How to prevent cyberbullying and online harassment

Bullying can affect an individual’s self-esteem, mental health, and overall well-being. And unfortunately, bullying is common — particularly among kids and adolescents.

As kids and teens spend more and more time online, cyberbullying has become more common, as well. The effects of cyberbullying are similar to those of physical and verbal bullying, but they can be more difficult for parents and loved ones to notice.

In this guide, we’ll go over how to prevent cyberbullying — and tips on how to protect your kids and teens from being at the center of it.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is simply bullying — threatening, abusive or intimidating behavior — that takes place online. This could be through social media platforms, gaming platforms, text messages, or email.

While cyberbullying is common among young people, any internet user can experience cyberbullying or online harassment.

Bullies may send victims intimidating messages, threats, or rude or inappropriate content over the internet. They may resort to name-calling, offensive comments about someone’s physical appearance, or even sexual harassment. They may also impersonate individuals, share or alter pictures without permission, or even hack into people’s accounts to cause havoc.

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Cyberbullying is common on social media accounts (e.g., Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.), but it also may take place via online video games.

Although it may not include physical harm, the psychological effects of cyberbullying can be just as damaging as in-person bullying.

Victims of cyberbullying may experience various effects, including:

• Reduced self-esteem

• Signs of mental health concerns, like depression and anxiety

• Social isolation

• Self-harm

Worse still, young adults may be more hesitant to tell a trusted adult about this particular form of bullying, as they may be embarrassed or think the adult won’t understand. Likewise, parents may not notice that their kids are experiencing cyberbullying. But it’s worryingly common: Cyberbullying statistics show that 46% of middle and high school students reported being the victim of cyberbullying.

Other worrying cyberbullying facts include:

• Young people who experience cyberbullying are at a higher risk for self-harm and suicide.

• Only around 12% of teen victims will inform adults that they are being cyberbullied, and 39% do nothing about the bullying.

• About 95% of teens are online, where they might be exposed to various types of cyberbullying.

For these reasons, it’s very important to do what we can to address cyberbullying and reduce its effects on our young people.

How to prevent cyberbullying: 7 ways

Wondering how to stop cyberbullying? These strategies can help reduce the odds of your kids being affected by cyberbullies and online harassment.

1. Talk about cyberbullying

The first step is to have age-appropriate conversations about how to identify bullying behavior. These discussions should begin as soon as a child starts using electronic devices, like cell phones or tablets, and social media.

2. Utilize privacy settings on social media

Each social media site has various customizable settings relating to privacy. Users can customize who can see their posts, who can tag them, who can share their photos and posts, and more.

For best results, switch all privacy settings to the most secure option possible. This will prevent people who are not friends from viewing, sharing, or tagging posts.

3. Set strong passwords and maintain good internet safety practices

A particularly damaging form of cyberbullying can happen if a bully gains access to a victim’s social media account or email. In this case, the bully can post whatever they want, tag friends, send messages, and impersonate the victim.

To help prevent this, follow internet safety measures. Set strong passwords, and learn how to protect private information like phone numbers, email addresses, and anything that could be used to answer security questions. For example, you should log out of accounts when you’re using public devices, such as school or library computers.

You might also want to consider turning on any parental controls that are available via a child’s smartphone or online accounts.

4. Make a response plan

Bullying prevention should also include a detailed plan on how to respond should bullying actually occur. Parents and kids can work together to come up with answers to the following questions:

• How and when should you report cyberbullying? (Bullying may be reported to school officials, parents, or even law enforcement in severe cases.)

• How should the response differ if there are physical threats of violence? (Cyberbullying laws vary, but threats are usually considered a crime, and threatening online behavior may be reported to police).

• Should you respond to cyberbullies?

• How can you best react to an incident of cyberbullying to control its effects on you and your mood?

School administrators are likely already familiar with cyberbullying and may be able to help parents and kids respond when or if it happens. Online resources to explore include StopBullying.org and the Cyberbullying Research Center.

5. Make sure kids know who they can talk to for help

Parents and kids should talk about who they can turn to if they encounter bullying. Kids need a safe place to turn, and it’s good to have multiple options in addition to parents. Make a list of responsible and trusted friends, siblings, coaches, counselors, or other family members that a teen can reach out to if they need help.

6. Understand “social media mindfulness”

Certain social networking sites — and even certain types of posts on social apps — may be more risky in terms of instigating bullying behavior. It’s important for parents and kids to be aware of what they share, why they’re sharing it, and what effects those posts could have.

Cyberbullies may take what kids post and use it against them (or even what parents post). For instance, an oversharing of personal information could lead to child identity theft. Sharing vulnerable feelings or pictures on social channels may prompt bullying or cyberstalking. Likewise, posts with photos may be shared without permission or altered, resulting in online harassment.

7. Limit screen time

These days, it’s hard to avoid using digital devices and social media — but limiting screen time to a reasonable amount can help kids and teens reduce the risk of being affected by cyberbullying. 

The more time you spend online, the more likely you are to interact with more people — for instance, kids that play online video games will often play with people from outside their friend circle, which could increase the risk of bullying.

Plus, limiting screen time can help kids and teens develop a more well-rounded social life, complete with both online and offline activities. 

Preventing cyberbullying starts at home

Cyberbullying takes place online — between friends, classmates, distant acquaintances, and sometimes even strangers. But preventing and responding to cyberbullying starts at home, where parents and kids can have conversations about the risks of their online worlds and social media in particular. You can secure your devices and privacy settings to further prevent cyberbullying as well as create a response plan for dealing with it. 

Check out the Greenlight blog to learn more about how to keep your kids and teens safe while empowering their independence at every stage of their life.