Month: August 2013

Children’s charities urge young people to speak out against cyberbullying. [ The Telegraph, by Sophie Curtis, 8/8/2013 ].

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and anti-bullying charity BeatBullying have urged young people to speak out against cyberbullying, after a teenage schoolgirl was found dead in her home, following a series of abusive messages on the Ask.fm website.

Hannah Smith, 14, was found hanged at her home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, yesterday. Messages found on her Ask.fm account show how trolls told her to “drink bleach”, “go get cancer” and “go die”. Her parents are now calling for Ask.fm to be closed down before any more tragedies occur.

Commenting on the news, Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC, described this as a tragic case, where Hannah felt like she had no other option but to end her life.

“The cruel nature of cyberbullying allows perpetrators to remain anonymous and hide behind their screens. This is something that must be tackled before it gets out of hand. We must ensure young people have the confidence to speak out against this abuse, so that they don’t feel isolated and without anywhere to turn,” Wanless told the Telegraph.

He added that, over the last year, ChildLine has carried out 4,507 counselling sessions with young people who were concerned about cyberbullying – an 87 per cent rise in contacts about this concern from the previous year.

“Young people are feeling increasingly desperate, and in many cases suicidal, as a result of the abusive comments they are victim to,” he said.

Ask.fm has been heavily criticised by anti-bullying charities because it allows users to post anonymous comments or questions – often of a sexual or insulting nature – on the pages of children as young as 13.

Some child safety experts have even described it as a “stalker’s paradise” and an online petition has been set up demanding action is taken.

However, simply closing down individual sites is not in itself an answer to the problem of cyberbullying.

The NSPCC said that parents need to talk to their children about the dangers posed by the internet, and tell them what they should do if they become worried or concerned. They should also explain that anything shared online or by mobile phone could end up being seen by anyone.

Any computer used by a child should be in a place where the whole family can see it, not out of sight in a bedroom, and parents should also use filtering software to block inappropriate sites, said the NSPCC.

Meanwhile, Campaign group BeatBullying has put together a list of five tips to help children stay safe online:

1. Save and print out any bullying messages, posts, pictures or videos you receive. Make a note of the dates and times, along with any details you have about the sender’s ID and the URL.

2. Always report anything abusive you see online to the site concerned. Flag it, report it, or talk to someone about it.

3. Never respond or retaliate, as this can just make things worse. Instead, block any users that send you nasty messages.

4. Think very carefully before posting photos of yourself online. Remember that once your picture is online, anyone can download it and share it or even change it.

5. And lastly, don’t pass on cyberbullying videos or messages about other people. Don’t just ignore it. If you see cyberbullying going on, report it and offer your support.

Erin’s mum hits out after latest cyber-bully death [ independent.ie, by Greg Harkin, 08/07/2013 ]

Erin Gallagher
Erin Gallagher

THE death of an English schoolgirl at the hands of internet trolls on the Ask.fm website was a ‘mirror-image’ of the death of Erin Gallagher, the Irish teenager’s mum has said.

Erin Gallagher's mother Lorraine
Erin Gallagher’s mother Lorraine

Lorraine Gallagher spoke out after hearing about Hannah Smith (14), who took her own life after being taunted on the website Ask.fm.

Erin’s sister Shannon took her own life just five weeks after her sister’s death last autumn.

“I saw pictures of my two girls on television today and it was a shock,” said Lorraine. “I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

“I then realised that another young girl had taken her own life and it was as a direct result of being bullied through Ask.fm. I couldn’t breath for a while as I tried to take it all in.

“Hannah’s death was almost a copycat of what happened to my Erin. She was bullied online and nobody listened.

 

Hannah Smith (14)
Hannah Smith (14)

“She asked the bullies to stop but they wouldn’t. They just kept hurting her and then hiding behind this secret curtain on Ask.fm,” she said.

The heartbroken mother said she wanted the British and Irish governments to work together to get the Latvian site banned.

“How many deaths will it take before the authorities realise that Ask.fm is harming our teenagers?” she asked.

“I am asking the Irish Government to take a stand on this and lead the way and ban Ask.fm in Ireland. Sure they have the power to do that.

“If people were telling children where to get drugs or alcohol, we would be quick enough to close it down.

