Cyber-bullying
The Internet has many advantages. The Internet has enabled us to create a new worldwide social network and extend our communications. With the positive always comes the negative. We have decreased our creativity, our physical time outside and we have created an new type of harassment known as cyber-bullying.
Today many are up in arms over cyber-crime, but authorities are at a loss as to how to keep up with the pace of criminals who are utilizing this means of communication to steal identities, post false entries, and just, plain harass individuals to the point where they are either embarrassed, harmed, or suffer financially from this type of bullying. Children can be particularly affected by this form of harassment, as they are ill equipped to do anything about it, whereas adults have a few more options.
Cyberbullying is a type of criminal activity and takes many forms. Emails containing threats, hateful comments, sexual innuendos, or messages sent in excess are all types of Internet harassment. Posting misleading or malicious information for the purpose of embarrassing or harming another individual, or solicitating others to participate in unacceptable behavior are all types of cyberbullying. The presence of Internet capable cell phones has made this a particularly damning problem in the schools, with the advent of social networking.
A favorite of cyberbullies is to release personal information about an individual which then traces to the real name or address of a victim. They also love to defame and ridicule the target and may also threaten them with harm. Boys begin bullying behavior in about the 2nd grade, girls catch on in middle school. These are all illegal activities and, when caught, carry significant legal consequences.
You can keep this harassment from happening to you. You can first try not to visit sites that are hosts for bullying. It is also possible to change your phone number or email account. To bring the cyber-bullying to a halt it is necessary to catch the individual committing the crime. Identifying the IP address being used to torment others is the fastest way to bring about the apprehension of this criminal.
There are sites which provide IP tracking which can give the location and personal information of the perpetrator. One such site is definitive-ip-search.org/29/index.htm which back-tracks web-based information.
For many, after a bullying incident they find it is very difficult to remove information once it has been placed on website programs even if it is defamatory. Many social networking sites have policies against slanderous or revealing information being posted, this does aid in having personal information, unfounded allegations or nude photos from being removed once placed there. For the victim it may take years for it to fade into cyber-space.
Victim legislation is being created to enable greater penalties for internet harassment. As a positive note, convictions have already been handed down. As technology continues to open new possibilities for users, everyone needs to be aware that they and their children are becoming increasingly vulnerable cyber-crimes. As you participate in websites and activities on the Web, be careful.
