Online gaming - am I being bullied?
Online gaming is lots of fun most of the time, but sometimes when you’re playing with others bullying can happen.
Online gaming and bullying
Bullying can happen in online games too
Gaming should be a fun and creative space to enjoy. Playing online means that you can make new friends and socialise with people all over the world.
There are lots of positive things about gaming. But sometimes it’s another place where cyberbullying happens. This can look like other gamers sending hurtful messages or ganging up on you.
Bullying is NEVER ok, no matter where it happens.
It’s important to know that you’re not alone and there are things you can do.
You’re not alone. 1 in 2 online gamers have at some point been bullied within a game.
How online gaming can turn into cyberbullying
Here are some examples of what bullying might look like in an online game:
- Trolling you
- Hate speech
- Name calling
- Insulting you
- Being sexist
- Harassing you
- Excluding you
- Threatening you
- Swearing at you
- Spreading rumours
- Unwanted sexual contact
- Hacking into your account
- Negative and hurtful messages
- Destroying or stealing your items
- Ganging up on or targeting you
- Sharing your private information
Here's what you can do
If you find yourself being bullied during a game, there are a few things you can do online:
Don't retaliate
Turn off the chat function
Ignore the bullying
Leave or start a different game
Mute or block other players
Stop playing with people who bully others
Report the bullying
Take a break for a little while
This content was last reviewed