“But it doesn’t seem to matter that children are allowed to be bullied online by anonymous people. It has to stop,” she said.

Meanwhile, the father of a another teenage girl who took her own life after being bullied online has demanded specific new laws to tackle the issue.

Jonathan Pugsley’s 15-year-old daughter Ciara took her own life in Co Leitrim 11 months ago after suffering a torrid of sickening messages on the controversial website Ask.fm.

Mr Pugsley later gave evidence to an Oireachtas Committee on the dangers of Ask.fm and other social media sites.

But he says his pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

“The politicians won’t do anything,” he told the Irish Independent.

“I’ve spoken to them and they listen but that’s it. I was told that there are already laws in place. We have been told that new laws aren’t needed to tackle bullies, that offences are covered by generic legislation.

Ciara Pugsley (15) from Co Leitrim took her own life last year
Ciara Pugsley (15) from Co Leitrim took her own life last year

 

“But it is clear that the only way of dealing with this issue is to introduce separate laws for the internet.

“The offences may well be the same as those covered in other legislation but we need to introduce the language of the internet into law to get the message across.

“The laws actually need to include words like ‘cyberbullying’ to have any effect.”

He said he would continue to campaign for changes in the law and raise awareness of the issue in a bid to prevent more deaths.

The deaths of three teenage girls have now been linked to ask.fm, following the deaths of Ciara, Hannah Smith and Donegal schoolgirl Erin Gallagher.

All had been tormented by anonymous posters on the Latvia-based site.

Erin (13) died last October just a few days before her 14th birthday. Her sister Shannon took her own life a few weeks later. Mr Pugsley added awareness of cyberbullying had been boosted by British MP Stella Creasy who was threatened with rape in a tweet.

“Ms Creasy took awareness of bullying to a new level and that was extremely helpful.”

Hannah Smith’s father David said: “This is a site where people can post anonymously and say whatever they want and get away with it.”

Mr Pugsley, who visited his daughter’s grave in Dromahair last weekend, added: “Things are still very hard for us as a family. We have good days and bad days.”

“We went to Ciara’s grave on Sunday and the priest said a wonderful Mass which was very uplifting and that helps, but Ciara’s anniversary is coming up in September and that’s still ahead of us.”

TRAGEDY

He added: “I would plead once again to parents to try to find out if their children are using these social media sites and if they are to get them off them immediately.

Meanwhile, David Smith has called on British prime minister David Cameron to clamp down on social networking websites where users can be anonymous to try to prevent another tragedy.

Ciara Pugsley's heartbroken father Jonathan
Ciara Pugsley’s heartbroken father Jonathan

Teen kills herself after cyber-bullying on Ask.fm, father says [The Irish Times, 06/08/2013 ]

The home page of the website ask.fm. Photograph: Matt Stevens/PA Wire
The home page of the website ask.fm. Photograph: Matt Stevens/PA Wire
The father of a British teenage girl who took her own life on Friday, has claimed that she was being abused by brutal messages on social networking site Ask.fm.Hannah Smith (14 )died on Friday in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Her father alleges that she was being “cyber-bullied” on the question-and-answer website Ask.fm, which allows users to send messages to one another without their identity being disclosed.

Dave Smith called for authorities to close down the site, and those like it, after stumbling across cruel taunts from so-called “trolls” that he said drove his teenage daughter to take her own life.

Writing on Facebook, he said: “On Friday morning my daughter was found hanged… (I saw) her Ask.fm account and someone had been telling her to die.

“I have just seen the abuse my daughter got from people on Ask.fm and the fact that these people can be anonymous is wrong,” he said. He urged parents not to let their children go onto the website.

Although people wanting to use ask.fm have to register an email address, name and date of birth, those posting messages can choose to do so anonymously.

Hannah’s death echoes that of the deaths last year of two Irish teenagers, Ciara Pugsley (15) in Leitrim and Erin Gallagher (13) in Donegal. Both girls took their own lives after being subjected to alleged bullying campaigns on the ask.fm site.

In the US last year, 16-year-old Jessica Laney, was found dead at her home in Florida in December after users on social networking sites tormented her with insults and asked: “Can you kill yourself already?”

