Cyberbullying on Instagram and Snapchat

A Crash Course in Instagram When accounts are created, they can be linked with Facebook accounts to quickly and easily find Facebook friends who have Instagram accounts Accounts do not have to be linked with Facebook, and in fact, accounts seeking more anonymity will not link to Facebook Essentially, Instagram functions as a version of Facebook with only photos and videos, with a greater emphasis on mobile use You can add a caption to each photo or video you post, and you can tag people in the photo itself, but you do not have to use a caption or tag anybody in the post. Just like other social networks, you can interact with other users on Instagram by following them, being followed by them, commenting, liking, tagging, and private messaging. You can even save the photos you see on Instagram.

Crash Course Continued Users can be “public” or “private” Public users can be followed by anybody and their posts can be seen by anybody, even those who do not follow them Private users can only have their posts viewed by those who follow them In order to follow a private account you must be approved by the account owner after requesting to follow them Having users be private is helpful to avoid harassment and targeting by predators, as you need to be approved to follow them, but it is a double-edged sword If an account is private and makes a derogatory post about someone who does not follow the account, they have no way of seeing it unless someone who shows them the post

Methods to Cyberbully on Instagram Posting a picture of the target with a derogatory caption and/or tagging the target in a photo with derogatory comments If the bully has a private account that the target does not follow, the target would have absolutely no way of knowing the post exists unless and until someone tells them It is important that children realize this and look out for each other on social media. If your child sees a derogatory post about another person, they should assume the target cannot see it, and take steps on their own to report it to you, a teacher, or another adult with authority Generally, these posts will include mean comments from other users as well

Methods to Cyberbully on Instagram Commenting hurtful things on a picture the target has posted Commenting about the target’s appearance, personality, the photo itself, the target’s friends, the way the target is dressed (i.e. too revealing or not “fashionable”)

Methods to Cyberbully on Instagram Posting screenshots of private text conversations or Snapchats that can humiliate the target If the target trusted the bully and told them something in confidence via text message, there is nothing to stop the bully from taking a screenshot of the text messages and posting them on Instagram You do NOT get a notification if someone takes a screenshot of a text message you sent them. Snapchats can also be extremely personal, as the sender is anticipating that they will disappear in 10 seconds, but they too can be screenshotted and posted

Snapchat Crash Course Snapchat is an app that is used mainly for direct communication between 2 people. On Snapchat, users take a photo (generally a selfie) using their phone, add a caption, and send it to the other phone. What differentiates a Snapchat from a text message with a photo is that the Snapchat will automatically disappear after a predetermined time (1-10 seconds, depending on what the sender sets it as before they send the Snap) Snapchats can also be sent in groups that can contain multiple people, but the same principle applies. In this case, however, the Snap doesn’t truly “disappear” until everybody in the group has viewed it

Snapchat Crash Course Snapchat users can also post what is called a “Snap Story” A Snap Story is in the same format as a regular Snapchat, but instead of sending it to people, it is posted on a “story,” and remains there for 24 hours, at which point it disappears. Snap Stories can be viewed on a separate part of the app from where you send/receive Snapchats, and can be viewed by anybody the poster of the story is friends with On Snapchat, however, you can block one or more of your friends from viewing your story without their knowledge- it will just appear to those you blocked as if you have not posted a story Again, the emphasis here is that children should report cyberbullying of others, because it’s very possible the target cannot see it

Snapchat Crash Course Because of the nature of Snapchats, specifically the fact that they are pictures that can disappear within 10 seconds and can be sent directly to one (supposedly) trustworthy person, the messages can become very personal in nature i.e. Someone might be much more comfortable saying mean things about someone to their friends if they know the message is going to disappear in 10 seconds as compared to via text message where the message can last forever However, these mean messages can be screenshotted and showed to the subject of the trash talk People also may be more inclined to send revealing photos of themselves on Snapchat because they are supposed to disappear If screenshotted, these photos can be majorly damaging to the sender if they are posted on social media, or even if they are shared around school without posting them anywhere (e.g. via text or physically showing someone the screenshot)

Snapchat Cyberbullying Cyberbullying on Snapchat can take various forms: Private trash talk between individuals Sending Snapchats or creating Stories that are embarrassing photos of the cyberbullying victim with a mean caption Screenshotting personal communications on Snapchat which are subsequently shared on social media or in person Again, the sender will be notified if their Snapchat is screenshotted, but will not necessarily have any knowledge of what happens to the screenshot

Snapchat Map Snapchat’s latest update included a map feature, in which you can see the geographic location of your Snapchat friends on a map. This can easily be used to locate an individual without them even being aware you are looking for them You can easily go into “Ghost Mode” to prevent your friends from seeing your location, but only if you know about the map, which is somewhat inconspicuous unless you know about it.

Facebook and Twitter Cyberbullying Facebook and Twitter cyberbullying are very similar to Instagram cyberbullying, in that most cyberbullying is posting comments, embarrassing photos, targeted posts harassing bullying victims, and anonymous accounts harassing victims Parents and adults are generally much more familiar with Facebook and Twitter, and tend to have much more access to their children’s accounts (especially on Facebook)