Cyber Bullying

With the advent of the Internet , the world became a global village and
it has created an entirely different world of social communications
especially for young people . Young and old people alike can stay in
touch with just about everyone - family , friends and classmates by using
email , SMS text messaging , or chat rooms . Although most of these
interactions are positive and friendly , there are some instances that
these tools are used to antagonize , torment and intimidate others
especially children . Such action is considered cyber bullying . The
Internet can easily provide anonymity in terms of bullying others where
in a face-to-face scenario one may hesitate to do so for fear of
repercussions and punishment from the authorities . Whereas before ,
child bullies can only torment other kids within the confines of school .
As soon as the tormented kid gets home , he can seek refuge in his home .
But this is not the case nowadays .
The Internet has provided another avenue for bullies to intimidate and
torment kids away from adult supervision and punishment . It has become
the perfect tool to reach out anonymously to just about anybody , at
anytime and anyplace . The home which was once a refuge to those
tormented kids has been broken from the pressures of peers and bullies .
Because of the anonymity afforded by online communication , children feel
free to do anything that they would not normally do in the real world .
Thus , they feel that they can torment and antagonize just about
everybody because of this anonymity without worrying that they will be
identified and punished for their actions .
There are several ways in which young people bully others through the
Internet . They send e-mails or instant messages containing insults or
threats directly to a person . They may also spread hateful comments
about a person through e-mail , instant messaging or postings on Web
sites and online diaries (Media Awareness...