What is flaming?

‘Flaming’ is posting personal insults and vulgar and angry words. Flaming is an intense argument that normally takes place in chatrooms or via instant messages or email. It may also occur on social-media sites and YouTube. It is a very aggressive form of intimidation.

• Bullies who engage in flaming use capital letters, images and symbols to add emotion to their argument.
• The flamer may put down someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status and more.
• You need to report flaming to a trusted adult such as a parent, teacher, relative or family friend.
• This type of behaviour is dangerous and can have serious consequences.
• Flamers seek attention. It does not matter if the attention is positive or negative, as long as they get attention and a reaction.
• Did you know that using vulgar and angry language with the intent to start fights is cyberbullying?
• Did you know that flaming is a serious form of cyberbullying? You could humiliate the person or make them very sad or even depressed. Think about why you want to put someone else down – then put yourself in their shoes. Using the internet to get control over others is not going to make you feel better. Talk to a trusted adult about how you are feeling. Flame wars will never help anyone.
• Did you know that every computer has an IP address that can be traced?