LACK OF MATURITY, lack of supervision, and technology that can transmit messages instantly to millions of people: This is the volatile cocktail that lies at the root of cyberbullying. Today’s high school and middle school students have been texting, e-mailing, instant messaging and posting on Facebook since they could reach a keyboard. But when this extensive technological knowledge combines with the raging hormones, limited impulse control and failure to understand consequences that mark the teenage years, the results can be devastating.

Cyberbullies can be popular “mean girls” or tech-savvy loners who use their skills to wreak havoc on a social hierarchy that excludes them. Bullying can be intentional or inadvertent — a message accidentally forwarded, a remark taken out of context. It can be a minor annoyance or, drawing in strangers through hate speech or provocative images, it can escalate far beyond the schoolyard. Because of all these factors, it is difficult to craft a one-size-fits-all rule or policy.

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Bills making it a crime for one youth to send suggestive electronic pictures to another or to use chat rooms and other computer-assisted methods to threaten or bully a person younger than 17 have been signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal and will take effect Aug. 15.

House Bill 1259 by Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport, is designed to crack down on “cyberbullying,” while House Bill 1357 by Rep. Damon Baldone, D-Houma, outlaws “sexting,” or sending suggestive photos by e-mail, computer or other electronic means.

Burrell’s bill makes it a crime to send harassing or abusive messages meant to “torment or intimidate” anyone under 17.

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The arrest of a young boy at my kids’ elementary school just before school let out for the summer caused quite stir in the community. The 12-year-old was taken into custody after apparently bringing a “hit list” of students he reportedly intended to “kill, injure, or let go.”

Authorities, tipped off about the sixth grader’s notebook list by another student, discovered it in his locker. Sources say the journal was eloquently written but appeared to fall apart toward the end as the boy evidently contemplated suicide.

Police who interviewed the boy, new to the school district, found him to be very articulate, polite, and well-spoken. Like so many other children, he supposedly came from a broken home where the environment was presumably as stressful as that in school.

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(NAPSI)-The Web offers many wonderful experiences for young people, so teaching them about Internet safety and providing them with the right “training wheels” is important.

A recent survey by Yahoo! found that parents are taking action to keep their children safe on the Internet, but more frequent action is necessary. The survey found that:

• 70 percent of parents talk to their children about online safety at least two to three times a year.

• 45 percent of parents talk to their children about online safety at least once a month.

• 74 percent of parents are connected to their children’s profiles on social networking sites.

• 71 percent of parents have taken at least one action to manage their children’s use of the Internet or cell phones.

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RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Typifying its mantra “Your Friend in the Digital Age,” Cox Communications led its 5th National Teen Summit on Internet Safety on June 15, 2010. Presented to inform both teens and parents of online safety issues, including cyberbullying, sexting and the potential long-term impact of social media posts on digital reputation, the Summit also featured discussions with a teen focus group led by children’s advocate and America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh.

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ARARAT – Ararat Primary School 800 has addressed the growing problem of cyber bullying with an educational workshop aimed at students and their parents.

Teacher Matt Haddow said the workshop was designed to create awareness of the dangers posed by technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones and the rising incidence of cyber bullying.

Mr Haddow said widespread access to these technologies and the anonymity of cyberspace makes bullying a lot easier.

”Bullying doesn’t just happen face to face anymore,” he said.

Mr Haddow said bullies are now able to access a much wider audience, almost instantaneously, with the touch of a button.

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While Vermont previously considered legalizing teen sexting, New York City public schools may outlaw it entirely.

The New York City Department of Education has proposed a ban on cyberbullying and sexting. Not only would the ban prohibit both practices during school hours, but they would be illegal outside of school too, according to New York Civil Liberties Union takes issue with the proposal because, as WCBSTV notes,

Not only does the Department of Education want to ban sexually explicit text messaging that students may do off hours on nights, weekends and summer vacation, but they also want to punish them for it, handing out up to a 90-day suspension.

The consequences for cyberbullying could range from a parent-teacher conference to expulsion.

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) — Social media sites like MySpace and Facebook have been used to connect students but they’re also being used to threaten or bully.

As more teens use the Internet to socialize, child taunting is becoming more prevalent in the online community.

“The thing that we’re facing now is cyber-bullying,” said Karen Loy, principal at Northwest Middle School. “That’s where you see those text messages or it’s on MySpace or Facebook,” she said.

Ben Harrington is the executive director of the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee. He said this type of bullying is like none other.

“The bully doesn’t have to do it face to face anymore, they can do it sort of anonymously and they can spread all sorts of stuff,” Harrington said.

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WELLINGTON: While teenagers are increasingly using cellphones in schools, but the technology also has a downside-bullying.

Students at Auckland’s Howick College are already using cellphones in class to store lessons, and digital devices are expected to become the equivalent of pens and paper in schools within five years as education technology advances.

But, James Sanderson, a psychology masters student who wrote a thesis on bullying, around 80% teenagers have been a victim of cyber bullying or text bullying at the age of 15.

Cellphones are a symbol of social status.

Bullying via cellphones requires very little technical skill, and it is harder to detect than cyber-bullying.

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BATON ROUGE — The Senate passed a ban on “cyberbullying” today after overhauling how minors would be punished under the measure.

The bill by Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport, would ban harassing or intimidating someone under the age of 17 by text message, e-mail or posts on social networking sites like Facebook.

Sen. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, wanted to amend the bill so it would penalize minors with a civil fine rather than a misdemeanor because of concerns raised in his committee about punishing minors too harshly.

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