🎯 What you will learn
- By the end of this lesson you'll know what cyberbullying is and the forms it can take.
- You'll understand how someone who is being bullied feels and why it's serious.
- You'll know the practical steps: don't reply, keep evidence, block, report, tell.
- You'll understand the important role of the bystander.
- You'll learn how to be kind and respectful online.
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is when someone uses a phone, the internet, games or social media to hurt, embarrass, frighten or leave out someone else – usually again and again.
Unlike bullying at school, bullying online:
- Can happen 24 hours a day, even at home, in your own bedroom.
- Can be seen by lots of people very quickly.
- Often lets the bully hide behind anonymity or fake accounts.
- Can stay online for a long time.
Forms of online bullying
- Insults and mockery – nasty comments, name-calling, “memes” about someone.
- Exclusion – deliberately leaving someone out of the class group chat or a game.
- Spreading rumours – lies or secrets passed around in chats.
- Sharing photos/videos – without permission, edited, or to make fun of someone.
- Impersonation – creating a fake profile in someone's name or getting into their account.
- Threats – messages that frighten someone or threaten violence.
- Bullying in games – constant insults, deliberately ruining other people's games (“griefing”).
- Deepfakes – fake photos or videos made with AI to humiliate someone.
All of these are harmful. Some of them, such as threats or sharing intimate images, are also criminal offences.
How it feels to be bullied
Online bullying isn't “just the internet”. The pain is real. Someone who is being bullied might:
- Feel sad, embarrassed, lonely or angry.
- Be scared to go to school or to look at their phone.
- Have trouble sleeping, eating or keeping up with schoolwork.
- Think it's their fault – but it is never the fault of the person being bullied.
Children often don't tell their parents because they're afraid their phone will be taken away or that things will get worse. But talking to a trusted adult is the strongest step towards sorting things out.
If you're being bullied: 5 steps
- Don't reply and don't take revenge. The bully wants a reaction from you; getting back at them can make things worse and get you into trouble too.
- Keep evidence. Take screenshots of the messages, comments and profiles, showing the date and time if you can. Don't delete them straight away.
- Block the person and report the content on the platform.
- Tell a trusted adult: a parent, your form teacher, or the school counsellor or psychologist.
- Look after yourself. Take a break from your phone, spend time with people who care about you and do something you enjoy.
The bystander's role: don't be a silent spectator
Most of the time, bullying happens in front of other people – in the class group chat, in the comments, in a game. The people who see it are called bystanders, and they have a lot of power. When someone steps in, the bullying often stops very quickly.
- Don't like, comment on or forward hurtful content – even a “😂” feeds the bullying.
- Message the person being bullied privately: “I saw what happened. It's not OK. Are you all right?”
- If you feel safe doing so, say something calm in public: “This isn't funny – stop it.”
- Report the post and tell an adult, even if you're not the one being bullied.
How to be kind online
- Before you write something, ask yourself: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it kind?
- Remember that behind every screen there's a real person with feelings.
- Don't write when you're angry – wait, take a deep breath and come back to it later.
- A joke is only a joke if the other person is laughing too.
- If you've hurt someone, say sorry and delete the post.
- Include others: invite the person who usually gets left out to join your game or group.
📖 A real-life story
In the class VII-2 group chat in Mitrovica, some pupils started posting “memes” using a photo of Edona, making fun of her glasses. Lots of classmates added laughing emojis. Edona left the group, and the next day she didn't want to go to school.
Lirim, one of her classmates, didn't laugh. He messaged Edona privately: “I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that. You're not alone.” Then he took screenshots of the messages and showed them to their form teacher. The teacher spoke to the pupils and their parents, the “memes” were deleted and the class had a form-time lesson on respect online. Edona said later that Lirim's message was what helped her most.
✅ Do / Don't
✅ Do this
- Keep evidence with screenshots before you block or delete anything.
- Block and report the bully on the platform.
- Tell a trusted adult – a parent, a teacher or the school psychologist.
- Message the person being bullied privately and support them.
- Report it even when you're not the target.
- Think before you write: is it true, helpful and kind?
- Take a break from the screen when you're feeling low.
- Say sorry if you've hurt someone.
❌ Don't do this
- Don't reply with insults and don't take revenge.
- Don't like, comment on or forward hurtful posts.
- Don't keep it to yourself – staying silent makes it harder.
- Don't delete the evidence straight away without taking a screenshot.
- Don't create fake profiles to make fun of someone.
- Don't share anyone's photos or videos without permission.
- Don't think it's your fault if you're being bullied.
👨👩👧 For parents and teachers
The way a parent reacts the first time decides whether a child will come to them again in the future.
- Listen calmly and thank your child for telling you. Don't take their phone away as a “solution” – that punishes the victim.
- Save the evidence together (screenshots showing the date), then block and report.
- Contact the school: the form teacher, the school counsellor or the psychologist. Schools also have a responsibility for bullying between pupils that happens online.
- If threats, blackmail or intimate images are involved, report it to the Kosovo Police (192).
- Look out for the signs: withdrawal, changes in sleep or appetite, fear of their phone, refusing to go to school.
- Also talk about the possibility that your child might be the one doing the bullying – and how to put things right.
- Teachers can set class rules for group chats and practise “bystander” scenarios.
🧠 Mini-quiz
Answer 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson is marked as completed in your passport.