support most of all; someone who listens and takes its' story seriously. 
• Don't take immediate action. Take a look at the sitatution together with the child and make a plan.
• Never take the matter to the school or parents, or other parties, without the permission of the child. 
• Don't take internet access away. It might seem like a solution, but it's unfair to punish the victim. 

Advise the child to take the following steps:

• Don't respond to the mails, messages or visual material. 
• Document all of the communication. Save a copy or make screenshots/photos. It might serve as evidence later.
• Block the bully from your social networks.
• Are the movies or messages on a website? Then contact the owner and ask to have the materials removed (after making a copy for evidence). Most social networks have a special 'report' button for this purpose. 

For more information, surf to: 

http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/