Cyberbullying: steps to stop it

Bullying is never OK, whether face-to-face or cyberbullying. Use this illustrated guide with your child to talk about cyberbullying. You can also read more in our articles on bullying and cyberbullying.

The best thing to do is to tell someone.

It’s normal to feel upset, angry and confused about what to do next. Following the G.E.T. R.I.D. steps can help stop the bullying.

Go block or delete the person engaging in cyberbullying. This helps stop the bully from posting or uploading offensive content. 

Ensure you keep evidence of the bullying. Save and print out any bullying messages. Save text messages.

Tell a trusted adult or friend.

Report abuse. For example, click the ‘report abuse’ link on the website. If the messages are threatening, the local police could help.

Ignore bullying behaviour. It’s OK to tell the person who’s bullying to stop, but don’t respond aggressively.

Delete online messages (after saving a copy) so that others don't see the bullying. Don’t forward text messages to others as they might forward them on too.