Emma-Jane Cross, from campaign group BeatBullying, said: “High-profile cases of trolling over the last week have deservedly received lots of attention in the media. However, we also cannot forget that thousands of young people, as in the tragic case of Hannah Smith, face a daily barrage of online abuse, death threats and harassment.

“Although they may not be in the public eye or have celebrity status, it’s shocking that one in three young people are cyberbullied, and one in 13 face persistent abuse online.

“We cannot stand by while innocent children lose their lives. Adults need to set an example for young people and we all have a responsibility to tackle this type of behaviour and keep our children safe.

“We want internet service providers, schools, Government and the police to come together and produce a UK anti-bullying strategy, to prove that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

“We’d also urge any young person worried about cyber-bullying to visit BeatBullying.org for advice and support.”

Ask.fm is a Latvian based site which continues to grow and launched a new iPhone app in June.

After the death of Erin Gallagher in Donegal last year the founder of Ask.fm described her suicide as “a true tragedy”.

However, he said: “Ask.fm is just a tool which helps people to communicate with each other, same as any other social network, same as phone, same as piece of paper and pen.

“Don’t blame a tool, but try to make changes . . . start with yourself . . . be more polite, more kind, more tolerant of others . . . cultivate these values in families, in schools,” Mr Terebin posted on the website.

Support:

Childline: Phone: 1800 666 666, text talk to 50101, childline.ie

The Samaritans: Phone: 1850 60 90 90 TXT: 087 2 60 90 90 Email: jo@samaritans.org

Watch Your Space campaign: www.watchyourspace.ie and Facebook.com/watchyourspace.

Spotlight on Ask.fm after teen suicide [Channel 4 News, 08/06/2013 ]

The e-petition calls for ministers to “step in and insist that Ask.fm and similar sites help us protect our young people” following the death of Hannah Smith at her home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, on Friday.

Her father said users of the website, which lets teenagers ask each other anonymous questions, had been taunting Hannah and telling her to die.

Bullies reportedly told Hannah to “drink bleach”, “go get cancer” and “go die”.

The petition had been signed by more than 5,000 supporters within hours of being posted on the government’s e-petitions website.

Hannah’s father Dave Smith has called for Ask.fm to be closed down, adding: “The person that created this website should be done for manslaughter. Any parents that have children please don’t let them go on this site.”

Ask.fm has become very popular with young teenagers since its launch in 2010 and claims to have 60 million registered users, with British teens some of the biggest customers. The ability to post anonymous questions on other user's profiles makes the site a hotspot for so-called "trolling". It took Channel 4 News seconds to create an Ask.fm profile with a false name. All users are supposed to be over 13 but the only age control relies on users volunteering a genuine date of birth. It was immediately apparent that users, many of them young girls, routinely suffer insulting, unpleasant and sexually explicit comments. But users do have the option to turn off anonymous comments and to "blacklist" other members. The website also advises users to use the Report button to flag up "questions that cross the line". Ask.fm advises users: "If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can't contact you again." The site says anonymity "can be useful if you're feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it". It says anonymity "should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful" and warns prospective trolls that it reserves the right to hand over their identity details to law enforcement agencies if necessary. Ask.fm also warns users as part of its terms of service: "You understand that in using the ask.fm service you may encounter content that may be deemed objectionable, obscene or in poor taste, which content may or may not be identified as having explicit language."
Ask.fm has become very popular with young teenagers since its launch in 2010 and claims to have 60 million registered users, with British teens some of the biggest customers.
The ability to post anonymous questions on other user’s profiles makes the site a hotspot for so-called “trolling”.
It took Channel 4 News seconds to create an Ask.fm profile with a false name. All users are supposed to be over 13 but the only age control relies on users volunteering a genuine date of birth.
It was immediately apparent that users, many of them young girls, routinely suffer insulting, unpleasant and sexually explicit comments.
But users do have the option to turn off anonymous comments and to “blacklist” other members. The website also advises users to use the Report button to flag up “questions that cross the line”.
Ask.fm advises users: “If you receive a question that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, do not respond to the question, tell a parent, guardian or other trusted adult and block the user who sent it so they can’t contact you again.”
The site says anonymity “can be useful if you’re feeling shy or think that the recipient would be more comfortable answering a question without knowing who may have asked it”.
It says anonymity “should never be used to ask questions that are mean or hurtful” and warns prospective trolls that it reserves the right to hand over their identity details to law enforcement agencies if necessary.
Ask.fm also warns users as part of its terms of service: “You understand that in using the ask.fm service you may encounter content that may be deemed objectionable, obscene or in poor taste, which content may or may not be identified as having explicit language.”

