➟ Some people use game environments as a way to bully
others. Teach your grandkids that they may never be
abusers, and help them report the abuse to the service
provider, and block the abuser from contacting them
again. Make it clear that retaliating isn’t acceptable
(and almost always leads to an escalation of abuse).➟ If a child is bullied or solicited in a gaming site, cutting
them off from the game isn’t a solution, as their online
world is an important part of their support network.
Instead, help them to block specific abusers and report
the abuse. Encourage children in your care to talk to
you or another adult if they’re having problems.Understand the Act of Cyberbullying
All bullying is carried out by malicious attackers seeking implicit or
explicit entertainment or profit through the abuse of another person.
Cyberbullies just have new tools to use in these attacks. When you add
e-mail, blogs, instant messaging, mobile phones, digital images, and
other electronic tools, bullying takes on entirely new dimensions.➟ The Internet allows large numbers of people to wit-
ness a bully’s abuse.➟ Taunts and threats are no longer restricted to the
school grounds and can occur 24/7.➟ Cyberbullies can attack victims in their most private
refuges through their phones and Web sites.➟ The accusations cyberbullies hurl may be perma-
nently viewable, haunting the victim for the rest of
their lives as people who search for them online come
across the malicious content.➟ Cyberbullies can choose to cloak their actions in
anonymity, which may encourage them to act out in
vicious ways.234
Part II: Using the Internet While Dodging the Risk