Are You a Bystander?
Cyberbullying Bystander Statistics
- 70% of students report seeing frequent bullying online.
- 90% of teens who have seen social-media bullying say they have ignored it. 84% have seen others tell cyber bullies to stop.
- About 75% have visited a website bashing another student.
- 68% of teens agree that cyber bullying is a serious problem.
What is a Bystander?
A bystander is someone who sees what is happening between the bully and the victim but is not directly involved in the bullying. Bystanders are very different from either victims or bullies mainly because they make a decision to stay on the outside of the situation. Whereas victims and bullies are directly involved, bystanders think that avoiding the conflict altogether is either the right move or the best thing for them personally. A bystander may:
- Purposefully ignoring the event entirely;
- Witnessing the event and choosing not to take the appropriate actions;
- Witnessing the event thinking something on the lines of, “at least that person wasn’t me.”
Don't Be a Bystander, Put and End to Cyberbullying
Be a friend, not a bystander. Watching or forwarding mean messages empowers bullies and hurts victims even more. If you can, tell bullies to stop or let them know harassment makes people look stupid and mean. It’s time to let bullies know their behavior is unacceptable – cruel abuse of fellow human beings. If you can’t stop the bully, at least try to help the victim and report the behavior. Reaching out to the victim of the cyberbullying, offering your friendship and support, can mean a lot to that person, and make a bad situation much more bearable.
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