Cyber bullying

Following on from my last post on schoolyard V technological bullying, I want to raise something I heard on the Morning Show this morning. As a result of the escalating abuse through technological devices, teenage Girlfriend Magazine has launched the campaign “I DELETE BULLIES’. It is a campaign that has initiated the first Code of Conduct for online behaviour. Such code has been suggested to address the alarming statistics of online bullying. In a survey by Girlfriend magazine 1/3 of children surveyed recorded being ‘sexually abused’ online. 80% of all surveyed said they had been the victims of some sort of bullying and abuse. The anonymity aspect on online networks gives users the virtual dutch courage, they feel they have a right to bully and think they can get away with it. ‘I DELETE BULLIES’ particularly incorporates a set of guidelines that outlines when online behaviour crosses that line, it suggests pathways to reporting such behaviour. My Space has also been seen to promote such initiative and has launched a link on their website where users can record such inappropriate behaviour.