10 basic tips against cyberbullying

Proactive Prevention: Privacy and Digital Footprinting

The first basic tips focus on prevention, i.e., reducing the bully's opportunities before he acts. The fundamental advice is to configure privacy settings.

All social networks and applications allow you to restrict who can see content. Accounts should be in "private" mode, not "public".

This means that only manually accepted friends or followers can see photos and posts. Related to this, the second tip is not to add strangers.

Accepting friend requests from profiles you don't know in the real world opens a door to potential abusers or fake profiles.

The third tip is to think before posting.

The child should be reminded that everything that is uploaded on the Internet (photos, opinions, videos) creates a "digital footprint" that is almost impossible to erase and can be used against him or her in the future.

Immediate Action During Bullying

When cyberbullying is already occurring, advice focuses on crisis management.

The most important yet most difficult advice to follow is: "Don't respond to the aggressor."

Responding (insulting, defending yourself) is exactly what the bully is looking for: a reaction. Feeding the troll only intensifies the harassment.

The fifth tip is "Block immediately." Using the block tool prevents the aggressor from contacting again from that account.

The sixth tip is "Save the evidence." Offensive messages, comments or images should never be deleted.

The impulse is to delete them so you don't see them, but that is the evidence needed for the complaint. Screenshots should be taken.

And the seventh, and most crucial, is "Ask an adult for help." Cyberbullying is not something a minor can or should manage alone.

Collective Responsibility and Empathy

The last tips appeal to responsibility as a member of a digital community. The eighth tip is "Don't be complicit."

If you receive humiliating content about a peer, don't share it, don't "like" it, and don't participate in the group where it is spread. Being a passive observer who forwards is being part of the problem.

The ninth tip is the evolution of the previous one: "Be an advocate". If you see an injustice, support the victim (in public if it is safe, or in private), and report the content on the platform itself.

Finally, the tenth tip is the golden rule of digital coexistence: "Respect others".

Don't do online what you wouldn't do face-to-face and treat others as you would like to be treated.

Summary

Key prevention tips include protecting privacy ("private" accounts), not adding strangers, and always think before you post, remembering that the digital footprint is permanent

If harassment occurs, the golden rule is "Do not reply and do not delete". Block the aggressor, save the evidence (screenshots) and, fundamentally, tell an adult.

Finally, it is vital not to be an accomplice. Never share humiliating content, support the victim if you witness it and always treat others on the network with the same respect that you demand.