As such, you would think no one would want to be labeled as one.
Yet they are cropping up faster than Farmville strawberries.
And their homebase is not the local diner or 7-11, it is cyberspace.
Wikipedia i.e. the people's encyclopedia, defines this rampant unseemly practice:
Cyber-bullying has been defined as "when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person". Other researchers use similar language to describe the phenomenon.
Cyber-bullying can be as simple as continuing to send e-mail to someone who has said they want no further contact with the sender, but it may also include threats, sexual remarks, pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech), ganging up on victims by making them the subject of ridicule in forums, and posting false statements as fact aimed at humiliation.
Cyber-bullies may disclose victims' personal data (e.g. real name, address, or workplace/schools) at websites or forums or may pose as the identity of a victim for the purpose of publishing material in their name that defames or ridicules them. Some cyber-bullies may also send threatening and harassing emails and instant messages to the victims, while other post rumors or gossip and instigate others to dislike and gang up on the target.
Kids report being mean to each other online beginning as young as 2nd grade. According to research, boys initiate mean online activity earlier than girls do. However, by middle school, girls are more likely to engage in cyber-bullying than boys do. Whether the bully is male or female, their purpose is to intentionally embarrass others, harass, intimidate, or make threats online to one another. This bullying occurs via email, text messaging, posts to blogs, and Web sites.
This epidemic affected as many as 43% of American teens in just one year. 58% of kids say that they have received hurtful messages online, and 40% say it has happened more than once.What makes this form of bullying even more cowardly and insidious than the traditional in-person locker-side gang-up is the fact that the villains can attack their prey anonymously or using faux accounts and names... and en masse.
The effects on targets/victims include depression, retaliation and even suicide
So there's the problem, but where's the prevention? StopCyberBullying.org offers this advice:
Education can help considerably in preventing and dealing with the consequences of cyberbullying. The first place to begin an education campaign is with the kids and teens themselves. We need to address ways they can become inadvertent cyberbullies, how to be accountable for their actions and not to stand by and allow bullying (in any form) to be acceptable. We need to teach them not to ignore the pain of others.
Teaching kids to “Take 5!” before responding to something they encounter online is a good place to start. Jokingly, we tell them to “Drop the Mouse! And step away from the computer and no one will get hurt!” We then encourage them to find ways to help them calm down.
They can even let others know that they won’t allow cyberbullying, supporting the victim, making it clear that they won’t be used to torment others and that they care about the feelings of others is key.
For more information on putting an end to the meanness and madness, visit CyberBullying.us, the National Crime Prevention Council, CyberBullying.org, or KidsHealth.
