Cyberbullying is the use of digital technologies with an intent to offend, humiliate, threaten, harass, or abuse somebody.
Examples of cyberbullying include:
- Nasty messages online or on your mobile phone
- Comments or replies on your social media posts or posts about you
- Being excluded from online group chats on purpose
- Embarrassing or harmful photos being put online without your permission. This can be related to ‘revenge porn’ or ‘sextortion’
- Sending offensive pictures through a messaging app
- Rumours and lies about you on a website, messaging app or social media platform
- Offensive chat or voice communication on an online game
- Fake online profiles being created with an intent to defame you
Staying Safe Online
- Think before you post - consider what you say and what effect this may have. Don’t post anything you would not want in the public domain, or you would not be willing to say personally to another individual.
- Be mindful that everything you put online creates a 'digital footprint' that prospective employers may access in the future.
- Make the most of privacy settings - keep your profiles closed, allowing access only to your chosen friends and family.
- Do not give out your personal details including banking information, contact addresses, telephone numbers or identification unless you are certain you know the individual and that the request is from a trusted source.
- Keep safe by using unusual passwords. Use a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, symbols, and numbers.
- If you are using a public computer such as one in a library or a shared family computer, be sure to sign out of any web service you are using before leaving the computer so that you can protect your privacy.
- Report cyberbullying to internet service providers. Cyberbullying often violates the terms and conditions established by social media sites and internet service providers.
- Threats of violence, child pornography, sending sexually explicit messages or photos without consent, taking a photo or video of someone in a place where they would expect privacy, stalking, hate crimes, harassment, identity theft and impersonation are all criminal offences – You should report this by calling the police on 101 (999 in emergency situations) or through the University’s Report and Support system.
Safe Student Online - expert tips on staying digitally safe.
Learn more about digital safety and citizenship and how these issues impact you as a member of the University of Edinburgh community.