May 10, 2004
Rise of the cyberbully demands new rules
Mark Franek, who is the dean of students at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, writes in an article for The Christian Science Monitor, that "schools around the country are starting to see a dramatic increase in the misuse of all kinds of technology, the most pernicious of which is cyberbullying (by e-mail, text messaging or postings on a website)".
Franek brings up an interesting point, in that as beneficial as technology is for young people, "its instantaneous nature is a major downside and has revolutionized the possibilities for major and minor mischief. It has all but erased the reflection time that once existed between the planning of a silly prank - or a serious stunt - and its commission. Simultaneously, the power and speed of technology has made it nearly impossible to contain a regrettable deed - because once committed, there's almost no way to retrieve and destroy all evidence of it in cyberspace".
Franek warns that even nastier stuff is sure to appear with the proliferation of camera phones and that schools, technology companies and parents need to educate themselves, take responsibility for getting this growing problem under control and by addressing the issue head on".
For stories from around the world on bullying by SMS, check out this category in Textually.org.
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