You might call it drama, gossip or trolling; but whatever you call it, cyberbullying is serious. Cyberbullying is using online or electronic communications such as e-mail, text messages, instant messaging, chat rooms or social media sites to embarrass, humiliate, torment, threaten or harass someone else.
Cyberbullying is often more persistent than face-to-face bullying. As cyberbullying is delivered through electronic devices, the victim can be reached walking home from school, alone in their bedroom, or even on vacation.
Furthermore, because it can spread so quickly and to such a huge audience (particularly on social networking sites), cyberbullying has already involved a great number of teens, whether as the victim, the person who is bullying, the silent observer, or as someone who participates from the sidelines and becomes part of the problem.
Canada.ca/StopHatingOnline is a website for people of all ages but with a special section about cyberbullying for teenagers. Here you can find reliable information about what to do if you are the victim of cyberbullying, if someone you know is being cyberbullied or if you know someone who is involved in cyberbullying.