In some cases, people experiencing online harassment can also become more aggressive towards others and perhaps start to harass others, as this gives them a sense of power to remedy the vulnerability of being a victim. The person may decide to abuse drugs or alcohol as a means of escape. Harassment can also cause interrupted or dysfunctional eating and sleeping habits, as well as other health-related effects, such as frequent headaches and making the person feel physically sick. Additionally, particularly vulnerable people experiencing harassment can start to self-harm or contemplate suicide, if the effects of the harassment are particularly strong.
Other signs of online harassment include the appearance of new usernames in the person’s social media notifications and perhaps a lot of calls or texts from unsaved numbers. The person may start avoiding social media altogether or spending even more time on the internet, but a more obvious sign that someone is being harassed online is the sudden deletion of a social media account.
Experiencing online harassment or abuse can affect different people in different ways, so victims of online harassment may exhibit any combination of the above. If you notice one or more of these warning signs in someone you’re close to, there are several things you can do to support them and help stop the harassment from continuing.
Please look on our advice section for more information
