Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is when someone is mean to a person online so they feel bad or upset.

The bullying usually happens in content sent to the person, or posted or shared about them, through a messaging app, online game, social media (if the user is old enough to have an account) or another 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 or to them
• sharing embarrassing photos or videos of them, including sexual content
• recording and sharing physical abuse, violence or harassment
• spreading nasty online gossip about them
• leaving them out online
• creating fake accounts in their name
• tricking them into believing you are someone else.

For most children and young people, online life is a key part of their identity and how they communicate. Cyberbullying can leave people feeling fearful, anxious, angry, and despairing along with a range of other emotions. The impacts can be short-term, but for some the trauma can lead to ongoing issues such as depression.

For children and young people with disability, cyberbullying can feel especially intense and distressing. Differences in how they communicate, process information, and regulate emotions can make negative online behaviour difficult to identify and navigate. At the same time, many young people with disability draw on their strong coping strategies, creativity and persistence, to support their resilience online. Learn more about how neurodivergent young people can thrive online. See our advice on this page for ‘helping children who may need extra support’.

Children and young people sometimes hesitate to speak up because they worry it could make things worse or that they’ll be seen differently by their family or friends. It’s important to let them know – before any incidents happen – that reaching out for help shows courage and is an important step in staying safe and getting support.

Your child may not feel ready or safe to communicate that they are experiencing bullying online, especially if they’re concerned the situation might escalate or that they may lose access to their device or the internet. They may also feel ashamed, especially if they have also been involved in bullying others online.

Signs to watch for:

• Being upset after using the internet or their devices, such as mobile phones.
• Changes in personality, such as becoming more withdrawn, anxious, sad or angry.
• Appearing lonelier or more distressed.
• Unexpected changes in friendship groups.
• A slide in their schoolwork and results.
• Changes in their sleep patterns.
• Avoiding school or clubs.
• A decline in their physical health.
• Becoming secretive about their online activities and device use.

If you are concerned about changes in your child’s behaviour, it may be useful to talk to a doctor or contact Kids Helpline or another counselling or support service.

(Please note: the videos were made prior to the introduction of social media age restrictions and are being updated. The resources can still help you support young people to have safer online experiences.)

Removing your child’s phone or other devices can be unhelpful. Cutting off their online access removes an essential way for them to communicate, connect with friends, and access spaces where they may feel supported and understood. Even if they’re experiencing cyberbullying, the online world may still be one of the few places where they feel positive, engaged and connected, and it may also be where they find important information that supports their wellbeing.

For neurodivergent young people, removing devices can have an even greater impact. eSafety's research (2023 to 2025) found that many young people with disability use online spaces for connection, communication, emotional regulation, creativity and a sense of independence. Because these environments can be especially meaningful and supportive, taking devices away may increase stress or conflict and remove an importance source of communication, regulation and support.

You want your child to feel confident that you’re not going to get upset, angry or anxious if they tell you about the situation. You want them to know they can talk with you and feel heard.

If possible, take some time to get into a calm mindset before providing support. Then you can ask open ended questions to try to learn more about the situation. Talk with them without being judgemental or angry so they feel like they can be honest without fear of being punished.

Try to understand the problem. Is it limited to a peer group or is it more widespread? Is it a few mean remarks here and there? Or is it ongoing and more harmful? Let your child know that you understand how they feel, and you will work through the problem together. Try to provide them with information about options to help them feel more in control.

Don’t rush to a solution. You or your child may need time to consider options to address the bullying. Take things one step at a time. If they are feeling anxious that things are not happening quickly enough, letting your child know when the next step or update will happen – and providing your child with as much information as possible – can be helpful.

Consider the type of support needed. Serious cyberbullying often happens alongside other types of harms to children. When you’re working out how to respond, consider how the cyberbullying happened and what your child needs. For example, if your child was physically attacked and that has been shared online, it may be important to contact the police about the attack. It may also be helpful to seek mental health counselling and support for your child and to communicate with any professionals who support them, particularly if children have additional support needs.

Your child’s school may have a policy in place to address cyberbullying and may be able to provide support, whether the bullying is from a student at your child’s school or not. With your child’s agreement, talk with their teacher or the school counsellor. If your child’s friends or classmates need to be involved, it’s important to be careful that they don’t also experience harm or distress.

If something has happened at your child’s sports club, contact the sport organisation for help – they may have policies in place around online safety. You can find more advice in our Sports hub.

