The group that won't stop
For two weeks, a cluster of accounts, some clearly classmates, some anonymous, has been posting edited photos of you, tagging you in cruel polls, and DMing you to "do everyone a favor and disappear." Blocking one account spawns two more. You've stopped checking your phone at meals and your sleep is wrecked.
What could you do?
Pick a response to see how it usually plays out.
The general principles
- Targeted, repeated harassment is not protected speech, online or off.
- When school classmates harass a student in ways that reach into school life, the school's anti-bullying duties usually apply.
- Threats and encouragement of self-harm can be crimes; evidence makes response possible.
Safer next steps
- Screenshot everything with dates and usernames before blocking.
- Report each account through the platform's harassment tools, then block.
- Show the evidence to a parent, counselor, or trusted adult today, not someday.
- If the weight gets heavy, call or text 988 any time; you don't need to be in crisis to reach out.
Cyberbullying and harassment laws vary by state, and school authority over off-campus conduct has limits, but threats change the analysis everywhere.
This is never a solo project. An adult with your evidence can activate the school, the platforms, and if needed the police, while you focus on sleeping again.
Related lessons
Support you can reach
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens in a new tab)
Free, confidential support for anyone in emotional distress or crisis. Call or text 988.
- Crisis Text Line (opens in a new tab)
Text HOME to 741741 to reach a trained volunteer crisis counselor by text message.
- StopBullying.gov (opens in a new tab)
Federal guidance on bullying and cyberbullying, including every state's anti-bullying laws.
- Take It Down (NCMEC) (opens in a new tab)
Free tool that helps remove intimate images of people under 18 from participating online platforms.
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