PHAT400
03-07-2005, 10:32 AM
It's a huge article so I'll post the highlight's and link the article.
I think the mod's will agree that this article pertains to our beloved ATVriders.com.
AN FRANCISCO — When Joanne had a row with a longtime friend last year, she had no idea it would spill into cyberspace.
But what started as a spat at a teenage sleepover swiftly escalated into a three-month harangue of threatening e-mails and defacement of her weblog. "It was a non-stop nightmare," says Joanne, 14, a freshman at a private high school in Southern California. "I dreaded going on my computer."
The bullying eventually stopped after her parents and school officials intervened. But Joanne remains shaken by the experience.
Cyberbullies, mostly ages 9 to 14, are using the anonymity of the Web to mete out pain without witnessing the consequences. The problem — aggravated by widespread use of wireless devices such as cell phones and BlackBerrys — is especially prevalent in affluent suburbs, where high-speed Internet use is high and kids are technically adept, says Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety.org, an online safety group.
Several parents agreed to have their children interviewed by USA TODAY, but only if their last names were not used and a parent monitored the call. They feared their children would face another round of taunting if they were publicly identified.
"What happens online, stays online. There is a code of silence," says Nancy Willard, a tech lawyer and executive director of Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use in Eugene, Ore.
In Louisiana, a 15-year-old girl was arrested in January and accused of "cyberstalking," posting photos of a male student on a Web site.
At Oak View Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., last year, sixth-grade students conducted an online poll to determine the ugliest classmate, school officials say
I think you get the picture....
Please read..
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-03-06-cover-cyberbullies_x.htm
I think the mod's will agree that this article pertains to our beloved ATVriders.com.
AN FRANCISCO — When Joanne had a row with a longtime friend last year, she had no idea it would spill into cyberspace.
But what started as a spat at a teenage sleepover swiftly escalated into a three-month harangue of threatening e-mails and defacement of her weblog. "It was a non-stop nightmare," says Joanne, 14, a freshman at a private high school in Southern California. "I dreaded going on my computer."
The bullying eventually stopped after her parents and school officials intervened. But Joanne remains shaken by the experience.
Cyberbullies, mostly ages 9 to 14, are using the anonymity of the Web to mete out pain without witnessing the consequences. The problem — aggravated by widespread use of wireless devices such as cell phones and BlackBerrys — is especially prevalent in affluent suburbs, where high-speed Internet use is high and kids are technically adept, says Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety.org, an online safety group.
Several parents agreed to have their children interviewed by USA TODAY, but only if their last names were not used and a parent monitored the call. They feared their children would face another round of taunting if they were publicly identified.
"What happens online, stays online. There is a code of silence," says Nancy Willard, a tech lawyer and executive director of Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use in Eugene, Ore.
In Louisiana, a 15-year-old girl was arrested in January and accused of "cyberstalking," posting photos of a male student on a Web site.
At Oak View Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., last year, sixth-grade students conducted an online poll to determine the ugliest classmate, school officials say
I think you get the picture....
Please read..
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-03-06-cover-cyberbullies_x.htm