Cyberbullying best practices

Whether online or offline, you have to be careful about who you interact with. Don't hesitate to block and report the account of anyone who harasses you to protect yourself and prevent them from expressing themselves.

Keep evidence of these exchanges to prove cyberbullying, especially since these traces will no longer be visible if the account is blocked or closed.

All social networks have a button that makes it easy to block and report an account. This is also possible in video games: report an account or offensive message, or block a player by adding them to your “blacklist” or whatever name is used in the game.

Remember to take screenshots of all exchanges containing mockery, insults, or harmful images, as these will be useful in the event of legal proceedings.

If the perpetrator of cyberbullying is a minor over the age of 13 and the victim is under the age of 15, they face 18 months in prison and a €7,500 fine.

Cyberbullying often causes fear or shame, and you may want to keep it to yourself.

However, talking about it means you don't have to face it alone, you feel supported, and you can prevent the situation from getting worse.

Talking about what you are experiencing or what you have seen is often the first step towards changing things.

When faced with cyberbullying, you are not alone. Talk to a trusted adult (parent, teacher, educator, etc.) or someone you feel safe with. You can explain what you have seen or experienced, even if you don't know what to do yet.

You can remind your child that cyberbullying is not allowed and that they can tell the bully that what they are doing is not acceptable.

For help, you can also call 30 18, the national hotline dedicated to harassment: ”30 18 provides all the contacts that victims and their loved ones need: psychological support, filing a complaint, emergency services.

When someone hurts you online, you have the right to protect yourself.

Blocking prevents the person from contacting us, and reporting alerts others so that the situation is taken seriously. These actions help protect us and put a stop to hurtful behavior.

If someone sends hurtful messages, we use the platform's tools to block them. We can also report the message or account so that the situation can be investigated.

These steps can be taken with the help of an adult.

Behind a screen, we sometimes forget that words can hurt just as much as they do in real life.

Before commenting, it's important to think about how the other person might feel. When lots of people are commenting, it's easy to get carried away and say or do things you wouldn't dare do alone or face to face.

However, one more message can be enough to escalate a situation of harassment.

Take a moment before writing and imagine how the other person might feel when reading your message. This helps us understand that, even online, words have an impact and can hurt.

To delete content or block an account, you can also call 3018, the national hotline dedicated to harassment. They have direct contact with platforms so they can act more quickly.

Once shared, a photo can circulate without any control. It can be saved, reposted, or commented on by others, sometimes long after it was originally posted.

Thinking before posting helps protect your image and avoid embarrassing or hurtful situations later on.

Before posting a photo, ask yourself a few simple questions: Would I be comfortable if everyone saw it? Would I be okay with it resurfacing in a few years?

Parents can talk to their children about this to help them think before posting.

Photos and personal information are part of your private life. Just because someone has shared something about themselves doesn’t mean they agree to others sharing it.

Sharing without permission can make them feel uncomfortable, cause them to lose control over their own information, and sometimes lead to ridicule or harassment.

You should always ask the people in a photo for permission before posting a vacation, family, or friends’ photo.

When it comes to personal information, never share anything without the person’s consent.This applies to parents too.

Be mindful of what you share online.

When parents share content about their children on the internet, it's called sharenting. This practice carries risks for children, whose photos and information can be used and misused maliciously.

Furthermore, according to Stacey Steinberg, an expert on sharenting, “when we share content about our children online without involving them in the decision-making process, we miss a valuable opportunity to teach them about consent and set an example for them in this area.