Ways / Types of cyberbullying

Just like how traditional bullying exists in many different types such as verbal abuse and physical violence, there are many different types of cyberbullying. Here is a list of few common types of cyberbullying.

1. Harassment

It involves the bully sending offensive and malicious messages to an individual or a group and is often repeated multiple times. Cyberstalking is one form of harassment that involves continual threatening and rude messages, and can lead to physical harassment in the real, offline world.

2. Flaming

Flaming is similar to harassment, but it refers to an online fight exchanged via emails, instant messaging or chat rooms. It is a type of public bullying that often directs harsh languages, or images to a specific person.

3. Exclusion

Exclusion is the act of intentionally singling out and leaving a person out from an online group such as chats and sites. The group then subsequently leave malicious comments and harass the one they singled out.

4. Outing

Outing is when a bully shares personal and private information, pictures, or videos about someone publicly. A person is “outed” when his information has been disseminated throughout the internet.

5. Masquerading

Masquerading is a situation where a bully creates a fake identity to harass someone anonymously. In addition to creating a fake identity, the bully can impersonate someone else to send malicious messages to the victim.