Social media abuse can be a real issue. It happens to anyone, regardless of their age, race, or gender. If you’re being abused on social media, it’s important to act fast. Here are some tips on how to respond if you’re the victim of social media abuse:
How Do I Report Social Media Abuse?
What to Know Before Reporting Online Abuse
Reporting content to digital platforms generally requires a user to describe the incident and type of threat that has occurred, whether it’s sexual, exploitative, violent, physically threatening, etc. Some platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, have “flagging” options built directly into the interface (typically in the upper right-hand corner of a post), giving you the option to report content the moment you see it. In other cases, users may be asked to provide a screenshot or link to the harmful content, which is why it’s important to document your abuse.
Many platform reporting mechanisms just ask you to choose among a predetermined set of options. But if you actually have an opportunity to add text or context, clarity and precision about your experience of harassment are crucial when reporting abuse. Because most of these companies receive thousands of complaints every day, using clear and straightforward language, and noting the particular community standard that’s been violated, can go a long way toward ensuring your complaint is taken seriously.
How to Report Bullying or Abuse on Social Media
Social Media businesses are governed by the laws of the country in which they are head-quartered, but they are also expected to comply with local laws where they operate. Most Social Media sites have a reporting system in place aimed at flagging inappropriate content, however, they do come under a lot of criticism for not taking online safety seriously enough.
They do not tolerate bullying or abuse and say that once they are aware of it, they will remove bullying content and may disable the account of anyone who is bullying another. They adhere to a set of Community Standards (https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/) which include that Facebook will not tolerate:
- Pages that identify and shame private individuals
- Images that have been altered to degrade private individuals
- Photos or videos of physical bullying posted to shame the victim
- Sharing personal information to blackmail or harass people
- Repeatedly targeting other people with unwanted friend requests or messages
Using the Report Links which appear on the page, you can report bullying to Facebook. A ‘drop down arrow’ should appear giving you a menu option to report the image, post or comment.
You can unfriend or block a person from Facebook. Click on their profile, on the message dropdown you will see the option to ‘unfriend’ and/or ‘block’.
Quick Link: Help Center
Community Guidelines: You can access all of Twitter’s policies relevant to online behavior at Twitter’s Rules and Policies page.
Reporting Mechanisms: You can report an account, a tweet, a DM, a list, or a conversation. You should receive an emailed copy of your report. Twitter now offers a range of enforcement options. Users can:
- File a ticket when encountering a problem or witnessing a violation
- Report harassing or abusive behavior
- Report an account for impersonation
- Report an account for doxing/exposing private info
YouTube
If you feel a video you have seen on YouTube is inappropriate, you can ‘flag’ this by clicking on the little flag at the bottom right of the video. YouTube will then look at it to see if it breaks their terms of use. If it does, they will remove it.
YouTube state that videos with hate content, graphic violence or nudity cannot be uploaded so if you see one, report it as inappropriate.
To remove someone from your YouTube page, go to your account page and click on ‘all contacts’ in the ‘Friends and Contacts’ section. Choose which person you wish to unfriend and click on the ‘remove contact’. Once you have done this, the person will no longer be on your ‘share video’ list.
If you receive abusive, bullying or threatening comments on YouTube, you can report them and they will investigate https://www.youtube.com/reportabuse
Quick Link: Help Center
Community Guidelines: Instagram lists comprehensive Community Guidelines and offers advice on dispute engagement and resolution, suggesting users to turn to family and friends for support and advice.
Reporting Mechanisms: You can report abusive messages, posts, comments, and accounts. Instagram states that it will review reported content and remove anything deemed to contain credible threats or hate speech. Writers and journalists who use Instagram for professional purposes should take note of Instagram’s policy that it allows for “stronger conversation” around users who are often featured in the news or are in the public eye due to their profession. Instagram users have the option to:
- Report abuse or spam content violating Instagram’s community standards
- Report content identifiable as bullying or harassment
- Report impersonation on Instagram
- Report exposed private info (aka, doxing)
Snapchat
Bullying through Snapchat takes place in a number of different ways, including:
- Taking Screenshots of images without permission
- Sending pictures without permission
- Negative comments
If this happens to you, you can block a ‘friend’.
