Stay safe online: young people and online bullying

For the final part of our Stay safe online series, we're looking at how young people can stay safe online, especially on social media, and what to do if they experience bullying.

It’s not hard to stay safe online if you follow simple rules and steps like what we’ve covered in the rest of the Stay safe online series, but for young people, especially children, it’s sometimes difficult to know what’s OK and what’s not OK when using websites, social media and mobile apps.

If you’re a parent or a young person, Childline offer some fantastic advice on how to deal with online bullying. They say:

• Don’t try to deal with the bullying by yourself – it often helps to talk to someone, so talk to an adult you trust.
• If you receive unkind messages, don’t reply to them, but do keep them so that you can show someone.
• If you see bulling posts online, don’t like, share or comment on them. This could make the situation even worse for the person being bullied.
• Talk to the police if something serious is happening or has happened.
• Remember that things can and do get better. (1)

Social media

Childline have a load of other advice about social media for young people to take on board.

If you experience bulling on social media, there are a few things you can do. You can:

• report and block the person
• take a screenshot of the bulling
• talk to an adult you trust and talk to Childline (2)

Childline explain how to report bullying or sexting on different social media, including Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Tumblr and video chat sites like Skype.

There are some Childline videos about how to cope with bulling, like this one here which talks about how to build confidence after bullying.

Remember if you’re a young person, you can always call Childline about anything. The number for Childline is 0800 1111.

The most important thing is to keep safe online and enjoy doing all the fun and useful stuff that’s available online!

Click here to see the rest of our Stay safe online series.

(1) https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/types-bullying/online-bullying/

(2) https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/types-bullying/bullying-social-networks/