The anonymity of the online world makes bullying, harassing and other negative behaviors much easier to get away with. Regardless of who is doing it, it is never okay. You need not be victim to this form of treatment, and you are entitled to take steps to bring the behavior to a stop.
What is Harassment?
Harassment means any behavior that annoys you, alarms you, causes you emotional distress and serves no lawful or legitimate purpose. Now, if someone annoys you once, you can probably just ignore it and move on. But if it is a continued harassment over a period of time, or a harassment of a sexual, violent or abusive nature, you should take immediate steps.
Records :
If you are being harassed in any way, the best thing you can do is start to keep a record of all the harassment taking place. Keep logs of what the person says or does, because should it come to a point where you need to call authorities to take action, you’ll want to be able to explain the situation exactly as it is. Human memory has a history of being faulty, and the courts know this. If you have a record with the date, time and wording of the harassment, there is very little a perpetrator can come back at a judge with.
Don’t Feed Into It :
Most cyber-bullies feed on a response. The last thing you want to do is show them that what they are doing is getting to you. Don’t engage them in conversation, and don’t make any sort of deals. Their behavior is not acceptable under any circumstances and you don’t need to come to an understanding. The understanding is that they stop, right now.
Getting Help :
If the harassment continues or escalates, it’s time to take action. On Twitter, you can block someone, but they can still see your posts and comment on them. Because of this, it’s best to speak with an adult if you are a youth, or contact the authorities. A court will determine if the situations are found to be a case of harassment, and if so, they will fill a restraining order. This way, if this person continues to harass you, they will likely end up doing prison time. At the very least, they will have a record and a conditional sentence.
With the recent story of Amanda Todd and millions of others around the world becoming victims of cyber-bullying and harassment, it is no longer a problem that can be pushed away and not thought about. If someone is harassing you on Twitter, you don’t have to stand for it.
