Few saw the effects Cyber Bullying would have on our children nor how the power of the web could be used to intensify this socially tramatic experience. This story opens a lots of questions about legislation and another case for prevention education.
DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. (A town of 5500 residents)— City officials declared online harassment a crime Wednesday, fewer than two weeks after they learned of a 13-year-old girl who killed herself after receiving hurtful messages on a popular social networking website.
The FBI and St. Charles County Sheriff's Department investigated the Meiers' allegations over the past year and could find no appropriate criminal charge. Prosecutors didn't see a crime either, and high-profile law firms did not pursue a civil suit.
OnLine Bullying Suicide
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"Especially concerning, youth who reported being targeted by Internet harassment were eight times more likely than all other youth to concurrently report carrying a weapon to school in the past 30 days," added Ybarra's team, who interviewed 1,500 10- to 15-year-olds.
They found that 64 percent of those who reported having been bullied online were not victims of physical or verbal aggression in person. That makes for a whole new population of victims, the researchers agreed.
Teen Bullying Thrives OnlineDownload teen_bullying_thrives_online.pdf
Share with us what the children in your life are experiencing and what you are doing to fix the problem.
Babies Learn To Tell Friend From Foe Before They Talk
Our natural instincts for safety are alert from birth and it is social behavioral norms that often squelch children's natural ability to protect themselves, i.e. "Always be polite to adults." "Do as you are told."
Babies can tell friend from foe long before they can talk, according to research which suggests that the ability to assess other people’s motivations may be evolved rather than learnt. A study in the United States has shown that, at both 6 and 10 months, infants clearly prefer people who help others over those who obstruct others or ignore them.
Babies Tell Friend From Foe Article: Download babies_tell_friend_from_foe.pdf
Have stories of children "trusting their instincts"? Share them with us.
December 11, 2007 in Commentary | Permalink | Comments (1)