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) issued guidance on anonymous messaging sites including Ask.fm last year, saying: “The content Ceop has seen has been heavily based around bullying, however sexual chat and imagery is also apparent.”

But concerns about the site among child protection experts have centred on bullying rather than grooming by adult sex offenders.

Emma-Jane Cross from campaign group BeatBullying said thousands of young people like Hannah “face a daily barrage of online abuse, death threats and harassment”. She said as many as one in three young people are cyber-bullied and one in 13 faces persistent online abuse.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: “The cruel nature of cyber-bullying allows perpetrators to remain anonymous and hide behind their screens. This is something that must be tackled before it gets out of hand.”

Other deaths

Hannah’s death comes after at least four other teenagers’ deaths were linked to bullying on Ask.fm.

Joshua Unsworth, 15, from Lancashire, was taunted by bullies on the site.

Jessica Laney, 16, was found dead at her home in Florida in December after anonymous bullies bombarded her with insults and asked: “Can you kill yourself already?”

The deaths of Irish schoolgirls Ciara Pugsley and Erin Gallagher last year were also linked to abuse on Ask.fm.

On Tuesday Ciara’s father Jonathan Pugsley said he sympathised with Hannah’s family and added his voice to calls for the site to be closed down.

Suicide rate stable

Despite worrying reports of young people killing themselves after online bullying, the overall UK suicide rate has remained relatively stable in recent years, according to various official statistics.

The Samaritans, who produced this graph, said in its latest report that there was a small increase in rates between 2010 and 2011, but suicides per 100,000 people remain lower than in 2001.

06_samaritans_MED

Men in their 40s are at the highest risk of suicide. While official statistics are not collected for under-15s, the number of suicides among children and young teenagers is low, according to the Samaritans.

British children ‘more cruel’

The owners of the site, Latvian entrepreneurs Mark and Ilja Terebin, have so far not commented directly on Hannah’s death.

Last year Mark Terebin gave a statement to Irish broadcaster RTE, saying: “We have only this situation in Ireland and the UK most of all. It seems that children are more cruel in these countries.”

In other statements, Ask.fm has said that it monitors content on the site around the clock and has policies in place to prevent antisocial behaviour.

A Facebook tribute page has been set up for Hannah and already had more than 33,000 “likes” by Tuesday afternoon. A small number of trolls had angered wellwishers by posting abusive messages.

 

 

Cumbria teens warned of ‘sexting’ dangers [North West Evening Mail, 05/08/2013]

TEENAGERS are being warned of the dangers of ‘sexting’ as part of a Cumbria police campaign.

‘Sexting’ is when someone takes an indecent photo of themselves and sends it to a partner or friend – via mobile phone or some other form of technology.

The campaign runs throughout the summer holidays and is aimed at educating parents and carers as well as highlighting some of the perils of online communication.

Detective Inspector Stephanie Brown, of the Public Protection Unit at Cumbria Constabulary, said: “Many young people see sexting as a bit of fun, that’s just between themselves and their partner.

“But the truth is once you have sent an image to others you have lost control of it and it can end up anywhere.

“These images could be then used to bully, harass or even locate the person who sent the image.

“My advice is if you wouldn’t like your parents or teachers to see an image – don’t send it.

“If anyone receives an indecent image or text do not send it on and report it to a responsible adult. Technically possessing an indecent image of another minor is a criminal offence and you could be breaking the law.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Richard Rhodes said: “I welcome the Constabulary’s campaign especially aimed at keeping young people safe online.

“Sexting is not fun and can have significant consequences. It is really important that people use modern technology responsibly.”

Helen Smith, from Children’s Services at Cumbria County Council, said: “I would encourage all teenagers in Cumbria to follow Cumbria Police on Facebook and Twitter for the next two weeks for advice on the dangers of sexting.

“The risk of exposing intimate images of yourself for the world to see is too great a price to pay for a moment’s lapse in judgement.

