Youth organisation "Reach Out" draws some distinctions between traditional bullying and cyberbullying, one of which in particular I feel cuts to the core of why cyberbullying is being treated as so much more serious than traditional bullying. That distinction is the "24/7" nature of cyberbullying. Where a child is bullied in the traditional, schoolyard sense, once they go home they can effectively escape the torment and have a reprieve. The problem with the highly communicative, tech-savvy world that kids operate in nowadays however, is that even at home they are not safe from cyberbullying. Abusive SMS messages, Facebook and MySpace comments, emails, instant messages and so on can be sent and received at any time, day or night.
As well as the round-the-clock nature of cyberbullying, its publicity is another very harmful aspect. Having a large audience that are easily accessible through mailing groups, discussion boards, Facebook and MySpace friend lists, group email and so on means that a bully can share their antagonism with a wide group. A recent cyberbullying incident at a Sydney private school (see article) highlights the extremely public nature of this form of abuse. The long-term effects of defamatory cyberbullying can be far more damaging than traditional schoolyard bullying. As in the case of the above article, some of the female victims were actually approached by strangers based on defamatory information available about them online. This puts these girls at risk in the 'real world' as well as in the online world. Not to mention if any of this information resurfaces in their futures.
Sources:
Reach Out Teachers Network, http://teachers.reachoutpro.com.au/using-technology/supporting-young-people-to-be-safe-online/cyber-bullying.aspx
David Mark, "Elite school's horrific cyber-bullying case", May 8, 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/07/2563942.htm
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