5 Most Common Types of Cyberbullying in 2021

El cyber bullying It is a reality that we cannot deny, but we can fight against. In recent years, the way in which people are affected by this form of violence has grown exponentially, where Women are the main victims.

This makes it a gender-related issue that cannot be ignored. In addition, there are many types of cyberbullying which are based on how victims are threatened and coerced.

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What is cyber bullying?

Cyberbullying is a type of violence in which a person or group of people are repeatedly harmed or harassed, primarily using computer media such as social networks, messaging services and multiple web portals.

It should be noted that cyberbullying can be accompanied by other crimes such as extortion, public threats, hacking of personal accounts and data, among many other acts that are penalized by law.

It is believed that most examples of cyberbullying are carried out through platforms such as WhatsApp, using the mass diffusion characteristics that these have to keep the victims threatened.

The 5 Types of Cyberbullying You Should Know About

There are many forms of bullying, and using cyber means to annoy and harm people is one of them. However, we can detect up to 5 types of cyberbullying more common in recent years, so you need to be aware of their traits and how to prevent them.

1. Cyberbullying

El cyber bullying It is one of the most frequent online harassments in recent years, as the use of computer devices (such as smartphones) by children and adolescents has grown.

Although cyberbullying is not limited exclusively to this type of people. In fact, bullying is an act of harassment in which those involved They share the same age range and a similar social environment. For example, one adult might be another adult's bully.

However, if the act involves an adult with a child, then we would be talking about another form of violence and even serious crimes.

In these cases, digital media is used, images are shared and opinion boxes are exploited. (comments, messages, reactions, etc…) to mock or annoy a person, even en masse.

It is not easy to directly confront this type of violence when it involves third parties on the Internet, but it is necessary to talk to the perpetrators and victims, especially if they are represented by adults, in order to try to stop the attack.

2. Sextortion

It is born from the combination of the sexual character in an extortion, in which the victim is constantly threatened that his or her private and personal content (messages, videos, voice notes, images) can be published. but does not agree to any particular request, not necessarily economic.

In fact, the extortionist may ask the victim to share more sexual content with him, falling into a circle in which the threat can be prolonged for long periods of time if action is not taken, especially legal action.

Sextortion affects people of all genders, but women are the most frequent victims. In addition, cases of pederasty and pedophilia have been detected in which children are the most affected by this. form of cyberbullying.

It should be noted that stalkers can use anonymity or geographic difference to their advantage, so the most important thing is to seek help from the authorities and report the act so that they can take appropriate measures.

3. Grooming

The word Grooming the act in which an adult establishes cyber contact with a minor, mainly children, to involve them in sexual activities that can range from multimedia exchange to physical access.

Grooming is believed to be a frequent cybercrime and also one of the most dangerous, because the attacker uses the anonymity or personality of the networks to gain the trust of children and get them to do things that affect them, without them being aware of it.

It can even be presented as a form of identity theft, in which The attacker pretends to be another child of contemporary age, using adapted language to generate an atmosphere of friendship.

Bullies try at all costs to break family ties of the victims, and to do so it uses the language of equals. For this reason, this is one of the types of cyberbullying that requires urgent attention, mainly from the representatives and guardians of the children.

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4. Cyber ​​Gender Violence

Gender violence has evolved into a virtual environment, in which there is constant persecution by people of different genders or sexes. For example, a man humiliating a woman through a social network by exposing her is a sign of cyber gender violence.

But this is a crime that does not only affect women. In fact, it can be seen in a contrary way or involve people and communities of different sexual orientations, mainly of the LGBTQ+ community.

For cyber gender violence to exist, there must first be a difference in that aspect, so two people of the same gender can engage in other types of attacks or violence, but would not be included in this type of classification.

Furthermore, this is one of the attacks that is most often involved with other forms of violence. It can be accompanied by bullying or sextortion.

5. Psychological cyberbullying

Although the above types of cyberbullying always end in trauma and bring with them psychological consequences, there is a way in which the aggressor's goal is intentionally affect the victim's psyche.

On such occasions, computer media are used to impose themselves and minimize the harassed person in various contexts, be they religious, social, racial, economic, emotional, work-related, family-related and many others.

It can even lead the victim to take definitive actions against his or her life. For example, case of YouTube videos in which a bully persuaded children to commit acts of violence against themselves.

Conclusions

Know and learn about the multiple forms of cyberbullying that invade virtual environments is of vital importance, because it can help us prevent them, take measures to defend ourselves and even protect the most vulnerable.

In all cases of cyberbullying, it is essential involve the authorities to take measures that mean the least risk for the victims, because ignoring the situation or trying to resolve it personally may not be the best solution and always end up prolonging the violence.