Internet age brings new form of harassment: cyber-bullying The Portsmouth Herald Editorial Board would like to raise awareness of a new and rapidly expanding type of bullying that is hurting our children - cyber-bullying. The evolving age of the Internet and emerging electronic technologies is dramatically impacting the social lives of our children. The ABC’s of safely navigating the Web, promoted by law enforcement’s I-safe program, helps our children to circumnavigate undesirable Web sites. Yet many of our kids are oblivious to the dangers of cyber-bullies and sexual predators as they disclose personal information, names, addresses and work locations freely on blogs and in chat rooms. The FBI notes that many kids will not talk to strangers but will say anything on the Internet. Bullying in our schools: Our local police work actively with our schools using the Kids and Company program to educate our children about the dangerous and destructive impact of bullying. Unlike teasing, where a child may feel uncomfortable but able to handle the situation on their own, bullying requires an adult to step in. Bullying must be taken seriously and may do long-term emotional damage. Do not think it is a normal part of childhood. Federal statistics claim approximately 30 percent of teens in the United States (over 5.7 million) are involved in bullying, either as the bully or as the target. Bullying leads our children to feel tense, anxious and afraid. It impacts concentration in school, self-esteem and feelings of self-worth; it increases social isolation and may lead to depression and avoidance of attending school. Raising awareness by increasing teacher, parent and principal supervision, as well as forming and enforcing clear rules and strong social norms against bullying, provides support and protection for all our kids. While bullying usually occurs in our schools and on buses going home, we all need a wake-up call to focus on emerging cyber-bullying. Few of us know anything about this. Wirekids.org, an organization monitoring children’s use of the Internet, claims that the emergence of cyber-bullying has intensified teen angst. It allows bullies to unleash putdowns; nasty rumors; humiliating pictures in e-mails, blogs and chat rooms; and verbal and physical threats that can strike victims at home and at any time. Many other children anonymously participate or are witness to this. The damage can be devastating. Cyber bullies, mostly ages 9-14, use anonymity on the Web to dish out pain without witnessing consequences aggravated by use of cell phones. Wirekids.org surveyed 3,000 children in the last six months. Half said they were either bullied, were guilty of cyber-bullying, or knew someone who was bullied. Kids may not tell their parents what is going on out of fear of being banned from using the Internet. Cyber-bullying requires school officials to walk a fine line to protect children who are bullied without trampling on the free speech rights of the alleged bullies. Schools may risk litigation from parents if they take action. On the other hand, what can a parent do if someone is destroying their child’s reputation in chat rooms on the Internet? This is what we can do as individuals and as a community. Explore with your child, teacher and school to identify if your child is aware of and witness to cyber-bullying. Find out what chat rooms they log on to. Explore resources for parents. Look at SammySnail.com, the Web site that recently won (out of juried pool of 200) the New Hampshire Award for best Internet site based on quality and content addressing bullying and conflict resolution. This Web site will link you to numerous resources. Look into WireSafety.org and Teenangels.org to see how our teens in the Seacoast can be empowered to reverse the evolving cyber-bullying trend. School boards, administrators, and local and state government need to pay attention to this new and negative use of the Internet. New Hampshire needs to look at legislation in the Washington State Senate. This month they’re voting on SB5849, which amends language in current state law on bullying to include electronic means of communication via e-mails, Internet-based communications, pager service, cell phones and electronic text messaging. This will give legal recourse for our parents and schools to protect our children from cyber-bullies. In the new age of Internet resources at our fingertips, we must be vigilant of those abusive and destructive end users, cyber-bullies that now prey on our children. We all need to better educate ourselves on this issue. - Portsmouth Herald Back to News Headlines © 2004 "Sammy Snail and Friends". Sammy Snail, all puppet characters of Lesley Smith's Theatre of Life Puppets and logo are trademarks of LAF productions. All rights reserved.