Cyberbullying Terms: Classroom Slang You Need To Know For 2020

Cyberbullying terms evolve as the Internet and online games evolve. While cyberbullying looks different than traditional bullying, the outcome is the same. The point of cyberbullying is to provoke negative emotions from someone else.

Slang used amongst adolescents in the classroom could be indicative of cyberbullying occurring outside of school. Cyberbullying terms are important to know not only for parents but also teachers if one is to recognize the behavior and signs of cyberbullying.

As you read, please keep in mind that cyberbullying terms are not limited to social media channels and online forums; cyberbullying terms are used in online video games as well (in chat or over the microphone).

Cyberbullying Terms

1.  Troll(ing): Defined by Merriam-Webster as, “a person who intentionally antagonizes others online by posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content.” Or “to harass, criticize, or antagonize (someone) especially by provocatively disparaging or mocking public statements, postings, or acts.”
2. Swat(ting): “to make a false report of an ongoing serious crime in order to elicit a response from law enforcement (such as the dispatch of a SWAT unit).” Swatting is a major concern in the gaming community as the act not only uses public resources to respond to the prank but also puts others’ lives at risk.
3. Sh*tposting: “a range of user misbehaviors and rhetoric on forums and message boards that are intended to derail a conversation off-topic”
4. Flaming: According to Wikipedia, “The online act of posting insults, often laced with profanity or other offensive language on social networking sites. Flaming by perpetrators within the online community is commonly received by messaging through text and rarely by face to face or video communication.”
5. Outing: Originally defined as, “disclosing someone’s sexuality without their consent”. The definition has since been extended to include “sharing someone else’s personal, private, or embarrassing information, photos, or videos”.
6. Griefing: is the act of irritating and angering people in video games through the use of destruction, construction, or social engineering. A “griefer” is deemed a bad faith player who is deliberately irritating or harassing other players within the game by using aspects of the game in unintended ways.
7. Catfishing: Not to be confused with catching a catfish, this term is defined as a deceptive act by a person. The deceptive act can include but is not limited to creating fake identities for romance, financial gain, or to bullying.
8. Frape: The word’s origin is a combination of Facebook and rape. Originally, it meant when someone used a Facebook account belonging to someone else without their permission. Now the definition extends to impersonating someone or logging into a person’s social media profile to post inappropriate content.