Fifteen years later and adults still don't "get" cyberbullying

Stop calling every bad behavior "cyberbullying"

It's been nearly 15 years since the murky origins of cyberbullying emerged in tandem with social media platforms and yet every week, I see in the news that some adult or business owner is crying "cyberbullying" over an online conflict that very clearly is not the definition of cyberbullying.

Take this business owner in Portland, Ore who didn't like a bad review her tenant gave her online. She equates it to cyberbullying. Click to read full story.

First off, the true definition of cyberbullying only applies to kids who use electronic devices as a campaign to bully someone. When an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyber-harassment or defamation. Or is this case, it was just a negative review that the owner didn't like. 

Business owners, celebrities, politicians and the media--here's what you do every time you cry wolf using the misappropriated term of cyberbullying. You dilute its very definition. You create "cyberbullying fatigue" and water down the meaning of the word so much so that kids who are truly being cyberbullied are not getting the proper attention they need because everyone is so sick of the term.

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