Cyber Bullying

As time passes, technology advances. With every advancement that comes it seems that the children of the generation are given a new way to harass each other; the hottest thing this generation being bullying through the use of e-technologies. For those of you who don't know what e-technologies are, here are some examples: cell phones, text messages, multimedia messages, e-mail, and any web page accessed through the web such as myspace and or facebook. This problem that is so common among children requires us all to come together, parents, children and their schools, to stop it. Since the motives of cyber bullies differ, the solutions and responses to each type of cyber bullying incident has to differ too. Unfortunately, there is no "one size fits all" when cyber bullying is concerned. Only two of the types of cyber bullies have something in common with the traditional schoolyard bully. Experts who understand schoolyard bullying often misunderstand cyber bullying, thinking it is just another method of bullying. But the motives and the nature of cyber communications, as well as the demographic and profile of a cyber bully differ from their offline counterpart. Cyber bullying is when someone repeatedly harasses, mistreats, or makes fun of another person online or while using cell phones or other electronic devices. Available research and experience suggest that cyber bullying may differ from more “traditional” forms of bullying in a number of ways including: Cyber bullying can occur any time of the day or night, which makes it hard to stop in the heat of the moment. Cyber bullying messages and images can be distributed quickly to a very wide audience that makes the victim feel helpless. Children and youth can be anonymous when cyber bullying, which makes it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to trace them. Bullying has been around forever but cyber bullying is different because it lets a bully remain anonymous. It is easier to bully in cyberspace