Cybersmile Brings a Grin to Gamers Struggling with Cyberbullying

Even as far back as 20 years ago, cyberbullying was prevalent on the Internet throughout message boards, chat rooms, and online games. The advent of social media only accelerated cyberbullying’s presence in online communities, to the point where individuals, mostly teenagers and young adults, were committing suicide because of how awful their virtual lives had become. Scott Freeman’s daughter was one such victim, and her father was unsure of what to do when he heard the news of his daughter’s struggles with online bullying. With no places to turn to for help, Scott decided to create his own organization to assist victims of cyberbullying and their parents by founding Cybersmile.

According to Freeman, the organization started work in 2010 to raise awareness and stop the spread of cyberbullying on social media. “It was only until fairly recently that we focused our efforts on video game communities,”  Freeman said, “We were approached by a few game developers to help manage the toxicity of their environment, and we were happy to help.” While the teams who focus on social media and video games work independently of each other, they maintain the same message: preaching inclusion without limiting or regulating speech.

The organization runs a wide variety of events to raise awareness and generate funds, such as, but not limited to: marathons, concerts, and exhibition matches. Probably the most famous exhibition was between Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban playing a game of League of Legends alongside other pro League players. Cuban, ever the competitive spirit, accidently dropped an F-bomb prior to the match. When he was informed he’d been fined $15,000 for swearing and that the proceeds would benefit Cybersmile, Cuban dropped another one (Obviously NSFW due to coarse language):

The group has also done work with the WWE during Bullying Prevention Month. The organizations worked together to “raise awareness of the importance of bullying prevention, while providing an inclusive opportunity to win a copy of WWE 2K18.” The charity also worked with Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry on behalf of Brita in their “Filtered Life” campaign, which seeks to “filter out” negative comments aimed at young people.

As far as action items, Freeman told me that anyone looking to help should simply, “look out for someone, whether they’re on social media or in an online game, who needs help, and send them to our site to get the help they need.” For those of you looking to go above and beyond, you can sign up with Firstgiving (for U.S. users) and Justgiving (for U.K. users) and start a fundraiser of your own - and be creative!

For more information on Cybersmile, visit their website.

If you enjoyed learning about Cybersmile, check out our other articles on the very best gaming charities, featuring Child's Play, Gamers On The Edge, Charity Nerds, and Gamechanger!