Cyber Bullying

Introduction

With today’s technology bullying has become easier then ever; the children and youth of this generation do not even need to have personal confrontation. Cyber bullying can be defined as any communication posted or sent by a minor online, by instant messenger, e-mail, website, diary site, online profile, interactive game, handheld device, cell phone or other interactive device that is intended to frighten, embarrass, harass or otherwise target another minor. Cyber bullying is disturbingly common among Canadian teens. Cyber-Bullying: Our Kids’ New Reality is a survey that was conducted from December 2006 вЂ" January 2007 by the members of Kids Help Phone that had over 2500 respondents. More than 70 per cent of respondents to the survey reported that they have been bullied online, while 44 per cent said they have bullied someone online. At least 38 percent reported having experienced cyber-bullying within the last three months. Of the methods used, 77 percent reported being bullied by instant messaging, 37 per cent by e-mail and 31 per cent on social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook. When bullied online, 43 per cent said they did nothing, 32 per cent confronted the person who bullied them, and 27 per cent told a friend. Although most cyber bullying cases go unreported, police departments take action in trying to prevent it. Because many people are afraid to come to the police about an online problem, the police go to great lengths to find the problems themselves online. A large number of youth and their parents think that cyber bullying is not a big enough deal to cause problems. However, it has been proven that a victim of this type of bullying can be lead to serious disorders for the future including suicide. When one becomes a victim of cyber bullying, they are a victim for life. Though the bullying itself may go away, the fear, the hurt, and the memories scar the victim