“If you are concerned about an image you may have sent always tell an adult you trust – which could be your mum, dad, teacher, or a family friend.”

Visit www.cumbria.police.uk/advice-and-information/online-safety for more information.

Bullying costs schools £120k [Express, by Matthew Davis, 04/08/2013 ]

Several schoolchildren have received payouts after being assaulted by bullies (PIC POSED BY MODELS)
Several schoolchildren have received payouts after being assaulted by bullies (PIC POSED BY MODELS)
Last year, 10 schoolchildren won payouts from councils after being assaulted by playground bullies, making a total of £119,130.The payments include Warrington Council having to pay a pupil £32,500, while another was given £25,000.Surrey paid £25,000 to a pupil who brought a successful claim for bullying; Hertfordshire paid £20,000 to one pupil and £5,000 to another, and Sheffield made separate payments for £1,000 and £1,750.The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information survey. Department for Education data shows 58,130 children were suspended from school for violence or bullying last year, more than 300 a day, while 860 were expelled.

 

The data shows 58,130 chidren were suspended for violence or bullying last year (PIC POSED BY MODEL)
The data shows 58,130 chidren were suspended for violence or bullying last year (PIC POSED BY MODEL)
Christopher McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “If schools had proper systems in place to protect pupils from bullying, they would not be subject to claims. Some are failing our children. Firstly, they are not protecting them from assault and, secondly, they are depleting educational budgets to cover payouts to victims of assault.“This is a shameful waste of taxpayers’ money.”For a compensation claim to be successful, the victim must prove that the school authorities were negligent.

 

Parents underestimate risk of cyber-bullying for teens [ The Sydney Morning Herald, by Lucy Battersby, 2/8/2013 ]

Nearly 80 per cent of Australian children under 10 years of age use social networks. Among older teenagers – those 16 and 17 – parents underestimate bullying and risky online behaviour. But the most likely candidate for cyber-bullying is a 14 year old girl who checks her Facebook account daily.

All are findings of a federal government survey of teenagers’ social media and internet habits, conducted by Newspoll on behalf of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

The results suggest that parents closely monitor and understand their children’s behaviour online until the age of about 14. After that children tend to take more risks than their parents realise including meeting strangers online and then potentially in real life, posting too much personal information, or sending photos and videos to other people.

Advertisement

By the time teenagers are 16, parents start to underestimate the likelihood of their child being bullied or involved in upsetting experiences. Only 17 per cent of parents said their 16-year-old was bothered by something on the internet, but 26 per cent of teenagers of that age said they suffered through an upsetting experience.

University of Sydney senior psychology lecturer Andrew Campbell said online behaviour changed once children reach puberty.

“The childhood interests are very much around games, or collaboration around something that is fun. Once they hit 14 that is not as important as getting people to like you, so social networks become about being accepted by your peers,” he said.

Dr Campbell said that social media sites favoured by children – such as Moshi Monsters, Club Penguin and Stardoll – were monitored by parents and primarily used for games. But he was alarmed that up to 31 per cent of children under 11 had used Facebook, particularly if replaced face-to-face interaction. Facebook is not supposed to be available to children younger than 13.

He said parents should check their teenager’s online profile, internet searches and the sites they visited.

“We need to know that they are actually accessing safe information and correct information. And if they are not, parents are the best placed to teach them how,” he said.

The study found the internet was becoming more entwined in children’s lives. About half of the eight and nine-year-olds surveyed thought internet access was very important to their lives, up from a quarter three years ago. Among late teens, 84 per cent said the internet was very important.

The survey was conducted via an online questionnaire of more than 1,500 young people in June 2012.

Other findings included:

– Only 13 per cent of older teenagers said that they or someone they knew had sexted a video or photo, though 18 per cent said they or someone they knew had received one.

– Mobile phone ownership was nearly universal among older teenagers, but less than 11 per cent of children under nine had one.

– Girls aged 12 to 17 who used Facebook daily were most likely to be cyber-bullied. Within that cohort, 38 per cent had ended a friendship over their bad experience, 32 per cent had a face-to-face confrontation and 41 per cent had felt “nervous about going to school the next day”.

