Social media has helped us learn about one another, reveal our thoughts, and share our experiences and beliefs. These thoughts and ideas can be about a wide range of topics. They vary from organizations, world events, and politics to local affairs, religion, interests, products, and people. Our conversations and comments go either to a targeted audience or a broad audience, depending on the subject. Unfortunately, abusers also often use social media for the above reasons. With the increase of social media, social media abuse has also increased. Many perpetrators say things they would never say in person, ‘hiding’ behind the fact that no one can identify them, or so they think. Online abusers can take many forms, including people you know or anonymous. Victims are not confined to public figures. You could be bullied for your beliefs, race, body image, or skin color if you have any disability or for no reason whatsoever. Victims are not confined to public figures.

No one is immune to cyberbullying. While many forms of bullying and harassment occur through person-to-person contact, bullying and harassment are also happening at alarming rates through online technology. Social media has become an eminent domain for cyberbullying or harassment.

This leads us to the question of how social media abuse works. A lot of our young generation do not know that:

· negative, insulting, or even threatening emails, Facebook messages, tweets, or other messages online.

· use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others to keep constant tabs on someone.

· They are putting someone down in their status updates, sending unwanted, explicit pictures, and demanding to send some in return. 

There are various forms of social media abuse, leading them to become victims of it. If you have been subjected to offensive or harassing messages through social media, it’s essential to know how to respond. The ways to deal with it could be:

• Report any abuse for deactivation or account suspension or raise concerns about an account.

• Think about whether to respond to inaccurate or defamatory social media posts.

• Keep a record of any abuse. 

• Inform someone immediately if someone makes you uncomfortable, embarrassed, or afraid online.

• Be careful of grooming. It is a criminal offense where adults pretend to be young people online and try to engage other young people in inappropriate activities.

It’s essential to teach our young generation how to use social media correctly and how to stay away from social media abuse. The spread of online comments, photographs, video images, etc. The anonymity offered by many forms of online communications makes it a favorite for harassers. In this write-up, no one is immune to cyber harassment. I urge everyone to stay safe.