- Tap the Menu icon
- Select ‘My Friends’
- Locate their name in the list and swipe right across their name
- To delete them, press Delete
To block someone who added you on Snapchat:
- Tap ‘added me’ on the Profile Screen
- Tap their name and tap the ‘Wheel Icon’ next to their name
- Press ‘block’
This will prevent them from sending you Snaps or Chats or from viewing your content.
If a person is bullying or harassing you or you receive an inappropriate image, report it by completing their online form https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/i-need-help
TikTok
Quick Link: Help Center
Community Guidelines: TikTok lists comprehensive Community Guidelines and defines hateful and abusive behavior, hateful ideology, and sexual harassment, doxing, hacking, blackmail.
Reporting Mechanisms: You can report abusive messages, posts, comments, and accounts. TikTok states that it is committed to maintaining a safe, positive, and friendly community. TikTok users have the option to report comments individually or in bulk.
Safety Center: The Safety Center offers Tik Tok users well-being guides, sexual assault resources, and information on eating disorders and online challenges.
Blogger
Quick link: Content Policy
Community Guidelines: Blogger is straightforward about being a platform that champions free speech. It claims not to monitor content, mediate disputes, or remove blogs containing insults or negative commentary, but its Content Boundaries state that it will consider the removal of blogs that pose threats to or promote violence against individuals or groups based on their “core characteristics.”
Reporting Mechanisms: Blogger encourages users to directly contact other users posting content that they find offensive, if said user’s contact information is listed on their blog. If such efforts are unsuccessful, users can:
- Navigate to the Report Inappropriate Content page to select the type of content they would like to report
- Report hate speech
- Report harassment by submitting the URL of the blog in question
Legally, you have to be over 16 to use WhatsApp. As this is a messaging service, bullying can happen in many ways via WhatsApp. Once you install the App, it checks your address book and connects you automatically to anyone else you know who is using the App. You can block and delete a contact who may be bullying you through WhatsApp:
- Click on their name
- Using the dropdown menu, choose to ‘block’ the person.
You can find out more by emailing WhatsApp at support@whatsapp.com
Amazon
Quick Link: Online submission form
Community Guidelines: Community Guidelines
Reporting Mechanisms: For writers who self-publish to Amazon or depend on the platform for constructive reviews of their work, Amazon’s “customer review” sections pose a particular challenge. Numerous writers surveyed by PEN America reported encountering hateful online trolls in customer reviews and felt that the platform was unresponsive when it came to removing such abusive commentary. Harassed Amazon users have the option to report online harassment via:
- The “Report Abuse” tab located in the lower right-hand corner of customer reviews
- Amazon’s online submission form, where users can report incidents that have violated Amazon’s community guidelines
Some Safety Information
- Keep it Private – don’t post anything on a social networking site that identifies your real name, address, phone number, school etc. as this will enable a stranger to contact you in real life. Be careful you don’t identify your friends too.
- Never upload anything that might embarrass you at a later date. Things you post on the Internet stay there and can come back and cause problems for you later on, for instance, when you go for an interview for college or university or apply for a job. If you’re happy for the world to see the photo or comment, hit send. If you’re not, don’t upload it!!! Once you’ve hit send, you have lost control of that image or comment forever.
- With today’s technology, many of us have a camera available at all times. Never feel pressurised into taking pictures of yourself that you wouldn’t want others to see. Always trust your gut instinct over this. As before, once you hit send, you have lost control over that image and this can cause immense anxiety and stress.
- If you ever use a shared computer, whether it be at home, at school, a library or Internet café, never forget to log off once you have finished your session or when you close the browser. If you don’t, the next user may be able to access the sites you have been using under your name.
