Take your average schoolyard bully and transfer that behaviour over to the Internet and you have what is termed a ‘cyberbully.’ Their weapons of social cruelty include various digital technologies from cell phones to digital cameras to computers. Using a keyboard and virtual anonymity, the Internet serves as a safer and easier alternative to physical bullying. Electronic bullies are able to hide behind temporary email accounts, pseudonyms, instant messengers and text messages.
Cyberbullying comes in many forms. It includes harassment (e.g., repeatedly sending emails or text messages to someone who has indicated he or she no longer wants any contact with the sender), humiliation (e.g., placing hateful comments, false statements or posting unauthorized images or videos on websites, chat rooms, blogs or forums), threats (e.g., sending or posting death threats or threats of other forms of violence online), and torment (e.g., hacking into a peer’s email account to ruin their reputation).
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