Bullying in Its Newest Form — Not Just For Kids

I was recently educated, in more depth than usual, about a growing problem in our communities, but keep in mind this is not truly a local issue.

It is worldwide and involves electronic bullying and computer stalking. Online harassment and threats can take many forms. Cyber stalking shares important characteristics with offline stalking. Many stalkers, online or off, are motivated by a desire to feel superior or exert control over their victims and engage in anti-social behaviors.

The US Federal Court describes Cyber bullying as “a criminal act that occurs when a person is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted repeatedly by another person using the Internet, particular website, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. Once adults become involved, it usually a crime deemed closer to the classification of cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. While the term cyber bullying generally applies to minors, the scope of the word may also be applied to adults as well. Most cyber stalkers will cling to their first amendment rights or claim “issues of a public forum”, but they are wrong.

Internet Heckling and Cyber stalking as described by The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is “the use of the Internet, email or other electronic communications to stalk and/or persecute another person or animal, and generally refers to a pattern of threatening, personally demeaning comments or malicious statements, lies or behaviors. Cyber stalking may be considered the most dangerous of the three types of Internet harassment, based on a posing credible threat of eventual harm. All are crimes and range from misdemeanors to felonies based on seriousness.”

Electronic Bullying and Cyber Harassment and the other similar issues may be accomplished in many ways, including, but not limited to the certain new classifications below:

• Flaming is a type of online fight. It is an act of sending or posting electronic messages that are deliberately hostile, insulting, mean, angry, vulgar or insulting, to one person or several, either privately or publicly to an online group.
• Denigration also known as "dissing,” occurs when a person sends or publishes cruel rumors, gossip or untrue statements about a person to intentionally damage the victim's reputation or friendships.
• Bash boards are online bulletin boards where people post anything they choose that is generally derogatory. Generally, the postings are mean, hateful and malicious.
• Outing occurs when someone sends or publishes confidential, private, or embarrassing information, online. Private email messages or images meant for private viewing, is then forwarded to others.
• Trickery is when a person purposely tricks another person into divulging secrets, private information or embarrassing information, and publishes that information online.
• Exclusion is an indirect method of online bullying, intentionally excluding someone from an online group or community.
• Hashment is when the electronic bully repeatedly sends insulting, hurtful, rude, insulting messages.
• Happy slapping is a relatively new type of bullying. This occurs when an unsuspecting victim is physically attacked, in person, as an accomplice films or take pictures of the incident. The image or video is then posted online or distributed electronically. Often the attackers will say it was only a prank or joke, hence the term "happy slapping". Happy slapping is becoming more common, especially since many cell phones now include cameras.
• Text wars or group attacks are when several people gang up on the victim, sending the target hundreds of emails or text messages. Besides the emotional toll it can take on the victim, the victims' cell phone charges can be costly.
• Online meanie polls ask readers to vote on specific questions, often very hurtful and demeaning, such as "Who is the ugliest person in 8th grade" or "Who asked you to be a person of distinction?"
• Embarrassing Images and videos are a rapidly growing concern. Due to the prevalence and accessibility of camera cell phones, photographs and videos of unsuspecting victims, taken in bathrooms, locker rooms or other compromising situations, are being distributed electronically. Some images are emailed to other people, while others are published on video sites such as YouTube.
• Griefing involves chronically causing grief to other members of an online community, or rather, intentionally disrupting the integrity of their comments with personal attacks and malicious comments.

East Meadow Patch even did an excellent article on Cyber Bullying. It involved Trent Anderson, Cablevision’s Vice President of Education and the students and staff of Woodland Middle School. It was about “a program designed to remind both adults and children that inappropriate online behavior can hurt others and have serious unintended consequences, the Power to Learn -Delete Cyber bulling pledge.”

You can see the Pledge here and sign up to be a part of the betterment of our future, especially in regards to this new type of bullying.

Finally, law enforcement has recently become more sensitive to the angst and frustration experienced by cyber stalking, Internet bullying, and computer heckled victims. Proper training has helped recently in this regard with law enforcement at all levels, the District Attorney's offices, even voluntary community based civilian task forces and local library and school officials.

They have taken the next step and placed special emphasis on this new growing problem as they seek to wage war against it. Zero tolerance needs to be mandated here. Parents and other adults need to be vigilant and not afraid to come forward.