How to Beat Cyberbullies

Hi, Wellcasters! Last week, we started talking about bullies, those grizzly bears that seem to think they're allowed to make you feel unsafe and uncomfortable. We showed you some ways to deal with these grizzlies, from playing dead to traveling in packs. But what if the bears could follow you, worming their way through the series of wires that now make up such a huge part of our lives? Today on Wellcast, we're taking a look at cyberbullying. In many ways, cyberbullying can be much scarier than physical bullying and much harder to escape too. But that's okay because your Wellcast army has returned to back you up. We're going to teach you a four-step method for escaping the clutches of cyberbullies. Are you ready? Unsurprisingly, cyberbullying is extremely detrimental to your health. The Journal of Adolescent Health found that cyberbullying victims are more likely to become depressed than targets of traditional bullying. And cyberbullies don't really have much in the way of motives either. With bullying, there's normally an imbalance of power. But you don't need to be powerful to harass someone online. You just need the Internet. According to the American Counseling Association, 40% of cyberbullies engage in online aggression just for fun. Okay, it doesn't really help to know that someone who's constantly harassing you over Facebook has no reason to do so. But you should take comfort in the fact that it does have very little to do with you and everything to do with the bully's own super weird issues. You can't fight those issues. What you can do is learn how to avoid cyberbullying when possible and extract yourself from the situation when it's too late to avoid it. It's time for our four-step method. Pause and print this Wellcast worksheet. Step 1. Privacy is prevention. Take a second to go through any place you store data about yourself online and make sure the privacy settings are airtight. Google your name. See what comes up. Make sure your Facebook settings don't give out your email address or phone number. Step 2. When bullied, don't respond and don't retaliate. This is a ridiculously hard rule to follow because, hey, you're getting sent awful things and the first thing you want to do is fire back. But think of it like this: Engaging with a bully is like pouring water on a grease fire. It seems like the obvious thing to do at the time because, holy crap, my stovetop is in flames! But water just spreads the fire and retaliating to a cyberbully just encourages the bully because you're giving him what he wants. Step 3. Block the bully if possible. What's better than ignoring a bully? Making it impossible for him to contact you, that's what. Try one of the following methods to make it harder for your bully to reach you. If you're on a messaging system, set it up so that only contacts on your buddy list can contact you. If this doesn't work, try going invisible or blocking the individual screen names that you know to be dangerous. Screen all incoming phone calls and text messages. If necessary, temporarily suspend your social media pages. Step 4. Save the information and tell someone. First and foremost, report the bullying to the service provider because cyberbullying is outlawed on most sites and messenger services. Cyberbullying is also illegal in most states, though some bullies might think they can get away with a lot simply because nobody knows who they are. What they forget is that they're leaving a pretty significant electronic trail. Save any threatening correspondence, email, Facebook, phones, etc., and show it to somebody you trust. This could be a parent, teacher, or friend. To recap, if you're being cyberbullied, first make sure your online presence is as private as possible. Don't retaliate, but block the bully from communicating with you as much as you can. And finally, save all information and tell someone you trust about the bullying. If you would like more advice on dealing with bullies, like why you should never listen to a bully in the first place, click back to our last bullying episode. Tweet us at WatchWellCast, email us at watchwellcast@gmail.com, or leave a comment down below. We'll see you next time.