There are at least six different forms of online harassment:

• Calling someone offensive names
• Making efforts to purposely embarrass someone
• Physically threatening someone
• Harassing someone for a sustained period of time
• Sexually harassing someone or stalking someone.

Online harassment involves directing derogatory or offensive comments at targeted individuals repeatedly. It can take various forms such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling or spreading hate, for example.

• Bullying is an action which is taken against another person in order to cause harm, repeated in various forms over a period of time. Bullying can take many forms: physical bullying, verbal bullying, relational aggression, sexual bullying, prejudicial bullying, extortion and cyberbullying.
• Cyberbullying: is bullying via the Internet or mobile phone, involving offensive or malicious messages, e-mails, chat room or message board comments or, even more extreme, websites built with harmful intent towards an individual or certain groups of people. Cyberbullies also use mobile phones to take embarrassing pictures of others or send hurtful SMS or MMS messages. All forms of online bullying have a much greater impact than normal bullying since authors are strengthened by a feeling of anonymity and victims have no place to hide from the bully – they can be victims night and day, virtually wherever they are.
• Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group or an organisation.
• Trolling is the act of causing problems on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community such as a newsgroup or blog with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
• Sexting is the act of sending suggestive and explicit content, images (often selfies) messages, videos, via phone, computer, webcam or other device or writing sexy posts online has serious consequences not only in legal terms but also with respect to reputational risks for the person involved, like messages, images or videos may be posted on social media sites or used in pornographic websites and videos.