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Serious Cyberbullying

It's apparently Cybersecurity awareness month.

So, I figured, I'd make a thread about it. I feel like, in 2021, absolutely no one takes the issue of cyberbullying seriously. But, maybe that's because it's easy to just block people who try or are doing so.

At any rate, have you ever experienced cyberbullying? I, myself, personally, have not.
 
yeah i think i've had my fair share back as a kid, but the fact that i have a hard time remembering them anymore means they never really made much of an impact in my life. it's easy for me to just end convos online, so that's been my response whenever someone starts being a tad too mean.
 
It really depends on what you consider cyberbullying.

First of all, I'd like to make a difference between harassment and bullying: anyone can harass you, but bullying has the implication of some kind of social hierarchy that forces you to deal with the person.

A coworker or a fellow student can bully you because you have to coexist in the same space with them. A boss or a teacher can bully you, not only for the previous reasons but because the power dynamics are skewed their way (at least in theory).

So, I'd say a random person in the Internet can only bully you if it's like, a professional account or email. Something you need to use - or is inextricably tied to your image as a person - and often can't just block or tell the person to screw themselves because your corporate overlords wouldn't like any perception of being "unfriendly".

And that social dynamic is what makes bullying worse than plain harassment, in my opinion. If say @annoying_twitter_ahole flames me I can block them, and move on with my day. If they persist and start making a targeted effort with sockpuppets or brigading, in the worst case scenario I can always just delete the account, maybe start over with a different one if I really want to use the service.

Not to say, of course, that harassment isn't a problem. Of course it is, and specially in the anonymized environment of the internet where people will just whip out death threats for the most trivial of things. It's still wrong, needs to be addressed, and platforms should start to take a firmer stance on this.

I think this is fundamentally part of the problem with how the discussion of cyberbullying goes: there is a problem, but it's usually framed in the wrong way and then it starts to get criticized.

You don't really hear about the social media manager that has to deal with a giant load of unsolicited furry porn on their posts (rip Tony the Tiger) and is desperately trying to do some damage control, or about the tech support that is being (metaphorically) screamed at an angry customer for reasons that are no fault of their own, or the small businesses that are being tanked in the reviews for a meme (thanks, Steven Universe) or because the experience wasn't absolutely perfect for one customer.

At most you'll hear about the youtuber or internet personality receiving death threats because they're being canceled. Which is absolutely shitty but not really something most people relate to.

To compound that, you often hear about cyberbullying in a very "why won't someone please think of the children?" context which is usually very meh since 1) children's access to the Internet should be monitored by the parents anyways - it's not a child friendly place and likely will never be -, 2) outside of a school email - which is, in my experience, not so common for children - they don't really have any account that they must have, so they always have the option to just stop using it (or the parents have the option to intervene and prevent them from participating in the toxic behavior), 3) when it does happens, is often an extension of physical bullying so cyberbullying is really more of a symptom than the problem per se.
 

thank you for explaining the difference between harrasment and cyberbullying Circus. with all this said, i believe i've never been cyberbullied then, and must count myself lucky. the colleagues and friends i have seem to be of good stature to never be the types to to do stuff like that, and i believe i've lucked out in that department considering how awful others have it. my heart goes out to them.
 
I hate to admit this, but I'm actually guilty of being the bully. I was a terrible kid back then, and I've been looking to apologize to those that I've done wrong. I don't think I was a prime example of a bully; I remember having great times with people I once knew. But when drama happened, my behavior would shift into something similar to - if not outright being - cyberbullying.

It's not worth behaving like this. If there was any advice I'd like to pass down to the next generation, that would be it.
 
Cyberbulling as well any form of dark online stuff today you hear about on the news still happening to kids, teens even adults today and getting worse.. It's s truly a major issue still people don't take seriously at all, I think. They don't even put in the time to teach the youth and educated them on online safely. My therapist and whole family says you truly do NOT know anyone online, we are all strangers for the honest truth. If however you know them in person then its different. Everyone needs to remember to watch what you post and say, post pictures of yourself and other information as well online. I think personally you need to get to know someone online for years or at least one to start with and video as well voice chat with each other. In order to make sure they say who they say their are when they talk about themselves to you.

I've sadly been through mostly all the online horrors you hear about today and from al that now have C-PTSD. I pray no person will have to go through what I did ever. People really just need to be careful and cautious with talking to people online, take your time don't rush into things. This however is my opinion and no one has to listen to me either, your choice and life after all. Please remember anything you hear about online dangers as well cycberbulies can happen to you. If not at all you're lucky, however it still possibly could happen to you.
 
If anything, I feel like cyberbullying is being taken less seriously right now than 5-10 years ago which blows my mind. Society has gotten a lot more comfortable with the internet, which I'm very happy about, but in the end we need to remember the internet is a tool and not a location. Tools can be used for good and evil. I sometimes feel like the more the internet has been integrated into our lives, the less people at large are conscious of its dangers. I wouldn't want the internet further removed like it used to be, but people shouldn't forget either.

As for myself, I can't say I've ever been cyber bullied. I've barely experienced any direct negativity honestly and my own experiences online have been almost entirely positive.
 
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