Cyberbullying

[dreamer_easy]

The Star Wars kid kicks ass.

Until yesterday, when I read a recent New Scientist article on cyberbullying, I had never heard of the cruel prank pulled on a Canadian schoolkid who filmed himself goofing around with a toy lightsabre. Some of his schoolmates decided it would be a good idea to put it on the Internet. Millions watched it. School became an intolerable nightmare of non-stop harassment for the young man; he ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

But there's a happy ending. He sued the bullies' butts for hundreds of thousands of dollars, eventually settling out of court for an unknown sum.

Other teenage victims of cyberbullying have taken their own lives.

If anyone uses computer or phone to bully my niece or nephews, and I find out about it, the bullies had better move to Antarctica, stat.

The Rise of Cyberbullying, New Scientist online

'Star Wars Kid' cuts a deal with his tormentors

In Memory of Ryan Patrick Halligan

Schoolgirl killed herself after `phone bullying'

Comments

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

There are two things which make this different from the bullying I survived twenty years ago. One, as NS points out, is the omnipresence of the net and the mobile phone - home is no longer a refuge. And two, I've been tracing and stopping stalkers online for years. I can and I will track down anyone who tries it on my nieces and nephews; they will not have their shield of anonymity for long.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Fuck, home was my only refuge. Prank calls weren't a problem, perhaps because it was more likely than an adult would pick up, which isn't the case with a teen's mobile phone.

That's a good point that at least cyberbullying can leave evidence (precisely why no cyberbully is safe from me). Horribly, the bullies can turn that around; the thirteen year old who took his own life confided with an online "friend" who shared transcripts of their talks.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]