– More than half of the teenagers who had an upsetting experience online also said it had made them feel closer to somebody. Nearly three-quarters said using the web made them feel good about themselves.

Parental talks about sexting should start young: experts [ New York Daily News, by Tacy Miller, 02/08/2013 ]

Experts agreed parental talks about sexting should start young, even before middle school.
Experts agreed parental talks about sexting should start young, even before middle school.

Just how early should you talk to your kids about the dangers of sexting?

As soon as you hand them a phone, experts say.

While there are no clear figures on the number of young teens and preteens who have swapped sexually explicit photos with cell phones and other technology, there’s no doubt that it happens.

In Pittsburgh last month, police were alerted to an 11-year-old girl who had been sending topless photos of herself to an older adult.

Months earlier in San Bernardino County, Calif., a 14-year-old girl was issued a misdemeanor citation for transmitting sexual photos on her cell phone.

These cases may be rare, but it often takes only one troubled child to start a dangerous trend among peers, said Dr. Susan Lipkins, a psychologist who specializes in school conflict.

“They’re acting out, needing attention, and there may be some reason,” Lipkins said. “There may be something in the child’s life where they have already been exposed to sex, either by seeing things or hearing things they shouldn’t, or perhaps being abused.

“One child who acts out will be the one with the problem, and the others who are watching may follow.”

Dr. Rebecca Bailey, a family psychologist, agrees.

“There’s a lot of double-daring going on,” said Bailey, author of “Safe Kids, Smart Parents: What Parents Need to Know to Keep Their Children Safe.” “I knew a boy [around 11 years old] who did it to make the other kids stop thinking he was nerdy – that’s a fit-in thing.”

RELATED: TEENS WHO ‘SEXT’ ARE CLUELESS ABOUT RISK

That kids not yet in their teens would send sexually inappropriate text messages is no surprise, she added.

“With kids getting periods as young as 9 now, there may be some that are a little more aware of sexuality,” she says. “They’re also practicing intimacy on some level, too. Some of these kids are ‘going out’ with each other at 11, whatever that may mean. What we’re talking about is wanting to fit in, maybe being somewhat impulsive, and figuring out their identity.”

But even younger children who aren’t thinking about sex are aware what they’re doing is inappropriate, Lipkins said.

“I think people are apt to think ‘oh they didn’t know what they were doing is wrong,'” she said. “They knew; they just couldn’t predict the consequences.”

Experts agreed parental talks about sexting should start young, even before middle school.

RELATED: TEEN SEXTING SCARE? IT TURNS OUT, FEW ACTUALLY DO IT

Exactly what you say to your children depends on their age – and not necessarily the one that’s displayed on their birthday cake.

Parents need to “understand developmentally what age your child is at,” Bailey said. “Some 11-year-olds are still 9-year-olds. That can vary in a house. You can have twins with different developmental ages.”

Here’s how to start the conversation with your younger child.

Start with the basics. Elementary schoolers can be taught phone safety rules that will help prepare them for peer pressure later on. “Even a younger child can understand, don’t take pictures of anything that’s private, don’t expose your last name or any identifying info,” Lipkins said.

Give them a “dumb” phone, not a smartphone. “The phone you give your child should only have features that child is ready to handle,” Lipkins said. If a child can’t exercise good judgment with photos or texting, parents can and should disable those functions. Most elementary-aged kids only need a basic phone with mom and dad’s number programmed on it, Bailey said.

Have access to the phone – and use it. “Parents should be able to see texts and photos, and have the passwords” to any apps, Lipkins said. Privacy “can happen later during high school,” she added. “In middle school, kids still need supervision.”

Ask questions instead of lecturing. “Be a bit of a detective” to find out what’s really going on in your child’s life, Bailey said. “Allow them to teach you,” she said. “Use examples about other kids that you know. Often that will give you more information than hitting them head on.”

Don’t stop at one conversation. “It’s never a one-stop shop” for this kind of parental guidance, Lipkins said. Set down ground rules before you give them the phone, then check in periodically.

Infographic: Cyber Bullying, Virtual Cheating Rampant Among Teens [ PCMAG.com, by Stephanie Mlot, 01/08/2013 ]

Cyberbullying 275

In cyberspace, bullies can hide and cheaters can prosper. With a new school year on the horizon, security firm McAfee looked at the disconnect between bullying, cheating teens, and their parents’ awareness — or lack thereof.