Once your child’s immediate safety and wellbeing needs have been met, you can consider getting help to have the shared posts or messages removed.

Check out the next steps for advice on how to do this.

It’s best not to delete the abusive content straight away. Instead, help your child to take screenshots and collect other evidence, including the dates and times it happened and details of the account used to post or send the content. This will be needed as proof if you or your child decides to report it to the police or eSafety.

But make sure you don’t save nudes or sexual images or videos of anyone under 18, as that’s illegal. Instead, record URLs and profile names to provide as evidence.

Cyberbullying can sometimes go on for months, so it’s helpful to keep collecting evidence to show how serious it is. But continuing to look at the content could add to your child’s trauma, so it may be best to suggest that you or another trusted adult collect, store and report it on your child’s behalf.

Find out more about how to collect evidence.

Report the content to the relevant online service provider. Many messaging services, online games, social media sites and other apps have a simple process to report content shared or posted by other people. The eSafety Guide has more information about how to report issues to commonly used online services.

Even if your child is under 16 and the cyberbullying happens on an age-restricted social media platform, encourage them to report it. They won’t get into trouble for being on the platform.

If the platform or service doesn’t help, you or your child can report the cyberbullying to eSafety. We will ask you to complete our online reporting form and to include proof that you have already reported it to the platform or service, such as a receipt, reference or report number.

eSafety will work out if the abuse meets the legal definition of what can be removed online. If so, we can then have serious cyberbullying content taken down and provide you with more advice and support. Please take care to include as many details as possible regarding the context of the cyberbullying and how it has impacted the child who has been targeted. This will assist in the assessment of your report.

Find out more about how to report abusive content. 

Advise your child not to retaliate or respond to bullying messages as it could makes things worse – sometimes people say hurtful things just to get a reaction. If your child has already responded, encourage them to stop.

Help your child to use in-app functions to ignore, mute or block the other person. 

Also help your child to check their privacy settings and restrict who can see their messages, chats, posts and profile pages. Advice on privacy settings is available in The eSafety Guide.

You know your child best, so choose the strategies that you think will work best for them. Wherever possible, try to build your child’s confidence and help them make decisions for themselves, rather than telling them what to do. 

This can include helping your child find tools to support their recovery and ability to cope with future challenges (this is known as ‘resilience’). You might point them to our page about how to look after yourself if you are cyberbullied and our stories about how eSafety has supported other young people dealing with cyberbullying. 

It’s also useful to encourage positive connections. Try to help your child stay engaged with interests like sports or other activities that connect them with other young people, or with activities that involve extended family. These things will remind your child that they are cared for and valued.

Some children, including those with disability, may face increased risks of harm in online spaces due to barriers in communication, accessibility or support. Using familiar strategies to help them recognise when something isn’t right or how to respond to a negative online experience, such as cyberbullying, can support with safety conversations and help children feel confident to know what to do next.

For children who may need extra support to engage with these concepts, you could try using:

• social stories (that explain situations and how to act)
• social scripts (that give examples of what to say)
• AAC tools (Augmentative and Alternative Communication tools like picture cards, communication boards, or speech-generating devices)
• eSafety help in Easy Read format – information and advice with images to support the key messages – on cyberbullying, adult cyber abuse as well as other topics.

If needed, consult with your child’s disability support workers for advice on how best to communicate online safety risks and support your child’s understanding.

Learn more about how neurodivergent young people can thrive online.

It’s best to deal with any bullying behaviour as soon as possible, before it gets too serious or becomes a regular pattern. Bullying behaviour may include treating others badly, being dismissive of their feelings, or intentionally excluding them. It can also include seriously harmful behaviour like sharing someone else’s intimate images, which is image-based abuse. 

If you are worried your child may be bullying others, good habits start young has some useful advice. You can also check our advice for kids at Am I cyberbullying others?

• As of 10 December 2025, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube are required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from having accounts on their platforms. These services, among others, have self-assessed as being age-restricted: BigoLive, BlueSky, Lemon8, Wizz, Yubo. See the latest list.
• Under-16s are still allowed to see publicly available social media content that doesn’t require logging into an account.
• Most standalone gaming and messaging apps, as well as many services that support health and education, are not affected by the new law.
• There are no penalties for under-16s who access an account on an age-restricted social media platform, or for their parents or carers. This is about making the platforms take greater responsibility for the safety of children – they face penalties of up to $49.5 million if they don’t take reasonable steps to implement the changes.

Find out more at Social media age restrictions and your family.