Bullying Assignment

Cyber Bullying

FAQ's:

1.  How can people have their personal information obtained?

 When people put information about them on a website and the information has not had any security settings applied, that information about that person is public and everyone can obtain the information that is displayed for example: age, location etc.

2.   What are different forms of cyber abuse?

 There are roughly 8 forms of cyber bullying that are known the first one being "harassment" this means that people are repeatedly sending malicious messages to someone online, the second one being "cyber stalking" which is continuingly harassing or even just messaging someone abusive content with threats of physical harm or for them to meet up to appear innocent when they are not, third being "impersonation" when the messenger pretends to be someone there aren’t tricking the person who revives the messages, the fourth one being "trickery" when someone gets information out of someone and then shares it with others without that person knowing, the fifth being "outing" when someone spreads false or private information about someone online, the sixth "exclusion" when someone intestinally leaves someone out of a messaging group, the seventh being "denigration" when someone puts some mean messages online to make fun of someone, the eighth being "flaming" online fights or arguments when angry/threatening comments are sent through messages.

3.   What are the risks when responding to emails?

 When responding to emails especially scam or spam emails that can give the email reciever a lot of information about you, when they send an email all they know is your email address but when you send an email they can access more information to you as now they have an email from you they can get your email server which can identify your location this can then lead on to them being able to get information such as age, gender, postcode etc.

4.   What are the risks when online gaming?

 Online gaming can hold many risks as not only can you receive abusive messages but you can receive abusive voice messages, you can be invited to join voice calls which you can be targeted in, some games even work with webcams so people will be able to see what you look like.

5.   What are the risks when sharing files?

 problems with file sharing can include that a person can now possibly access your computer who could potentially copy private files or even damage important files this can happen if firewall is disabled, also viruses and malware could be downloaded to your computer by someone without you knowing potentially damaging your computer, you could even be exposing yourself to legal issues if someone was to scam you by downloading them onto your computer to get you into trouble.

6.   What are the risks when using smart phones?

 A huge problem of using a smartphone is that if it is stolen or lost it is very easily to crack open and access the information in it as the passwords can easily be wiped off using a computer, this opens you up to dangers such as identity theft as credit card and bank account details are often stored on mobile devices also social networks can be interfered with. A less serious problem is that with a smartphone it can higher your chances or possibly getting cyber bullied more as people can message your phone.

7.   What are the potential consequences that may result if an individual is persuaded to send explicit images to others via text message?

 Major problems with sending explicit photos is that once you've sent it you can’t take it back, that person now has that photo saved on their phone the problem with this is that this person can send/share this photo with people that were not intended to see it this can cause the person who sent it to get ridiculed for it, also sending sexual pictures under the age of 18 is illegal meaning to do it is an offense as it is seen as child pornography.

8.   What is the impact on an individual if someone obtains and streams on social media websites inappropriate videos or images of the individual?

 This can really upset that person as this video/image will be private and that person would not like people to know about it, this can seriously embarrass or humiliate someone.

9.   How can hackers use personal information that has been posted onto social media websites?

 The hacker can gather this personal information and then try to impersonate themselves as that person online to trick people, also they can gain information that might allow them to gain access to their account.

10.  How might users be tricked into disclosing personal information when using social media websites?

 Hackers or frauds can trick the person by asking them questions to gain information about that person they can do this very abruptly or quite hidden by making it more casual.

11.  What are the different grooming techniques used by online predators?

 A main thing that the predator will do is try to gain the trust of the child this can be due by using secrecy and telling false information about themselves to try and get the child to think that they know who they are talking to, another technique a predator might use it to compliment the child they are messaging to try and get a positive response from the child, they also tend to make promises to the child so that they are manipulating them. 

12. What are the different types of exploitation techniques that can be used by online predators?

Once the predator has gained the child’s trust they can then try and get the child to give them information about them or send them inappropriate photos they can then use this to exploit the child.

Information for Parents and Schools

Staying safe online is highly important as people can get tricked into things they would never want to do, things like viruses, abusive messages, identity theirs, online predators are out there and these things can happen to anyone, when online precautions have to be taken.

As a teacher you must give the students information on how to stay say and go through all the ways that they could get in danger online, you also need to tell them how they can fix any problems online if they are already suffering from them, they also need to know that they shouldn't ever be persuaded or told to do something online that they don’t want to do, and if they are receiving messages to seek help right away.

As a parent you want to make sure that they are sending safe messages to people that they know, also that they aren't receiving any abusive or dangerous content.

How to identify if someone is being cyber bullied

When someone is being a victim from some form of cyber bullying there mood or attitude can drastically change examples of this are: lack of excitement or happiness in general, sleep deprivation, increased anger and mood swings, the feeling or wanting to be alone, lack of communication from the victim.

Cyber self-harm is when someone basically bullies them self-online instead of someone in person saying abusive stuff to them they write abusive stuff about themselves online, this normally happens when someone is being bullied or cyber bullied as they can go through some psychological trauma making them upset and cyber self-harming.

If there is any sign of malevolent content or signs of abuse in messages it should immediately be reported and actions should be taken.

Do not get mistaken with friendly jokes as sometimes jokes can be seen as quite abusive at first but the person receiving the jokes understands that it is a joke and that there is no harm by it also if there is only a single mid abusive message and then that person apologises or leaves it, it can be left with.

Reporting Cyber Bullying

Reporting a cyber bully should normally be done by telling the persons parents or carers that is being bullied so that they can help them sometimes thought that person would prefer if it was someone else so teachers or councillors can be notified as well, for parents if the content are threatening or example death threats the police can be contacted to help with this situation, as this is by definition putting your child’s life in danger.

Safety Tips

When posting images online, they should be images that are not inappropriate this means the photos should not include any sexual themes, images should be used to show who you are and to show who you are.

When posting messages make sure it is to people you know and people who you are friends with, do not threaten or send abusive messages to anyone that could potentially hurt someone.

When personally information is obtained do not use it for your own will or spread it or false information about it.

Chat rooms should include friends only and no abusive messages should be sent to anyone.

Uploading media should not include any content that you do not want people to see, this is going public remember so make sure that the content is okay for everyone to see as people can now use this and see this.