- Many sites enable you to ‘check in’ or post your location each time you post a status update. Whilst this can let your friends know where you are, places you’re visiting and things you might be doing, it can also mean that people you don’t know can also view this information – especially if your profile is public. Go into the ‘Settings’ menu of the social networking site or app, scroll to the ‘Security and Privacy’ section and turn off or uncheck the ‘location’ box.
How to Respond if Youre a Victim of Social Media Abuse?
Social media can be a great way to connect with friends and family, but it can also be used to suffer from emotional and physical abuse. Social media abusers can use various forms of communication (text, photos, videos) to hurt or manipulate their victims. The following are some examples of social media abuse:
• Making contact with the victim through social media once a day or more often than that
• Posting derogatory comments about the victim on social media
• Sending threats or violent messages online
• Harassing the victim by contacting them regularly or by leaving negative comments on their social media pages
If you’re a victim of social media abuse, there are a few things you can do to help yourself. First, start by identifying the abuser. Once you know who is responsible for your online harassment, you can take steps to protect yourself and your safety. You can call police if you feel threatened or endangered by the abuser, or email security teams at websites like Facebook and Twitter so they can remove abusive content from your account. Additionally, you can use digital footprinting tools like Google Analytics to track where the abuser has been and what type of interactions they’ve had with you. This information will help law enforcement officers identify potential abusers in future cases.
What are the Symptoms of Social Media Abuse
The symptoms of social media abuse vary depending on how often and how severe the abuse is. However, common symptoms include:
– feeling Woolrich parka sale scared every time someone posts a picture of them on Instagram because they might get into trouble
– feeling overwhelmed when trying to deal with someone’s online presence
– being targeted by bullies because they’re different from other students in school
– feeling humiliated or embarrassed when posting pictures online
– going through withdrawals after using social media
How to Respond If Youre a Victim of Social Media Abuse
If you feel as though social media abuse is happening to you, the best way to respond is by talking to someone about it. This can be a difficult task, but it’s important to know that there are resources available if you need them. You can contact a mental health professional or the police if you feel like you’re in danger, and they can help protect you from further harm. Additionally, online communities can provide support groups for survivors of social media abuse.
How to Safely Use Social Media?
Always use social media in a responsible way. Follow the social media rules to stay safe and happy online. Here are a few tips:
-Be aware of what you type, and be sure to avoid using profanity or mean words.
-Be respectful of others’ opinions and feelings, even if you don’t agree with them.
-Use social media to share positive news, images, and experiences.
-Never share personal information about someone else without their permission.
How to Protect Yourself from Social Media Abuse?
When it comes to social media, be aware of the safe areas where you can posting. This means finding areas that are free from people who might post harmful or inappropriate content. For example, if you’re a victim of social media abuse, try to stay away from places where anyone might be posting about you in anharmful way.
Use reasonable precautions when posting
While you should always take reasonable precautions when posting on social media, don’t Post things That Harm Other People. If you believe someone has posted something that is harmful or offensive, please report it to the authorities.
Don’t Post Things That You Don’t Believe in
If you don’t believe something is true or safe for public consumption, don’t post it – even if it feels like a hard decision! Remember that democracy depends on open discussion and exchange of ideas, so let your voice be heard!
Don’t Post Things That You Are Underaged or Sexually Assaulted
Be careful not to post anything that could make someone else feel unsafe or uncomfortable online – even if you think it’s wrong! If you’re unsure whether something may fall within these boundaries, ask a parent or guardian before sharing it online.
Conclusion
Social Media abuse can occur anywhere, at any time. It’s important to be aware of the safe areas of social media and use reasonable precautions when posting. You can also protect yourself from social media abuse by using decent precautions when posting, not sharing things that harm others, and being real about your beliefs. Finally, remember that you have the power to change the world by standing up for what you believe in.