How is cyberbullying different to other forms of bullying?

New technologies have not only created new outlets for bullying, they have changed the face of it completely because cyberbullying:

• Can take place 24/7 - not just during school hours
• Invades your home and personal space as well as the school environment
• Can be done quickly and on a large scale, because of the speed and reach of email, mobiles and Web sites
• Can be perceived as anonymous (the bully can set up a fake email address or use someone else's mobile, for example)
• Means that bystanders can become perpetrators if they pass on emails or text/picture messages or take part in an online discussion
• Can last longer than face-to-face bullying, sometimes building over weeks and months
• Perpetrators and their targets might not fit the profile of other forms of bullying
• Provides evidence (eg emails, texts, photos or videos) in a way that other forms of bullying don't
• Incidents may be unintentional or a "joke” and the perpetrator might not have considered the potential consequences