Almost a quarter of kids ages 10 to 17 have witnessed online cruelty — 89 percent of which takes place on Facebook. But when only 10 percent of parents are aware of cyber bullying, most teens are left to fend for themselves, often with disastrous real-world consequences.

As a result of online interactions, 29 percent of teenagers have had an argument with a friend; another 22 percent have even ended a friendship with someone. Meanwhile, 13 percent of kids have feared for their safety or been afraid to go to school following an episode of cyber bullying.

Though parents claim to regulate and monitor their child’s online behavior, many admit that they are overwhelmed by technology, outsmarted by their own kids, and simply can’t keep up with online advancements, McAfee said.

That loophole allows kids to find new ways of hiding their activities, which are sometimes illegal or just plain mean.

“Parents must realize that young people are aware of the threats associated with risky online activity, yet will continue to engage in this behavior,” the security firm said. “Therefore, simply monitoring your child’s behavior and implementing parental controls are not enough. Many young people know how to bypass these barriers!”

Instead, parents should engage their kids at a young age in dialogue about how to be safe online, and what to do when they feel threatened or uncomfortable.

McAfee also encourages discussion about guidelines for using the Internet, especially for school-related purposes, as virtual cheating is on the rise. In this always-connected world, kids have to look no further than their cell phone for the answers — no more scribbling math equations on your arm or writing book passages on the bottom of your shoe.

In fact, 15 percent of people ages 10 to 23 have cheated on a test using a mobile device; more than half of all teens and college students have intentionally looked up the answer to a test or assignment online.

“So what do we as parents do to help change this negative behavior?” Robert Siciliano, McAfee online security expert, wrote in a blog post. “We must stay in-the-know. Since your kids have grown up in an online world, they may be more online savvy than you, but you can’t give up.”

For a closer look at cyber bullying and virtual cheating, see McAfee’s infographics below. Also check out a compilation of suggestions for protecting teens from online threats.

Being bullied throughout childhood and teens may lead to more arrests, convictions, prison time [ Medical Xpress, 1/8/2013 ]

People who were repeatedly bullied throughout childhood and adolescence were significantly more likely to go to prison than individuals who did not suffer repeated bullying, according to a new analysis presented at the American Psychological Association’s 121st Annual Convention.

Almost 14 percent of those who reported being bullied repeatedly from childhood through their teens ended up in prison as adults, compared to 6 percent of non-victims, 9 percent of childhood-only victims, and 7 percent of teen-only victims, the study found. When comparing rates of convictions, more than 20 percent of those who endured chronic bullying were convicted of crimes, compared to 11 percent of non-victims, 16 percent of childhood victims, and 13 percent of teen victims. Compared to nonwhite childhood victims, white childhood victims faced significantly greater odds of going to prison, according to the study.

“Previous research has examined bullying during specific time periods, whereas this study is the first to look at individuals’ reports of bullying that lasted throughout their childhood and teen years, and the legal consequences they faced in late adolescence and as adults,” said Michael G. Turner, PhD, of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

The results also revealed that women who were chronically bullied from childhood through their teens faced significantly greater odds of using alcohol or drugs, and of being arrested and convicted than men who had grown up experiencing chronic bullying.

Turner analyzed data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The survey involved 7,335 individuals between the ages of 12 and 16 as of Dec. 31, 1996. The sample reflected the demographics of the United States.

The analysis identified four groups: non-victims (74 percent); those bullied repeatedly before the age of 12 (15 percent); those bullied repeatedly after the age of 12 (6 percent); and those repeatedly victimized before and after the age of 12 (5 percent). Accounts of repeated bullying were collected over several periods and the legal outcomes were assessed when participants’ were in their late teens or adults. These relationships were also examined across gender and race. The study followed youths over a 14-year period from early adolescence into adulthood.

“This study highlights the important role that health care professionals can play early in a child’s life when bullying is not adequately addressed by teachers, parents or guardians,” Turner said. “With appropriate questions during routine medical checkups, they can be critical first points of contact for childhood victims. Programs that help children deal with the adverse impacts of repeated bullying could make the difference in whether they end up in the adult legal system.”