Bullying can happen no matter what age you are

I came across some info on cyber bullying. It is happening way too much and not only is it effecting school children, but adults in the workplace etc. are victims as well.


Are you a victim of adult bullying?
Posted: Oct 14th 2007 8:34PM by Lauren Greschner


Pretty much everyone was bullied at some point in their childhood. Whether it was by the dominant kid in a social group who never let anyone else decide what games to play, or the traditional big kid on the playground who terrorized every other child, chances are you've had to deal with some form of bullying when you were little.

Many of us think that all gets left behind when we grow up into confident adults, but unfortunately that's not always the case. Have you ever been to one of your kids' sports matches and seen another parent blow up at a referee? Or perhaps you're a part of the PTA and one of the other parents consistently refuses to listen to your suggestions or ignores you altogether? Maybe you dread going to work every day because a gossipy co-worker tries to belittle you with the information he or she spreads to your fellow workers?

According to this, all of the above constitute adult bullying. Even as a grown-up there are people who will try to boost their own confidence by intimidating others and trying to cut them down. If you think you may be a victim of adult bullying, take a look at the piece for suggestions on how to deal with it. If you know someone at work or in your social circle who is being picked on, stand up for them. Much like when with kids, a bully will often back down if they know that no one else is willing to stand for it.

What is bullying?
Bullying is a big concern for many parents and, if your child is distressed by any sort of bullying, then it should be taken seriously. Bullying is defined as persistent unwelcome behaviour and can include anything from teasing, deliberately ostracising someone to assaults and abuse. For more information on how to spot if your child is a victim of bullying go to the Scottish Anti-Bullying Network www.antibullying.net
Bullies will use many ways to get at their victims and the Internet gives them yet another method. This form of bullying is sometimes called cyber bullying and describes the misuse of email systems or the Internet for harassing people, such as by sending unpleasant or aggressive messages. Although this is a recent phenomenon and may not yet be taken seriously by everyone, bullying of all kinds is wrong and should be challenged. The good news is that there are some direct practical steps that you can take to help your child if they are a victim.

Bullying by email
Experts on bullying believe that many bullies tend to lack good communication skills and therefore the impersonal nature of email makes an ideal tool for them to victimise others. Unfortunately it is not immediately possible to check where an email has come from – you have to trust that the named writer is genuine. But it is not always wise to make this assumption. The best advice is
if a name is not familiar, it may be safer not to open the email
if the sender is a known bully or if they have sent unpleasant or annoying messages before, then ignore it and delete it straight away
if the bullying happens through a personal email account, report it to the sender’s email account provider – you can find this address after the @ sign
if it is not obvious who the sender is and there is continual bullying using email, then there are tools to trace senders. To find out more about this email tracking, go to one of the search engines, (e.g. Google, Yahoo, etc) and type in “email tracking software” - this software can then be downloaded. Once you know the identity of the bully, get in touch with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) who can then block the sender from your email.
if the email bullying is occurring in school, then this should be dealt with through the school’s anti-bullying policy.

Bullying on the Internet
You may be aware of recent episodes where people have been victimised via websites – one incident involved pupils setting up an offensive website about their teachers. Of course, the victim may not always be aware that these sites exist. However, if your child realises that they have been bullied in this way, then the first course of action is to contact your ISP. They can find out who runs the site and can request that it is removed. If the person responsible is at school with your child, then let the headteacher know. Any false accusations or anything on the website which you feel is breaking the law should be reported to the police.