Volunteer TV

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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My Viewpoint

Technology aims to improve our lifestyle and make it more convenient. Unfortunately, the disadvantage is always present. There is always pros and cons in everything. Sexting becomes one of the trend that rise up to teenagers and young adults. Sexting is an act of sending explicit messages or photographs between mobile phones.

Sexting has been reported in countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. This has become a controversial issue after it caught the National headline, when an 18-year-old, Jesse Logan of Cincinnati took her own life after her boyfriend proliferate her picture that she had sent him during their relationship.

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DNA India

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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Echo Press

Teens live in that wild, wild west and the “bad guys” they are apt to encounter at some time or another include social networking “creepers,” textual harassment, sexting, urban legends, identity theft, cyber bullying and predators.

In presentations he gives to students, school staff and parents, Detroit Lakes teacher and information technology specialist Kent Mollberg said parents need to get a handle on what their children are doing with technology they may not fully understand. Mollberg’s advice: Get educated.

Learn how to monitor web browsers and mobile phone call histories and check them often. Kids should not be allowed to clear them more than once a day.

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Houma Today

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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