What is Cyber Bullying?
Cyber bullying can be defined as the use of internet and/or mobile technology to harass, intimidate, or cause harm to another.
Social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms such as Facebook, XBox Live, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and other chat rooms can be great fun and a positive experience. However, they can also be used as a way to bully others.
Cyber bullying can be difficult to escape and therefore increasingly traumatising. In addition, the public nature of it can mean that anyone can view the victim being cyber bullied; adding shame and embarrassment on top of the already painful experience.
E-Safety
The internet is often an integral part of children's lives. It opens up so many educational and social opportunities, giving them access to, quite literally, a world of information and experiences.
Whether on a computer at school, a laptop at home, a games console or mobile phone, children and young people are increasingly accessing the internet whenever they can and wherever they are.
There's also a place which anyone can use to report if they feel uncomfortable or worried about someone they're chatting to online. All the information here is brought to you by the team at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.
Use the Think You Know website to find out the latest information on the sites you like to visit, mobiles and new technology. The site is divided by age range, as follows:
Watch e-safety messages created by local young people
Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership has sponsored an e-safety award as part of Shropshire Council's Create IT Awards. Pupils from across the county competed to produce the best e-safety message for children and young people and/or their parents, using any type of software.
Facebook
Facebook has now added a CEOP online safety app. Through this app, young people will be able to access advice, help and support from the CEOP Centre. Crucially, young people will be able to report instances of suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour directly from their profile to specially trained investigators.
If your child has a Facebook account and they've not added it yet then they should add the app. Once added to their profiles, users will receive regular messages from CEOP and its partner organisations who operate 'behind the button' to make children safer. The page will look at topics that teenagers care about, such as celebrities, music and exams, and will link these subjects to questions about online safety.