In 2009, a teenage girl who had posted a death threat on the social nertworking site, FaceBook®, bacame the first cyberbully to be sent to jail in the UK. After four years of constant bullying at the school both girls attended, 18-year-old Keeley Houghton threatened to kill Emily Moore.
Cyberbullying is on the rise around the world as kids and teens find it easier and easier to bully others online or through some other form of technology like text messaging. Parents need to be aware of just how kids are using the available technology to make threats to and possibly harm other kids.
Cyberbullies Need to Know That Cyber Threats are Real Threats
Joan E. Lisante, in a Connect for Kids article titled, " Cyber Bullying: No Muscles Needed," tells the story of Chad, a seventh grader who discovered an ex-girlfriend was saying terrible things about his new girlfriend at school. Chad went to his computer and sent out instant messages to all his friends threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.
Some of Chad's friends were concerned and told their parents, who then called the school, who called the authorities. Chad was sent to another middle school, appeared in juvenile court where a judge sentenced him to perform 25 hours of community service. Even though he never intended to carry out the death threat, Chad was held legally responsible for his actions.
Why Cyberspace is a Dangerous Place for Kids
There is a sort of social norm with online gamers that makes kids think that it's OK to be cruel online. This attitude sometimes carries over from the realm of fantasy into the realm of reality. If there is no parental guidance to tell kids it's not OK to be cruel to others in any instance, then these kids may develop into cyberbullies.
Instant gratification is another problem that makes the online world a dangerous place for kids. Kids can get back at or threaten another kid almost instantaneously whenever the feeling strikes them. This allows absolutely little or no time for kids to think about their own actions. Before they know it, they're in so deep to a situation, they may just keep going because the damage has already been done.
Technology Tempts Kids to Go Further Than Normal
In normal society, boundaries are usually pretty well defined and laid out and most people usually respect and follow these boundaries. In cyberspace, this may not always be the case. For example,MSNBC's website allows people to set up an instant poll on any topic and then have the results sent to any number of other people via listserv, which automatically sends poll results to any number of emails on a particular list.
With this sort of technology, a cyberbully can post a poll on MSNBC asking if recipients think another student at the school is a nerd, what his sexual preference might be, or any question meant to demean, bully, humiliate, or bring attention to another student. Some students have used this type of technology to run a sort of reverse popularity contest, asking students to name the top 5 most hated losers at their school.
Whatever the threat, cyberbullying needs to be stopped. Parents need to be aware of their own kids' online activities and also must emphasize the importance of treating others with the respect and dignity that each person deserves. Threats made by cyberbullies online or in cyberspace are still perceived as real threats in the eyes of the law, especially to those receiving those cyber threats.
Sources:
MailOnline. Facebook Bully Jailed: Death Threat Girl, 18, is First Person Put Behind Bars for Vicious Internet Campaign (accessed May 26, 2010).
ConnectForKids.org. Cyber Bullying: No Muscles Needed (accessed May 26, 2010).
Mark Oehlert - Mark has 50 years life experience (wisdom comes with age, right?) and over 28 years experience writing copy for ads, articles, marketing ...
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