Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet to be mean to a child or young person so they feel bad or upset.
eSafety helps prevent and deal with cyberbullying and its impacts. We do this by providing information, education and resources, and by investigating and helping to fix the most serious cases of cyberbullying.
On this page:
Do you feel unsafe right now? If you are in Australia and in immediate danger or at risk of harm call Triple Zero (000). Contact your local police on 131 444 if there are threats to your safety or threats to your friends or family members.
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet to be mean to a child or young person so they feel bad or upset. It can happen on a social media site, game, app, or any other online or electronic service or platform. It can include: posts, comments, texts, messages, chats, livestreams, memes, images, videos and emails.
These are some examples of ways the internet can be used to make someone feel bad or upset:
- Sending hurtful messages about them.
- Sharing embarrassing photos or videos of them.
- Spreading nasty online gossip about them.
- Leaving them out online.
- Creating fake accounts in their name.
- Tricking them into believing you are someone else.
Sadly, cyberbullying happens a lot in Australia and around the world.
44% of Australian young people report having a negative online experience in the last 6 months, this includes 15% who received threats or abuse online.
What you can do.
If someone is being really mean online, first of all it’s a good idea to:
- tell a trusted adult and ask them to help you – you could show them this page about cyberbullying
- change the settings on your device or online account so you don’t see so many messages, posts or comments from the person who was mean – find out how in The eSafety Guide.
If you need cyberbullying material removed:
- report it to the social media site, gaming site or other app that was used to send, post or share the harmful content (this can be the fastest way to get it removed) – find reporting links for most sites, games and apps in The eSafety Guide
- check our tips about how to take care of yourself if you are cyberbullied.
If the site, game or app does not help you, and the cyberbullying is serious enough, eSafety can ask them to remove the harmful content. For eSafety to investigate, you must live in Australia. Also, the type of cyberbullying must be against Australia’s online safety laws.
This means the content sent to you, or posted or shared about you, must be likely to harm your physical or mental health because it is seriously:
- threatening (for example, when someone says they are going to harm you, or tells others to harm you) or
- intimidating (for example, when you stop doing something because someone makes you feel scared or bad about it) or
- harassing (for example, when someone keeps sending messages to you or keeps sharing posts or comments about you even though you don’t want them to) or
- humiliating (for example, when someone teases or embarrasses you very badly).
If someone is cyberbullying you in one of these ways you can report it to eSafety, or you can ask a trusted adult to do it for you. The adult can be a parent or guardian, or someone like a carer, teacher or police officer.
If you are a parent or guardian you can report serious cyberbullying to eSafety yourself – if you know your child has been targeted by harmful content, and the site, game or app has not helped.
Download the cyberbullying quick guide
You can download and print our quick guide about cyberbullying, which has key information from this website. This guide is also available in Arabic, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese.
